Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-207).

Christmas chronicles -- Christmas Eve in a sod house / Hugo Nisbeth -- No sound of joyous Christmas bells / Mary Dodge Woodward -- In the American fashion / Works Progress Administration -- Screaming their excited delight / Melvin L. Frank -- Christmas on the Gunflint / Justine Kerfoot -- A Christmas tree for birds / Florence Page Jaques -- Once again it is Christmas / Wendell Anderson -- Where are the trees? / Robert Treuer -- They want to hear a story / Faith Sullivan -- Like the haunting croon of Goodman's clarinet / Roger MacDonald -- This is my favorite part / Lorna Landvik -- Celebrating Christmas in Lake Wobegon / Garrison Keillor -- Christmas-- is really a terrible day / Charles Flandrau -- Off the hook / Charles M. Schulz -- It's the light / Cathy Mauk -- The Christmas question / Jonis Agee -- Christmas in the city / Lee Mero -- My Middle West / F. Scott Fitzgerald -- You could hear sleigh bells / Walter O'Meara -- Closer to the ground / Jerry Fearing -- My December duty / Bill Holm -- How much for this tree without limbs / Louie Anderson -- Afterthoughts on Christmas trees / Barton Sutter -- Cold feet / Emily Carter -- The gift of oranges / Beatrice Fines -- Betsy, Tacy, and Tib go Christmas shopping / Maud Hart Lovelace -- What a Christmas shopper found / an anonymous lady -- A day of excitement, of joy / Harrison Salisbury -- I dreamed I was in New Ulm / Celia Tauer -- Daddy's gift / Evelyn Fairbanks -- One more saving grace / Cheri Register -- In stitches / Sam Cook -- A cut-glass Christmas / Susan Allen Toth -- Gifts / Maura Stanton -- Promises of bright, warm days coming / Samuel Hynes -- Something "different" / Kevin Kling -- A Christmas for their souls / Vilhelm Moberg -- Strange and unusual holidays / Civil War soldiers -- Come and eat, eat / Otis Terpening -- Celebration and saunas / Shirley Schoonover -- The kookie never krumbles / Nick Fauchald -- Dinner guests / Helen Hoover -- Coins of the realm / Susan Hauser -- Mickey's Diner / Colleen Kruse -- A Minnesota Christmas Eve feast -- Santi Claw / Syl Jones -- Carol's Christmas / Sinclair Lewis -- An adolescent's Christmas / Carol Bly -- Driving my parents home at Christmas / Robert Bly -- Everybody smile / Michael Fedo -- How am I doing, Dad? / Jon Hassler -- I will never forget : letters.