In just a few days, Christmas will be with us once again. In celebration of this greatest of holidays, we have put together a follow up list to our first “Top 10 Christmas Books“. With this selection, we have tried to pick books that are less familiar to people – in the hopes that we can expand on future Christmas reading for you all. Enjoy the list, and most of all, have a Merry Christmas!
This fantasy (by the creator of the Wizard of Oz) imagines that Santa Claus was once a human foundling adopted by woodland fairies, who grows up surrounded by elves, Knooks, Ryls, and other “immortals” of the natural world. Claus decides that his mission in life should be to bring joy to mortal children by making and distributing toys. His good works spread worldwide, and the mantle of immortality is bestowed upon him. This is a long and old-fashioned tale full of improvised fairy lore, a battle against the evil Awgwas, and unique explanations of such Christmas customs as hanging stockings.
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers. This book is a new presentation of her experience of Christmas: “Long ago, a little girl named Laura Ingalls lived in a little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters, Mary and Carrie, and their good old bulldog, Jack. Winter was just around the corner, and Laura worked hard to help make the little house ready for the cold days ahead. Soon there was frost on the windows and snow on the ground, but Laura and her folks were warm and cozy in their snug little house in the Big Woods.”
This was a very easy book for me to include because I love the writing of Dylan Thomas immensely. Dylan Thomas, one of the greatest poets and storytellers of the twentieth century, captures a child’s-eye view, and an adult’s fond memories, of a magical time of presents, aunts and uncles, the frozen sea, and in the best of circumstances, newly fallen snow. This book has been in print for over 50 years and it will make a welcome addition to any family’s bookshelf.
Is There a Santa Claus? was the title of an editorial appearing in the September 20, 1897 edition of the New York Sun. The editorial, which included the famous reply “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”, has become an indelible part of popular Christmas lore in the United States. In 1897, Dr. Philip O’Hanlon, a coroner’s assistant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was asked by his then eight-year-old daughter, Virginia (1889-1971), whether Santa Claus really existed. Virginia had begun to doubt there was a Santa Claus, because her friends had told her that he did not exist. Dr. O’Hanlon suggested she write to the New York Sun, a prominent New York City newspaper at the time, assuring her that “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” The letter was replied to by Francis Church – an editor. Its message was very moving to many people who read it. More than a century later it remains the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any newspaper in the English language.
Jim Dillingham Young and his wife Della are a young couple who are very much in love with each other, but can barely afford their one-room apartment due to their very bad economic situation. For Christmas, Della decides to buy Jim a chain which costs twenty dollars for his prized pocket watch given to him by his father. To raise the funds, she has her long hair cut off and sold to make a wig. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell his watch to buy Della a beautiful set of combs made out of tortoise shell for her lovely, knee-length brown hair. Although each is disappointed to find the gift they chose rendered useless, each is pleased with the gift they received, because it represents their love for one another. This is a heartwarming tale that has been retold countless times in TV and film.
The Father Christmas Letters is a collection of letters written and illustrated by J. R. R. Tolkien between 1920 and 1942 for his children, from “Father Christmas”. They tell of the adventures and misadventures of Father Christmas and his helpers, including the North Polar Bear and his two sidekick cubs, Paksu and Valkotukka. This is a particularly good book for those who love Tolkien – and it is a chance to see his writing focusing on something other than middle earth and fantasy.
In Village Christmas, a family new to Fairacre is viewed with suspicion by their elderly neighbors, the Waters sisters, until an unexpected turn of events works magic over both houses on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, Mrs. Berry, in the nearby village of Caxley, faces an equally eventful Christmas Eve in The Christmas Mouse when she is awakened by two unexpected intruders: a mouse and a bedraggled runaway boy, both taking refuge from a winter storm. Both stories are resolved in Miss Read’s comforting style, as warm as the glowing coals of the cottage fire and the spirit of Christmas itself. Miss Read is the pseudonym of Mrs. Dora Saint, a former schoolteacher beloved for her novels of English rural life, especially those set in the fictional villages of Thrush Green and Fairacre.
The Tailor of Gloucester is a children’s novel by Beatrix Potter that was first published in October 1903. It is traditionally read to children on Christmas eve, just before bed time. The story tells of a tailor who falls ill and is unable to complete an important Christmas commission. When he returns to his shop, however, it is to find the waistcoat completed, apart from a button-hole because there is “no more twist”. The work has been done by mice who are grateful because the tailor rescued them from his cat.
