American soldiers are more than combatants on a battlefield, they are also representatives of America and her people. On an overcast day in 1944, two soldiers from the 28th Infantry Division gave a remarkable Christmas gift to the people of Wiltz, Luxembourg - a gift that changed the people of Wiltz forever.

The American St. Nick tells the remarkable TRUE story of a handful of American soldiers who during the chaos of war, help bring Christmas back a small Luxembourg town, and unknowingly create a holiday tradition that continues to this very day! It's December 1944, the Germans are retreating. It appears the war in Europe may be over soon, but not soon enough for members of the battle-worn 28th Infantry Division. Knowing they won't be home again for the Holidays, soldiers from a 112th regiment Signal Company Message Center in the storybook town of Wiltz, realize that although the town has been liberated after nearly five years of Nazi occupation, the ravages of war have left the townspeople with nothing to celebrate the season. For the children, it will be especially bleak without the hope of candies, treats or gifts on the normally town-wide celebration of St. Nicolas Day. Hearing this, Corporal Harry Stutz gets an idea. He gathers some fellow soldiers and together they organize a Christmas party for the children, a party that will include a special visit from St. Nicolas himself, thanks to a reluctant Corporal Richard Brookins. Wearing the mass robes of the local priest and a crudely fashioned rope beard to complete the costume, St. Nicolas rides through town on an Army jeep, stopping to meet the children and passing out treats baked by the Army cooks or donated from the soldier's care packages from home. Later the celebration continues with a party for all the children at the Wiltz Castle. It is a wonderful day for the children of Wiltz and for the American soldiers as well. Ten days later however the Battle of the Bulge erupts in the Ardennes; Wiltz and the 28th Infantry Division are overrun. In the weeks of fighting that followed, most of the town is damaged or destroyed, mostly from Allied bombing. Tragically, some of the townspeople including children were killed. The joy of that one St. Nicolas day was gone...but not forgotten. Following the war Wiltz rebuilt and those who survived vowed never to forget the kindness and generosity of those few American soldiers that one St. Nicolas Day. From then on, to honor those soldiers, the Wiltz St. Nicolas Day celebration would include a new tradition: someone would dress not as St. Nicolas, but rather as the American St. Nicolas and recreate his 1944 Jeep ride through town and party after. This tradition has continued faithfully for more than seven decades. An amazing TRUE story of war, honor, luck and love, The American St. Nick is a thrilling and heart-warming holiday classic packed full of incredible details that will amaze, entertain and delight.

American soldiers are more than combatants on a battlefield, they are also representatives of America and her people. On an overcast day in 1944, two soldiers from the 28th Infantry Division gave a remarkable Christmas gift to the people of Wiltz, Luxembourg - a gift that changed the people of Wiltz forever.

This is a comprehensive history of the world's midwinter gift-givers, showcasing the extreme diversity in their depictions as well as the many traits and functions these characters share. It tracks the evolution of these figures from the tribal priests who presided over winter solstice celebrations thousands of years before the birth of Christ, to Christian notables like St. Martin and St. Nicholas, to a variety of secular figures who emerged throughout Europe following the Protestant Reformation. Finally, it explains how the popularity of a poem about a "miniature sleigh" and "eight tiny reindeer" helped consolidate the diverse European gift-givers into an enduring tradition in which American children awake early on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. Although the names, appearance, attire and gift-giving practices of the world's winter solstice gift-givers differ greatly, they are all recognizable as Santa, the personification of the Christmas and Midwinter festivals. Despite efforts to eliminate him by groups as diverse as the Puritans of seventeenth century New England, the Communist Party of the twentieth century Soviet Union and the government of Nazi Germany, Santa has survived and prospered, becoming one of the best known and most beloved figures in the world.

This is the story of how a humble, gift-giving bishop in southern Asia Minor in the fourth century was transformed into the highly revered St. Nicholas throughout Europe and much later in America as the jolly St. Nick/Santa Claus.

This is a comprehensive history of the world's midwinter gift-givers, showcasing the extreme diversity in their depictions as well as the many traits and functions these characters share. It tracks the evolution of these figures from the tribal priests who presided over winter solstice celebrations thousands of years before the birth of Christ, to Christian notables like St. Martin and St. Nicholas, to a variety of secular figures who emerged throughout Europe following the Protestant Reformation. Finally, it explains how the popularity of a poem about a "miniature sleigh" and "eight tiny reindeer" helped consolidate the diverse European gift-givers into an enduring tradition in which American children awake early on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. Although the names, appearance, attire and gift-giving practices of the world's winter solstice gift-givers differ greatly, they are all recognizable as Santa, the personification of the Christmas and Midwinter festivals. Despite efforts to eliminate him by groups as diverse as the Puritans of seventeenth century New England, the Communist Party of the twentieth century Soviet Union and the government of Nazi Germany, Santa has survived and prospered, becoming one of the best known and most beloved figures in the world.