http://www.uttyl.edu/vbetts/christmas.htm Christmas Articles from Civil War Newspapers I think it was on this list late last year that someone has asked what Christmas would have been like about 1850. The item above is interesting reading and not far off in time. As I expected, there is not a mention of a Christmas tree anywhere. That was a late nineteenth century addition to Christmas in the United States. A drwaing in one paper showed Santa wearing "striped knee britches with three buttons, striped stockings." The red-suited Santa we all love was the creation of mass market Coca Cola advertisements. One thing which did strike me is that in 1860 the commercialization of Christmas was already well underway. David