American Christmas stories / edited and with an introduction by Connie Willis.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction / Connie Willis -- How Santa Claus came to Simpson's Bar / Bret Harte -- Kate's choice / Louisa May Alcott -- A letter from Santa Claus / Mark Twain -- Found after thirty-five years-Lucy Marshall's letter / J. B. Moore Bristor -- From the garden of a friend / Mary Agnes Tincker -- Christmas every day / William Dean Howells -- Thurlow's Christmas story / John Kendrick Bangs -- Klondike Christmas / Jack London -- A little pilgrim / Stephen Crane -- An old-time Christmas / Paul Laurence Dunbar -- General Washington / Pauline E. Hopkins -- The kid hangs up his stocking / Jacob Riis -- The set of Poe / George Ade -- A chaparral Christmas gift / O. Henry -- According to Solomon / Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- The picture puzzle / Edward Lucas White -- A Christmas party that prevented a split in the church / Margaret Black -- The Christmas magazines : and the inevitable story of the snowbound train / Dorothy Parker -- Christmas afternoon / Robert Benchley -- The sermon in the cradle / W.E.B. Du Bois -- Holiday thoughts / Ben Hecht -- Bethlehem, Dec. 25 / Heywood Broun -- The tree that didn't get trimmed / Christopher Morley -- A criminal's Christmas / Sherwood Anderson -- A visit from Saint Nicholas / James Thurber -- One Christmas Eve / Langston Hughes -- The three wise guys / Damon Runyon -- Mr. K*A*P*L*A*N and the magi / Leo Rosten -- Santa Claus is a white man / John Henrik Clarke -- Back for Christmas / John Collier -- No room at the inn / Edna Ferber -- Two people he never saw / John McNulty -- The butler's Christmas Eve / Mary Roberts Rienhart -- A Christmas story / Katherine Anne Porter -- "Santa Clo" comes to La Cuchilla / Abelardo Díaz Alfaro -- The gift / Ray Bradbury -- Christmas trombone / Raymond E. Banks -- The wild wood / Mildred Clingerman -- From Raising Demons / Shirley Jackson -- The loudest voice / Grace Paley -- The Christmas of the phonograph records / Mari Sandoz -- The big rock candy figgy pudding pitfall / Joan Didion -- The carol sing / John Updike -- The night before Christmas / Tomás Rivera -- The Santa Claus compromise / Thomas M. Disch -- The Christmas kid / Pete Hamill -- The war beneath the tree / Gene Wolfe -- Track of a legend / Cynthia Felice -- And all through the house / Ed McBain -- The impossible snowsuit of Christmas past / George V. Higgins -- The H Street sledding record / Ron Carlson -- Buzz / Steve Rasnic -- Fish cheeks / Amy Tan -- Checkup / Ann Petry -- Three wise guys / Sandra Cisneros -- Inn / Connie Willis -- Ixchel's tears / José R. Nieto -- Reb Kringle / Nathan Englander -- A young candy daughter / Nalo Hopkinson.

"Christmas took on its modern cast in America, and over the last 150 years the most magical time of the year has inspired scores of astonishingly diverse and ingenious stories. Library of America joins with acclaimed author Connie Willis to present a unparalleled collection of American stories about Christmas, literary gems that showcase how the holiday became one of the signature aspects of our culture. Spanning from the origins of the American tradition of holiday storytelling in the wake of the Civil War to today, this is the biggest and best anthology of American Christmas stories ever assembled. From ghost stories to the genres of crime, science fiction, fantasy, westerns, humor, and horror, stories of Christmas morning, gifts, wise men, nativities, family, commercialism, and dinners from New York to Texas to outer space, this anthology reveals the evolution of Christmas in America--as well as the surprising ways in which it has remained the same."--Amazon.