For more than a thousand years, we have evidence that Christmas has been a time of joy and celebration, but just what kind of celebration depends on time and place.

Not surprisingly, North American Christmas traditions are a blend of customs.

In England during the 1700s, Christmas was a time for parties, fox hunts, balls, and merry-making -- all the province of adults with no wide-eyed children in sight.

Meanwhile, in colonial Williamsburg, as you might expect, Christmas was treated very much as a religious holiday, centered first around church services, and then around friends, family -- and, of course, food. In these celebrations, children were almost certainly included and encouraged to participate, setting American colonists apart from their British contemporaries.

The tradition of the Christmas tree seems correctly attributed to Germans. More than 1,500 years ago, a monk who became known as St. Boniface used a fir tree to explain the Trinity to his German audience. By the 12th century, the tree was commonly hung upside down from ceilings at Christmastide.

Although there exist reports of decorated trees in England and Germany in the 15th century, the custom of a Christmas tree didn't really catch on in England until 1848. At that time, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the United Kingdom were pictured in the Illustrated London News standing with family around a decorated tree. Suddenly, the Christmas tree was all the fashion.

While Americans are often accused of over-lavish Christmases, Victorian celebrations of the 1890s were really over the top: Heaps of toys, food, and trees crammed with every kind of decoration.

By contrast, on the vast American continent, traditions varied, but by 1900, all the elements of the modern Christmas were in place. Woolworths sold decorations and even little hooks to hang them on. Strings of lights were available. And people had fully embraced the tradition of giving gifts to loved ones.