Drawing on a wealth of period documents and illustrations, "The Battle for Christmas" "challenges and demolishes a variety of cherished assumptions" ("Newsday"), recalling the pagan carnival at which drunken "wassailers" extorted food and drink from the well-to-do; the Puritan ban on Christmas celebrations; and the early 19th-century campaign to domesticate the holiday. 46 photos | The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum, Paperback | Indigo Chapters