This is an I-Heart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star, or the American people of the star.

And where your stories are welcome, send them to Our American Stories.com.

They're some of our favorites.

Our next story comes to us for a man who's simply known as the History Guy.

His videos are watched by hundreds of thousands of people of all ages on YouTube.

The History Guy is also heard right here at Our American Stories. Here's the history guy

remembering the forgotten stories from U.S. military history. Christmas is traditionally

a family holiday in the United States, but it wasn't always the case.

In fact, in early US history, Christmas was often rejected, as being too British, or if it was celebrated, was more of a rowdy celebration than a family celebration.

Many historians credit the change in American Christmas traditions to five installments of the sketchbook of Jeffrey Crayan by author Washington

Irving that were published in January of 1820.

The sketchbook followed the fictional Jeffrey Crayan as he celebrated Christmas traditions

in an English manor house, and those traditions were actually not based on any real celebration.

They were largely fabricated by Washington Irving, but they conjured

up that idea of a holiday spent with family, with goodwill towards all, that became the American

Christmas tradition. And as we celebrate those traditions, we should be mindful of those who, for whatever

reason, are unable to be near their family during the holiday season, especially those whose service keeps them far from hearth and home.

Christmas 1776 was busy for George Washington and the Continental Army.

At 4 p.m. on Christmas Day, the army turned out for their evening parade.

They were issued ammunition until that they were departing on a secret mission.

At 6 p.m. they started crossing the Delaware River, a feat that the man in charge of the crossing,

...