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is a story written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann in which young Marie Stahlbaum’s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls after defeating the seven-headed Mouse King. In 1892, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned the story into the ballet The Nutcracker, which became one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions, and one of the most popular ballets in the world.
While this beautiful and sad story is actually set on New Year’s Eve, the little girl in the tale experiences aspects of Christmas by looking through a window at a Christmas tree and a holiday feast. In the story, the little girl is afraid to go home because she has not sold enough matches. In the freezing snow she uses the matches to keep herself warm. She sees a shooting star which reminds her of her grandmother who told her that a shooting star means someone has died. The little girl freezes to death but is found with a smile on her face as she died thinking of her loving grandmother – the only person who was kind to her in life.
It is only fair that the Bible be included in this list. The Bible describes the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew 1:18 – Matthew 2:12, and Luke 1:26 – Luke 2:40) which is the whole reason for the Christmas season. The Bible does not give the specific date of the birth of Jesus, and the early Church celebrated His birth in March or May (depending on the region). The earliest known reference to Christmas being celebrated on the 25th of December was in the Calendar of 354 (AD) which was compiled for a Roman named Valentius. This would indicate that it was the Roman tradition to celebrate on that day. As Rome was already well established as the center of Christianity, it makes sense that the Roman date was eventually adopted by the rest of the world. The Calendar is of extremely important historical interest as it also records the dates of the celebration of Easter, commemoration dates of 100 years worth of previous Popes, and other commemoration dates of early martyrs. Interestingly, it refers to the pagan Sol Invictus (Birth of the Sun) holiday as independent of Christmas (though they fell on the same date) – contrary to the modern misconception that Christmas was simply stolen from the Pagan Roman festival.
This article is licensed under the GFDL because it contains quotations from Wikipedia. Some synopses are courtesy of Amazon.
Contributor: JFrater
between The Little Mermaid and The Little Match Girl, I'm slightly wary of Hans Christain Andersen. The man wants all little things to die, apparently.
Dec31 Hi Tammy ..Happy New Year’s! Thank YOU for the help at my blog; I do suspect I’ll be alieming you again this year for more help (already have issues since the WP 2.7 upgrade).Do have fun tonight and be safe!May 2009 bring lots of good fortune you way!:o)Paotie
I have read a few of those, puts me in the spirit
ive only heard of the bible on this list.. might get some of these books as presents or something..
My earliest comment ever, nice list, I love the Life and adventures of Santa Claus, my favorite christmas cartoon of the modern era
Sweeeeet list
The Little Match Girl really depressed me
Matt: me too – but it is nice that those stories are still around and haven’t been “updated” to be pleasant as so many are!
Nice~ I love The Gift of the Magi.
great
Great list. Didnt Beatrix Potter write the Peter Rabbit stories?
I’m not sure if I would want to snuggle in on Christmas Eve and read the Little Matchstick Girl with my children…
Sorry for offending ANYONE*.. sorry for the mistake…
Dec22 Thanks, Eh! That’s why we wrote this song as we are all proud Canadians ourselves. My older seitsr has been in Australia for over 30 years now, raising her family. Glad you enjoyed it so much and thanks for the wondrful sentiments.Terry Banks (co-writer and video producer)P.S. We do have the song for sale on iTunes with 10% of our net proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” didn’t even make the list? I’d thought it would be #1.
I love O. Henry. You could do far worse than spend a cold Saturday reading a collection of his short stories. He’s one of the masters of the surprise endings, and Gift of the Magi is one of the best-known.
What about “Twas the night before christmas…”
Let us not include Santa Close in our CHRISTmas celebration. He is nothing more than an Antichrist (not THE Antichrist, but just a counterfeit Christ)
Like many of us, when I was a child, I was told that Santa Claus was “All Powerful” (He makes millions of toys and delivers them in one night). He defies the laws of nature by flying and jumping down narrow chimneys. With Santa all things are possible. He is by definition, Omnipotent. “…having unlimited power or authority; all powerful-the Omnipotent God.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary)
I was told that Good Ol’ Saint Nick knows all things (At least he knows when every boy and girl is bad or good or how they behave throughout the year). He is by definition, Omniscient. “having infinite knowledge; knowing all things-the Omniscient God.” Webster’s New World Dictionary
Let’s go back to the basis of Christmas which is Christ saving us and giving us eternal life. Christ should be the center of our celebration. Not Santa.
