Christmas century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and southern Europe. At the Reformation in 16th–17th-century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or "Christkindl", corrupted in English to Kris Kringle, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve. The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the United States, and in particular in New York. The transformation was accomplished with the aid of notable contributors including Washington Irving and the German-American cartoonist
This Is The Time: The Christmas Album This Is The Time: The Christmas Album This Is the Time: The Christmas Album is an album by Michael Bolton, released on October 1, 1996. Bolton's first Christmas release, it contains two new songs: "This Is the Time" (performed with Wynonna Judd), and "Love Is the Power", while the others were covers of traditional Christmas songs. "Ave Maria" was performed with Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo. "White Christmas" was a single off the album "", but was also included on this album. The CD was an "enhanced" CD containing additional material viewable on a computer, including a video of "White Christmas",