This image is the cover for the book Christmas in Detroit

Christmas in Detroit

Yuletide in the Motor City


No city seems to love Christmas as much as Detroit. Whether at Hudson's, or sitting at the Fox Theatre, or seeing the hundreds of dolls and live reindeer at the famous Rotunda, the city can't get enough of the holiday season. Detroiters have been celebrating Christmas for over 300 years, when the city was French and children waited for Pere Noel. As holiday traditions evolve, some endure, like Christmas trees and children writing letters to Santa. Some, such as meat pie and saying 1,000 Hail Marys for good luck, fade, and new ones--Santa at the Thanksgiving Day Parade--take their place.


Local history writer Bill Loomis leads a very merry jaunt through the happiest days of Christmas in Detroit.

Bill Loomis

Motor City native Bill Loomis is the author of Detroit's Delectable Past, Detroit Food, On This Day in Detroit History and Secret Societies in Detroit, as well as numerous articles for the Detroit News, Michigan History Magazine, Hour Detroit, Crains Business Detroit and a variety of national media, such as the New York Times. He has been interviewed on the PBS radio show Splendid Table and was a regular contributor to Stateside with Cynthia Canty on PBS-WUOM in Ann Arbor. He also appears regularly on Detroit talk shows and history-based shows like Mysteries at the Museum. He lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and four children.

The History Press