*comment moderated per #9 of the FAQ by Cyn*
The other day in both my boys classes in school, they were asked what the meaning of Christmas was. Most answered Santa and they get to open presents. My boys said Jesus’s birthday.
The Little Match Girl, like so many Hans Christian Anderson tales, was wonderful…but depressing as hell!
Bah Humbug! There’s no such thing as God or Jesus, therefore the Bible should not be included, blah blah blah!
please keep the FAQ in mind when commenting especially :
9. Can I preach in my comments?
No. The List Universe is not your personal pulpit. You can quote Scriptures, etc. in your comments if they are pertinent to the list – but you absolutely may not use the site as a source for conversions.
and i would add..one or two scriptures, not a lengthy list will provide sufficent support for whatever your point is. any more than that is obnoxious, annoying and alienating to your target audience. in fact it will prove the opposite of whatever point you’re trying to make. so it is self defeating. so don’t. unless of course you are trying to negate your own point.
also..
one does not have to believe in or celebrate other people’s holiday traditions to at least respect them.
an attitude of tolerance and respectful acceptance is something any religion should embrace.
so why not stay in a ‘holiday spirit’ and simply wish everyone Happy Holidays..whatever or even whether they celebrate.
and stick to the point of the list please.
HAPPY HOLIDAZE!
kbenjy,
Following your logical reasoning, there’s no such things as the Nut Crakers, Santa Close and all others tales like that. Those who said the Bible doesn’t exist have never read it.
Atheism is a religion. It requires a beleive. No one can prove the non-existence of GOD. Therefore it’s a faith. It cannot be proven scientifically that there’s no God.
Sorry about my lenghthy comments. I shall try to obey the rules of listverse in the future…:)
Belief without evidence (faith) is not the same as non-belief due to lack of evidence. It is not possible to disprove the possibility that there are invisible pink fairies circling the planet of Pluto – does that make it a religion? Atheism is not a question of faith but of sound reasoning.
love reading these lists
Absolutely love #10!! When Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass made “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” into an animated special, it was my favorite as a child. I loved this tale of the origin of Santa much better than what was described in “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. I didn’t even know #9 existed, and I have been a fan of the Little House books for a looong time. But anything written by Wilder is pure gold. Yet another superb list!
The Gift of the Magi is one of my favorites. We read it every year in my classrom. I’ll never forget the first time I read it. Plus my hair used to be that long and I couldn’t imagine cutting it that short for anyone. The Little Match Girl breaks my heart.
@ Spocker (#11) check the link up top for the original Christmas Stories list, I believe it’s first on that one, so of course excluded from this list.
I so love that the Laura Ingalls story is listed here, I’ve read through the whole Little House books many times (even as an adult), but I wasn’t aware that they took the Christmas portions of Big Woods & made it’s own little book out of it. I think that’s wonderful!
The Gift of the Magi always makes me so sad & beautiful, it’s always made me cry.
I had heard of the Little Match Girl by name, but never actually knew the story, how terribly depressing it sounds! I’m sure reading it would make me cry too.
The Gift of the Magi and Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus both make me cry. In a good way. I always cry when I’m really deeply touched.
KT4 (#20)..First of all, no one has ever accused me of being logical, or even of reasoning for that matter
…secondly, my comment was absolutely tongue in cheek. It is not my intention to offend anyone’s beliefs, I just see that statement work its way into comments on most lists that mention the Bible and thought I’d beat someone to the punch.
Maybe we should 'offend' people's beliefs, just like, when we are at school, our knowledge of all subjects is challenged and expanded upon. Religion is for children. We need to grow up as a human race.
KT4: Happy Saturnalia and the Feast of Sol Invictus!
I’ve read all of these books, at one time or another, and then again to my children.
What wonderful memories they bring back!
Thank you, J, for this list (and the previous Christmas reading list!), they remind us of what wonderful literature there is available for the season.
