The documentary traces the evolution of the celebration of Christmas from ancient times until the present day. It is sprinkled with comments from such luminaries as Jean Shepherd, Alan Dundes and Forrest Church, among others, and makes liberal use of film and television clips from It's a Wonderful Life, Mickey's Christmas Carol, rare silent film versions of A Visit from St. Nicholas, the film A Christmas Story, and a seldom seen, extremely low-budget, 1949 television version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (which is, however, mistakenly identified as having been made in 1958).