About the presentation:

Christmas Day has been an official American holiday since 1870; however, the celebration traces its beginnings to the fourth century and was probably combined with several pagan festivals. Because of this, connections to events like Yuletide prompted Puritans to ban Christmas. By the 19th century, Christmas trees with candles, mistletoe, and sumptuous meals became commonplace. St. Nicholas was an old Nordic tradition and was an actual person dating to the third century. Nevertheless, the German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast first sketched the beloved image of Santa Claus in 1861 depicting the figure we still revere today.