I find The Little Match Girl to be the most intensely depressing of all the Hans Christian Anderson’s, and that is saying a lot. Second place goes to The Brave Tin Soldier. I love his stories, but thank the aether they’re short…
The illustration of the Little Match Girl is kind of weird. The girl looks like she is in her mid 20s, and wanting to be picked up off of the corner for Christmas. If that was the case she probably wouldn’t have died though.
The Little Match Girl always used to make me cry. : (
KT4, I’d appreciate if you’d stop with this prodding.
Everyone is sick of the religious debates on this site and would like to just enjoy comments about the books that were listed.
The fact that you don’t agree that Christmas is commercialized is too bad because this is the way it is. Many people who don’t believe in Christ celebrate Christmas as a time to get together with family and show everyone that you love them. I really don’t think this is SUCH a bad thing that it need be argued about.
Stick to complaining about more pressing matters, and have a merry Christmas at that.
Little Match girl is not a story for the holidays.
The first time I read this I think I was five or seven and it depressed the heck out of me! I still don’t read it and don’t even read it to my nephew
@Cyn, I hope your getting paid for this! LMAO. It’s not that serious. If people can’t comment without the comment police coming by then whats the point. It’s not like we are discussing Whats the most important religion and people are being rude, we are talking about Christmas books. Gosh.
35. IM A Bad Man -
first a comment was edited and the commentor was told about it.
and there have been other comments dangerously close to creating yet another inappropriate religious debate on a simple book list.
so this is not about ‘comment police’ but people politely and respectfully abiding by the FAQ in deference to the entire community of commentors.
secondly, i am a volunteer. i do this on my own time. if you take issue w/ what i do, i recommend you direct that to J.
IM A Bad Man:
Without some sort of moderation (or what you call “comment police”) the comments section here would potentially degrade into something along the lines of what you would see at ebaum’s world. I dunno about you, but I certainly don’t want that, and I’m glad Cyn popped in to keep this from turning into one of those nasty religious debate threads.
Sorry for offending anymore with what i said. I just strongly beleive in God and the bible, and perhaps if what I said bothers any anti-religion people out there, you have my apologies. I highly beleive in religious freedom and I also beleive in free speech. This world is a little too much into entertainment and neglect the real values of life. Yes, family and friends are good reasons to celebrated Christmas. But please dont throw Christ out of the picture, or else don’t call it CHRISTmas.
Could you expand upon the 'real values of life'? I suppose you mean them from a religious perspective, such as burning books, buildings, people, sanctioning child abuse and belief that the world is 4000 years old and was made in 7 days etc…
If I may, the birth of Jesus is not “the whole reason for the Christmas season”.
First, I heard that Jesus wasn’t born the 25th of December but more likely in February or something but I have nothing to back this up, I don’t remember where I read that.
What I do know, is that Christmas is the offspring of both that new religion which was Christianity, and the ancient pagan beliefs of pre-christian Europe.
The “cult” of the Christmas tree is a tradition from ancient Germanic paganism (obviously… its not like there ever were any trees like that in Orient…), Santa Claus derives from Saint Nicolas who he himself was “inspired” in the legend by the Norse god Odin. Not to mention that Christmas day is not far from the winter solstice (its the ancestor of christmas celebrations), hence the Yule candle which persists today in Nordic European countries. The cult of Mithra, and Sol invictus in the roman empire at the time were replaced by Christmas celebrations too.
All that because it was much easier to spread Christianity in Europe if the ancient pagans could keep their festivities, only they were applied to the new religion. Look at Halloween, or how some ancient pagan deities became human “saints” with Christianity (not to mention that the cult of saints or angels is almost polytheistic…).
Oh, and I hope I didn’t offend anyone.
The truth is that European Christianity should be called pagano-christianity because the influences of ancient heathen religions on Christianity are omnipresent (which isn’t surprising since most of the christian theologists who created roman Christianity were living in a pagan land, or were perhaps pagan themselves before converting).
Douay rheims !!! love it Some one is Cathoic!!
I wrote a post, but it isn't here. It does not contain any foul language, or anything that should have put it into moderation.
I'm clueless.
Cyn?
J?
