Christmas Stories

I've always enjoyed enhancing each season with the books I read. It makes everything more festive and helps me to experience the seasons deeply. This is the first Christmas season that I've sought specific and relevant books. In past years, I've spent an afternoon during December reading the children's picture books we've collected over the years, but this year I branched out a little:

For book club, we chose Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was my first foray into Dickens' bibliography, and I was glad that I was familiar with the story. Dickens is not all together difficult, but when I next read The Chimes I had a tough time discerning the point of the story. A Christmas Carol though was lovely and it as clear why it has become the holiday favorite.

I followed with Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. This is a middle-school level story about a group of horrible neighborhood children who manage to get themselves cast as all the leading characters in the church Christmas pageant and the chaos that ensues. It is a very funny, sweet, and, in the end, heartwarming story. It brings the reader to a more humble understanding of the Christmas story without being overly holy and sacred.

Finally, I read the lovely story of The Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke. This is the short story of Artaban, the fourth Wise Man, who missed the caravan and spent thirty-three years on the heels of Jesus, missing him every time, and spending his gifts for the King (a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl) on various acts of great love. Finally, as the ground shakes when Jesus is crucified, and as Artaban has given away his last gift, the story of God's great love is revealed. It is a gentle, lovely, and beautifully told story, again, without religion being thrown at you.

Each year Christmas is met with such joy. I love the comfort of old stories and the excitement of new ones. I hope each year to revisit the classics that I grew up with and find new stories to help enrich the season. I hope that you had a happy holiday and wish all our readers a very blessed New Year!