Dave Tabler’s Delaware at Christmas is a well-researched deep dive into the rich Christmas traditions brought to the First State by early settlers. Its illustrated pages explore the origins of everything from eggnog to sleigh bells and more.

Readers who are devoutly interested in Delaware’s storied past will find their fill of arcane information in these pages. For example, Tabler notes that on heavy snow days in many Delaware towns, wheeled vehicles became useless and sleighs crowded the streets. Drivers of these sleighs, moving very fast, relied on their loud sleigh bells to avoid collisions.

One of the first celebrations of Kwanzaa began in Delaware sometime in the late 1960s, when the state played a strong part in the development of America’s independent, black churches.

The author also points out the influence of Swedish and Finnish immigrants in bringing a colorful character to life in the state, whom today we call Santa Claus. His name early on was Sinterklaas, and he certainly was not a jolly old elf back then: “Sinterklaas came accompanied by his Moorish servant Piet (Pete), a grinning fellow with a birch rod, whose sack full of goodies, when emptied, is [sic] large enough to carry away any naughty children.”

The information offered, rich with detail, is conveyed in a conversational tone. However, some readers might find the going a little slow, as much of the book’s best content lies embedded in captions and a strange section at the end of the book called “Chapter Continuations,” which offers lengthy postscripts tied to earlier pages in the book. (It’s unclear why this information couldn’t have been included on the pages cited, making for easier absorption of the material.)

Despite such presentation issues, readers from Delaware should find this information about some of the state’s most beloved Christmas customs interesting and illuminating.