 Irving's book was a lampoon of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this portrait is his joking invention.Irving's interpretation of Santa Claus was part of a broader movement to tone down the increasingly wild Christmas celebrations of the era, which included aggressive home invasions under the guise of wassailing, substantial premarital sex (leading to shotgun weddings in areas where the Puritans, waning in power and firmly opposed to Christmas, still held some influence) and public displays of sexual deviancy; the celebrations of the era were derided by both upper-class merchants and Christian purists alike.In 1821, the book "A New-year's present, to the little ones from five to twelve" was published in New York.