There are so many good Christmas stories. I always enjoyed reading them at this time of year. They were all so colorful and hopeful and full of miracles. A child’s imagination could really soar. They were our TV stories and often read to us on our father’s or mother’s lap. My father was a good storyteller and I took every chance I could get to sit in his lap and listen to his deep voice as he told me the story of Christmas from one Christmas book or another.
This video is one of the many films made about “The Little Match Girl,” by Hans Christian Andersen. This is the 1954 version.
The most noteworthy of these stories includes the story actually in the form of a poem, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” or as it is also called, “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.” The author of this poem is debatable but is most often attributed to Clement C. Moore. I used to read this one to my sister, Sally, sometime during the Christmas season. We also had a classmate, Veronica Murry, who took elocution lessons. She would recite this poem for us in school.
“The Littlest Angel,” by Charles Tazewell, came out in 1946. It’s the story of a young boy who has just become an angel and misses the box of treasures he left under his bed. He is given this box and is very happy. He ends up giving the baby Jesus his box of treasures which include a butterfly, a bird’s eye, and several stories. He cries when he thinks that the gift may not be good enough for Jesus. Jesus answers, “Of all the gifts of all the angels, I find this small box pleases the most.”
There are several stories based on this same premise, a gift for the new baby Jesus. “The Little Drummer Boy” comes to mind.
There is also the story that is an adult story as well, “The Gift of the Magi,” by William Sydney Porter. The characters in “The Gift of the Magi” are a poor couple who can’t afford to give each other a Christmas present. She cuts her hair to buy him a watch chain; and he sells his watch to give her a comb to put in her hair. Her hair and his watch are their most prized possessions but they were willing to give them up to please the other. It ends up that the comb will not fit in her shorter hair and the chain is useless without the watch. The narrator summarizes that their gifts are as wise as the gifts that the magi brought to Christ because their gifts were given out of surrendered treasures and a loving heart. A good moral lesson for all who read the story.
Of course the biggest of all Christmas stories is Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” It probably is one of the most reprinted Christmas stories as well as being one of the biggest Christmas stories on the screen. I think I’ve seen most all of them. Many people don’t realize that Dickens also wrote two other Christmas stories, “The Cricket on the Hearth” and Chimes.”
My sister loved the Little Golden Books they sold at the grocery store. She begged mother for a new one every Friday when my mother went grocery shopping. They presently are celebrating their 65th anniversary. I found two Little Golden Books having to do with Christmas, “The Night Before Christmas” and “Santa’s Toy Shop.”
It is also the 50th anniversary of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” by Dr. Seuss. Some stories are quite recent and have movies also like “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which were songs to begin with. I remember Gene Autry singing these tales.
Did you ever read any of these stories: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Legend of the Christmas Stocking,” and “The Christmas Candle?” We also have the recent story called “The Polar Express” which was made into a wonderful movie.
I ran across the complete story, “The Other Wise Man” online. You can read it in its entirety at www.fullbooks.com/The-Story-of-the-Other-Wise-Man.html. You can find other stories to read at that site also.
Lastly, we must mention the story “Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus.” The story was published in the New York Sun September 21, 1897. Written by Francis Pharcellus Church, pictured here, he signed it Anonymous. It is an answer on the editorial page to the question posed by an eight-year-old named Virginia O’Hanlon.
I hope you will find a child or even a group of children to read to this Christmas season. Children who are read to turn out to be pretty good readers themselves. It’s a great gift to give any child. I may also mention that the Owl & Turtle Bookshop in Camden is accepting books to give to children this Christmas. Enjoy and pass on your favorite Christmas story to the next generation.
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