Join Santa Bill & Fat and Sassy Travels on their 2026 Christmas in NYC group Trip December 17 - 21, 2026
The Santa Files
01 · CHRISTMAS TREES From forest to feather to aluminum The Christmas tree has never stood still. German feather trees offered an alternative to cut evergreens; J. G. Wolf received an artificial-tree patent on April 2, 1878. By the late 1950s, aluminum trees brought a dazzling new look into American homes. Look closer: what makes a tree feel like Christmas—the material, the ornaments, or the memories we hang on it?
02 · SILENT NIGHT A song that traveled the world On Christmas Eve, 1818, Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber performed “Stille Nacht” at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. Mohr wrote the words; Gruber composed the music. Before the song came the candlelight: the Moravian Christmas Eve candlelight tradition reaches back to 1747—71 years earlier. These are two distinct stories of Christmas light and song. Look closer: a song first heard in German became a Christmas memory shared across languages and borders. What version did you first learn?
03 · FOUR DATES, FOUR CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS One season. More than one calendar. DECEMBER 6 · St. Nicholas Day: the saint’s feast day, with gift-giving customs in many European communities. DECEMBER 25 · Christmas Day: the celebration of Christ’s birth and, in many homes, Santa’s Christmas-morning gifts. JANUARY 6 · Epiphany / Three Kings: the Magi’s visit and, in many traditions, another day for giving gifts. JANUARY 7 · Christmas for churches observing December 25 on the Julian calendar. Not all Orthodox Christians celebrate on January 7. Look closer: January 7 is not a different birthday. It is December 25 on a different calendar, at the present calendar offset. Which dates does your family keep?
04 · THE NINTH NAMED REINDEER A story. A song. A television classic. 1939 · Robert L. May created Rudolph for Montgomery Ward. The red-nosed outsider entered Christmas through a department-store booklet. 1949 · Johnny Marks turned the story into a song. Gene Autry’s recording helped Rudolph become a household name. 1964 · The Rankin/Bass television special gave the story another life on screen. Look closer: the Rudolph you remember may have arrived through a book, a record, or a television set. Which came first for you? From the archive: hear songwriter Johnny Marks in conversation with Ian Whitcomb. The interview is part of this file’s companion material.
05 · MACY’S, MIRACLES & A $162,500 SANTA When a department-store Santa became a movie legend In 1946, Edmund Gwenn appeared as Santa in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while filming Miracle on 34th Street. The film reached audiences in 1947, and his Kris Kringle won an Academy Award for supporting actor. The parade’s Santa tradition continued beyond the screen. Charles W. Howard portrayed Macy’s parade Santa from 1948 through 1965. And the $162,500 Santa? That was the auction price of Gwenn’s Oscar in December 2022—not the price of his red suit. Look closer: a department store, a parade, a film, and a golden statuette all helped carry the same Christmas character forward. What makes a performance become the Santa we believe in?