• The Battle for Christmas, by Stephen Nissenbaum, ISBN 0-679 74038-4 – Probably one of the best books on understanding Christmas in America.
• Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men, by Phyllis Siefker, ISBN 978-0-7864 2958-5 – Good for understanding the early roots of the Santa Tradition.
• When Santa was a Shaman, by Tony van Renterghem, ISBN 1-56718 765-X – All over the place, but the pull out timeline and drawings are cool.
• Americas Favorite Holidays, Candid Histories, by Bruce David Forbes, ISBN 978-0-520-28472-2 – One of the best explanations of how we got to where we are today.
• Merry Christmas by Karal Ann Marling, ISBN 0-674-00679-8 – An odd book, which focuses on the history of Christmas related products. Not an easy read, but interesting.
• Christmas Curiosities (a picture book) by John Grossman, ISBN 978-1 58479-699-2 – The pictures in this book really show how varied our history is!
• Twas The Night, by Pamela McColl • Write Pamela at: twasthenightbook@gmail.com • https://twasthenightbook.com/ • More Book Learning Moments
• We were marching on Christmas Day, by Kevin Rawlings, ISBN 0 9612670-4-6 – Santa and the Civil war: An eye-opening book about the evolution of both.
• Inventing Christmas, how our Holiday came to be, by Jock Elliott, ISBN 0-8109-3493-0 – A little light on the research, but the photos and drawings are amazing.
• Encyclopedia of Christmas & New Year’s Celebrations, by Tanya Gulevich, ISBN 0-7808-0625-5 – This is a great, pick it up, read a bit, put it down book, and a good resource.
• Saint Nicholas of Myra, Bari, and Manhattan, by Charles W. Jones. ISBN 0-226-40699-7 – What a slog of a book. But, if you want to know the actual miracles associated with Nicholas and see some of the truly odd turns his legend took, it’s worth tediously chewing through.
• Thomas Nast’s Christmas Drawings (a picture book), Intro by Thomas Nast St. Hill, ISBN 0-486-23660-9 – If you want Advanced Performance, Feb-Mar 2026 Page 27 of 48 © Christmas Performer Workshops® to see one of the main influences on the Santa Legend, you need this book.
• The Book of Christmas, (from the Enchanted World/Time Life book series) by Brendan Lehane ISBN 0-8094 5261-8 – It has taken me many years to get the whole series together and, as a storyteller, they are one of my most beloved possessions. The Book of Christmas is hard to find in good shape, but beautifully done. Lovely stories and illustrations, not very thick, alas.