There’s a scene in the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation where the Griswold family is gathered together, Christmas tree lights twinkling in the background, reading aloud “’Twas the Night Before
Christmas”, Clement Clark Moore’s classic poem. And for many families, that’s
not just an idyllic holiday tradition staged for a film; in the hustle and bustle of the
holiday season, there’s something to be said for taking time to slow down and
sit curled in a favorite chair or on the couch, cozily reading (by yourself, or
with loved ones snuggled up close).
In that spirit, during this often-too-busy season, here are some suggestions for holiday stories to slow down with and savor. Most of them are no more than a few
pages, so whether you can only spare fifteen minutes of solitude to catch your
breath or you’ve carved out an entire evening’s worth of time for yourself, you
can read these one by one or all at once. So grab a blanket, a warm mug of a favorite drink, and settle in for a long (or short) winter's read.
Bertie’s Christmas Eve by Saki
“Dang kids nowadays!”—that's the cliché refrain of a stereotypical
crabby older person, upset and disillusioned with the youth of today. As Saki’s
short story proves though, it’s not just the older generations of our modern
day who dealt with rebellious "ne'er-do-wells"; they were around in the 1800s causing trouble too.
In Bertie's Christmas Eve, we join the Steffink family’s party as they entertain
guests for the holiday. Like most young adults, now and then, Bertie Steffink
begrudgingly tolerates the celebration until a mention of an old Christmastime
belief gives him an idea about how he can liven up the party.
Saki was the pen name of British writer H.H. Munro, who is
considered by many to be one of the masters of the short story genre. His work
often satirized Edwardian era culture and society, and are known for sometimes
having mischievous elements in them. Bertie’s Christmas Eve is a prime example
of this, and while it’s not nice to laugh at other people’s misfortune, you probably
won’t be able to stop yourself from at least smiling at what Bertie does to
make his night a little bit more interesting.
You can find a link to this story at:
Christmas; or, The Good Fairy by Harriet Beecher Stowe
American writer and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe may
be best known for her most famous work, the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s
Cabin, but her belief in caring and compassion comes through very clearly in
this short story too.
First set in the house of a well-off young lady named Ella, readers have the chance to listen to her conversation with a friend as she laments about what
kind of Christmas gifts she should buy for the people on her list who seem to (truly) “have it all”. When her Aunt Eleanor chimes in and suggests that she put her money to a more charitable use, Ella learns that "gifts coming from love, and tending to produce love; these are the appropriate gifts of the day."
You can find a link to this story at: www.americanliterature.com
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
People all over the world recognize the name Hans Christian
Andersen, the Danish writer probably best known for the fairy tales he crafted.
His work has had such a lasting impact that each year, Hans Christian
Andersen’s birthday, April 2nd, is celebrated as International
Children’s Book Day.
In a season of peacefulness and cheer, The Little Match Girl might
seem like an odd choice to include on my holiday reading list. Yes, it’s set in
winter, on a snowy New Year’s Eve, but (without giving too much away for those
who haven’t read it yet) on the surface it might seem like there's not much comfort and joy to be found within the story. It's the vivid descriptions of what the little match girl sees that icy evening and
the promise of hope even when things seem like they can’t possibly get any
bleaker that make this a beautiful story that's moved readers for well over a century.
You can find a link to this story at: www.online-literature.com
The Legend of the Christmas Spider
If I mention the word “spiders”, I’ll bet you a million
dollars that the first holiday you think of is one that involves pumpkins
and costumes, not one with evergreen trees and gift-wrapped presents. But in
this folktale that has its roots in the Ukraine and Germany, spiders are the unlikely stars of this legend.
Curious about a special visitor that the mother of the house has spent all day preparing for, the timid spiders unwittingly make Christmas a little more festive for the family they live with when they go exploring later that night. I’ve never been a fan of spiders, but for the well-meaning arachnids in this story, I'll make an exception.
You can find a link at: www.kraftmstr.com
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
I can’t say that I’ve saved the best for last, since I
chose all of the stories here because there was something in them that made me want to share their bits of magic. If one shines just a
tiny bit brighter though, like the star atop a Christmas tree, it would have to be The
Gift of the Magi, a story that both captivated me and broke my heart since I first read
it, many, many years ago.
Introduced to Della and Jim, a young married couple, on the day before Christmas, readers follow Della as she struggles to get the perfect gift for her husband. Things quickly turn into a bittersweet comedy of errors when she gives Jim his present, and she unwraps the one that he's gotten for her. Without revealing too much here, I'll just say that, to me, it embodies the very meaning of the season: selflessness and giving that is done out of love.
You can find a link to this story at: www.eastoftheweb.com
No matter what
holidays you might celebrate, peace and joy to you and yours. What are some of your favorite winter tales?
