Holiday dragons are a very mysterious breed. They are only seen during winter, and even then it is hard to catch a glimpse of one. They are responsible for the general cheer that spreads during the holidays. In essence, they are the “Spirits of Winter.”

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

Dear Mary is a delicate soul who, constantly fraught with attacks of anxiety and bouts of depression, find her role as a "spreader of cheer" a burden and ironic. Distressed as an egg by some unknown event, she has been plagued since youth with mental issues. The other dragons attempt to comfort her, but since Mary is shy she finds their advances to be worrisome and unwanted. The only dragon she confides with is quiet Melia, who is affected with a similar shyness.