This is a beautifully produced 'Christmas book', with many vintage and modern photographs related to the Moravian observance of Christmas in American South: the churches where they worshipped ,their Christmas trees, and decorations as well as photographs of secular Christmas features contemporary with the period covered; roughly 1750's - 1950. The author provides a brief history of the "Moravians in the South", proceeds to provide an interesting and entertaining description of the Moravian Christmas. One might consider this a nice Social History of the Southern Moravian Christmas experience: It is not just that these folks put up decorations and baked buns but that, those things were 'of a piece' with their Christian Faith and how it related to their church family and community. But this is NOT a religious production.

The author has taken pains - awkwardly, I believe - to glide over the seriously Christocentric mindset of the Moravians, that would have informed their celebration of Christmas. She states she is not a "theological person" or of Moravian background. This is fair enough. But Moravians did not celebrate Christmas because they were of a "whatever" "religious bent". Perhaps Ms.Smith - Thomas did not want to offend those of other faiths or of no faith. In which case, CHRISTmas is not the subject one ought to write about.

This is a popular but scholarly work. The narrative will be interesting to adults but the photographs will be appreciated by children as well. There is a substantive Bibliography, footnotes, index and photography credits.

The book is bound in a deep red cloth (real cloth not paper) with gilt printing on the spine.