By December of 1878, Carl Sandburg, the first male child of August and Clara Sandburg, was nearly a year old. He was too young to be interested in toys or any of the excitement of Christmas.

Galesburg had been founded by Presbyterian and Congregational church members who didn't celebrate Christmas. Classes at Knox College, the establishment of which was the purpose of founding the town, were conducted on December 25^th, like any other day.

The Swedish immigrants brought their Christmas traditions with them. Gradually, more and more families celebrated with decorated evergreen trees, family dinners and gifts.

In 1871, the young people of the First Church announced they were going to put up a Christmas tree for the Sunday School children. The tree was raised and the world didn't end. The children enjoyed their oranges, candy canes and sacks of peanuts. These were deemed fine gifts at the time.

The merchants of Galesburg soon began to offer goods to satisfy the needs and desires of their customers. The advertisements in the December 7, 1878, Republican-Register were short paragraphs within the news columns. The merchants seem to be speaking directly to readers about the quality of the merchandise, low prices and the variety of stock for sale. Here are a few examples:

Harris' kid gloves, in all the new shades at E. Henner's.

A choice lot of ladies muslin underwear just received at the Boston 99 Cent Store.

For a complete assortment and liberal prices you can do no better than to give Knowles' a call.

An elegant display of Holman's Family Bibles is to be seen at Knowles book store.

We shan't blind you with a great long list of prices on goods that can be varied to suit. Mind you, we will not be undersold. Market House, I.R. Greene and J. Bruington.

On December 14^th, Miss B. Ferguson, 14 West Main Street, advertised that her shop had just received a large stock of the most desirable shapes in felt and straw hats, with all the latest novelties in fancy feathers and plumes. In those day, no lady went calling or shopping without wearing a hat. Decorating one's own chapeau was an art which many women considered a necessity.

“Holiday Goods” was the title of two columns of print on December 21^st, lauding the merchandise some of the store owners of Galesburg offered for sale. The Republican-Register wanted its readers to know that its advertisers had the largest selection and the best prices. The list included books and stationery (Fahnestock & Fuller), boots and shoes (Metz & Jackson), confectionery (Jonas F. Anderson), men's clothing (J.R. Gordon, C.C. Merrill and A. Jacobi), fancy goods for ladies (John B. Colton, G.A. Murdock, O.T. Johnson and M.C. Willard), hats, caps and furs (Solomon Spear at the northeast corner of Main and Prairie Streets), jewelry (Trask & Gentry, Merzog & Meyer), meats (A.C. Redfield on the northeast corner of the Square), wallpaper and paint (Cook & Beach) and auctioneers, L. Miller & Company who operated a “business museum” of collectable items and furniture for sale.

And finally, “If you want to be happy and prosperous..., walk into the office, and subscribe to the Daily or Weekly Republican-Register.