A Yuletide Omnibus

 

(originally published here on 12/10/09)

 

Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes

Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,

The bird of dawning singeth all night long:

And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,

The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,

No fairy takes nor witch hath power to charm,

So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.

 

-Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 1

 

For your Yuletide enjoyment, here are a few Christmas-themed short stories suitable for those long evenings sitting by the inglenook (courtesy of eastoftheweb.com):

A Kidnapped Santa Claus . . . L. Frank Baum  One might think that Santa Claus would have no enemies on all the earth ... then the Daemons came along.   The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle . . . Arthur Conan Doyle  A Christmas mystery for detective Sherlock Holmes begins with a lost hat.   How Santa Claus Came To Simpson's Bar . . . Bret Harte  On Christmas Eve in a remote settlement cut off by heavy flooding, a group of men pay a visit to a deprived boy.   The Fir Tree . . . Hans Christian Andersen  The Yuletide tale of a young fir tree that wants to grow up. The Gift of the Magi . . . O. Henry  A tragic, ironic Christmas for one hard up couple.   Markheim . . . Robert Louis Stevenson  Markeim arrives at an antique dealer's on Christmas day, ostensibly to buy a present for a lady. A tale of evil and its nature.   Bertie's Christmas Eve . . . Saki  Bertie Steffink takes action against his disapproving relatives.   Captain Eli's Best Ear . . . Frank Stockton  Two reclusive, retired ship's Captains decide to celebrate Christmas for the first time in years.   And a few favorites of my own: The Burglar's Christmas- Willa Cather At Christmas Time- Anton Chekhov A Child's Christmas In Wales- Dylan Thomas A Christmas Memory- Truman Capote A Miserable Merry Christmas (from The Autobiography of Lincoln Steffens)   One Christmas Eve- Langston Hughes Susie’s Letter from Santa- Mark Twain Our Lady's Juggler- Anatole France A Christmas Dream and How It Came True- Louisa May Alcott The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton (from The Pickwick Papers)- Charles Dickens Christmas With Queen Bess (from Master Skylark)- John Bennett Dancing Dan's Christmas- Damon Runyon (added to list via comment thread- thanks, Dave)     Christmas Eve at Sea A wind is rustling "south and soft," Cooing a quiet country tune. The calm sea sighs, and far aloft the sails are ghostly in the moon. Unquiet ripples lisp and purr, A block there pipes and chirps i' the sheave, The wheel-ropes jar, the reef-points stir Faintly --and it is Christmas Eve. The hushed sea seems to hold her breath, and o'er the giddy, swaying spars, Silent and excellent as Death, The dim blue skies are bright with stars. Dear God -- they shone in Palestine Like this, and yon pale moon serene Looked down among the lowing kine On Mary and the Nazarene. The angels called from deep to deep, The burning heavens felt the thrill, startling the flocks of silly sheep And lonely shepherds on the hill. To-night beneath the dripping bows where flashing bubbles burst and throng, The bow-wash murmurs and sighs and soughs A message from the angels' song. The moon goes nodding down the west, The drowsy helmsman strikes the bell; Rex Judaorum natus est, I charge you, brothers, sing Nowell, Nowell, Rex Judaorum natus est. -John Masefield             Christmas! 'Tis the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial fire of charity in the heart. -Washington Irving

Wishing You All A Joyous Holiday Season!

-Maureen Lang