Hiya! Great blog! I happen to be a every day iiovtsr to your website (somewhat much more like addict ) of this web site. Just wanted to say I appreciate your blogs and am searching forward for much more! 60666
i saw santa claus 20 years ago but he is jew with a little cap
I love the look of this list. It’s so pleasing to the eye to scroll down through the wonderful cover art. Now I’m heading back to the bookstore to buy some more presents.
The Little Match Girl is an excellent inclusion in this list. I think once in a while, kids need to be exposed–in small doses–to horror and “bad endings.” Things are far too sterilized now, with Disney and the doctrine of the Positive Ending in sterile children’s lit.
The truth about Christmas is, whether you believe in Jesus or not, it has become pan-cultural and consumerist because of the majoritarian nature of Christians themselves. This has only served to degrade their holiday and their own sense of identity. Don’t forget that many of these advertisers and PR people are they themselves Christian, and the decision to start Christmas three months early and all of the advertising and Nativity scenes you can buy in October is purely consumerism. If you want to yell at anyone for sucking the “true” meaning out of Christmas, look in the mirror. It’s your holiday, you’re responsible for it
My two cents, there is nothing in KT4′s comment #14 that warranted Cyn’s moderation note. It was sincere, unoffensive, and only a scootch off-topic.
I wasn’t aware that there bare blog monitors here. I got flagged a while back for posting the Battle Hymn of the Republic on a American Civil War thread. I found it to be a real turn off, especially because a sniper from a rightwing website called my post hate speech, which is what I suppose prompted the flag.
Very nice list. You gave me some great ideas for our holiday reading this year!
Another penny in the pot regarding blog moderation. Please don’t flag Randall again. He is by far the most compelling commenter here, and probably breaks at least one rule in every post. I suspect that getting flagged is the reason he doesn’t post here much anymore.
YogiBarrister: as far as I am aware (though I could be wrong) – we have never needed to moderate Randall – his comments can be quite long, but they are usually without malice and to the point
I for one love his comments!
The Gift of the Magi is a wonderful addition and deserves to be #1
I’ll steer clear of controversy, even though I’m known in real life to be strongly opinionated about this.
I’ll just mention that a friend just told me, in an email:
“Marry Christmas”.
Kind advice, I’m sure, but I don’t think I’m allowed to!
re: comment moderation
the specific incident in this list ..the commentor was informed that the comment moderated was done so due to content in violation of FAQ..so that particular comment has been edited. the commentor has apologized and i should think that particular case is closed. further commenting on this specific incident is irrelevant..especially by parties who do not know the exact content of the originating comment.
as for Randall..i have never edited or deleted any of his comments. some of his comments..of which he should now be aware since i’ve commented on same..have gone automatically into moderation que by use of keywords loaded into the system to do just that…potentially offensive words redirect a comment into moderation for a human being to read and determine if it is indeed offensive or can be released. this is any keyword in any comment by anyone. no one is targeted. there are no exceptions. i can and have used words that have put my own comments into moderation!
those keywords are set by J. most are obscenities or racial slurs. some can be numbers that are abused by adolescent posters claiming comment position.
so just be clear on who you are accusing of what. and exactly what the facts are regarding specific instances.
Happy Holidaze
“The Little Match Girl” may be depressing but it deserves to be number one. Christmas is not all about happy times, there are many out there suffering and this book hopefully offers insight to a sad reality and teaches compassion to young minds (it certainly did for me as a young one). When taking a walk around this time of year I sometimes peek into people’s windows to see their wonderful Christmas preparations, but I know that when I return home, it will be to a happy place. Many don’t have that luxury and this book so poignantly tells that story. Thanks Frater, lovely list.
Hey,
I subscribe to The List Verse on Google Reader. Now, instead of seeing the images in a post, all I see is a notification that the image is stolen!!
Please fix this!!
Every year I look forward to the t.v. special of “A Child’s Christmas in Whales” starring Denholm Elliot, as the grandfather telling his grandson about his childhood Christmas.
Umm, should that be “Wales”?
Oops! I meant Wales, Sorry
Such a nice list. Some of them I’ve heard of. Thinking about checking the others out! As a child I believed Santa was my Higher Power’s “helper” We had a decoration of Santa looking into the manger at the baby. Personally, I’m sure I believe in too many things. I think that’s what helps me to get through these holidays in such hard times.
I’m happy O. Henry is in the list. It’s the best Christmas short story I’ve ever read.
Happy Holidays!