James Kirke Paulding, like his famous contemporary, Washington Irving, was known for his colorful tales of the
Dutch tradition and customs in the Hudson Valley. Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, Paulding wrote a number of Christmas tales, the best of which are brought together in this collection and which predate Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

Paulding presents his stories as they have been translated from the original Dutch by a fictitious author. In them Saint Nicholas--a sixteenth-century Dutch Protestant baker--miraculously befriends chose who uphold Dutch traditions and sets straight chose who are either mean or given to "newfangled notions."

Younger children will greatly enjoy "The Origins of the Baker's Dozen," "Claas Schlaschenschlinger," and, for the most pare, "The Ride of St. Nicholas on Newyear's Eve." Stories of St. Nicholas will appeal to general readers and especially those interested in the New York Dutch customs and traditions.