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 | From Megan Romer, your About Books & Literature Editor I'm a low-key Christmas celebrator. I'm not a fan of the accumulation of stuff for stuff's sake, so the commercialism that seems to have taken over Christmas gets my Grinchy hackles up, but I do love the old traditions of trees and mistletoe and carols and sitting quietly with a book in front of a warm fire, reflecting on the dark days of winter and the mysticism that surrounds the solstice in so many religions. To get myself in the mood, I've started digging into some of my favorite old-fashioned Christmas books. | |
Children's Christmas Classics
There's an enormous body of wonderful children's literature that focuses on the Christmas holiday, and for obvious reasons: is there anything better than Christmas when you're young?
| Yes, Virginia...
I still tear up when I read Francis Pharcellus Church's beautiful editorial. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias."
| The Gift of the Magi
And while I'm sniffling away about Church's response to little Virginia, I may as well fan the flames with this tearjerker from O. Henry. If you've never read it, take a minute... it's truly lovely.
| Behind 'A Christmas Carol'
Another favorite Christmas book is, of course, Mr. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, an enduring classic which is probably best-known to most people via one of the hundred-thousands of film adaptations and modernizations (Bill Murray's Scrooged being my favorite of the latter). There's an interesting little story behind the book, though; one that you might consider taking a minute to peruse.
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