Christmas Stories and Ideas




Treasury Of Best Loved Christmas Stories (Hardcover)




The Traditions of Christmas (Hardcover)
Book Description
This beautiful book includes poems, articles, stories, paintings from the Old Masters, and breathtaking scenic views of the world in winter. Each chapter includes little-known facts about Christmas Day, customs from around the world, and traditions throughout history. This book includes an index of authors, artists, poems, songs, articles, paintings, and first lines of poems and songs.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



A Christmas Story : The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film (Hardcover)

From Publishers Weekly
It's never easy to adapt a holiday classic, especially one that's best known now as a movie rather than as an assortment of radio addresses. This production, however, does an admirable job, using sound effects, mellow Christmas music and Cavett's wry, relaxed narration to draw out the down-home charm of Depression-era Indiana. Listeners will feel almost as if they're standing next to Ralphie Parker as he waits anxiously in line at Goldblatt's department store to ask "the Man, the Connection, Santa Claus himself" for a Red Ryder BB gun. The ringing of cash registers, the crinkling of paper and packages, and the excited chatter of kids are all audible, and Shepherd's sharp descriptions give every scene definition. Only the final story, "The Grandstand Passion Play of Delbert and the Bumpus Hounds," fails to live up to the standard set by the others. In this tale, the Parkers struggle to put up with their tobacco-chewing, hillbilly neighbors, whose dogs eventually ravage their Easter ham. Cavett affects an exasperatingly slow, guttural drawl for the Bumpus males, which makes them sound like caricatures. On the whole, however, Cavett's reading is superb, as are the sound effects. Though this audio adaptation won't likely achieve the same status as the movie, it's certainly worth a listen.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Book Description
A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana—the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film.

The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family’s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street.

This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker’s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father’s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie’s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie’s unstoppable campaign to get Santa—or anyone else—to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”?

The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.

Inside Flap Copy

A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana?the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film.

The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family?s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to It?s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street.
This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker?s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father?s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie?s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie?s unstoppable campaign to get Santa?or anyone else?to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, ?You?ll shoot your eye out, kid??
The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey?s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.

About the Author
For many years a cult radio and cabaret personality in New York City, JEAN SHEPHERD was the creator of the popular film A Christmas Story, which is based on his novels In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, and which has become a holiday tradition on the Turner Network. Jean Shepherd passed away in 1999.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
DUEL IN THE SNOW, OR RED RYDER NAILS THE CLEVELAND STREET KID

DISARM THE TOY INDUSTRY

Printed in angry block red letters the slogan gleamed out from the large white button like a neon sign. I carefully reread it to make sure that I had not made a mistake.

DISARM THE TOY INDUSTRY

That's what it said. There was no question about it.

The button was worn by a tiny Indignant-type little old lady wearing what looked like an upturned flowerpot on her head and, I suspect (viewing it from this later date) a pair of Ked tennis shoes on her feet, which were primly hidden by the Automat table at which we both sat.

I, toying moodily with my chicken pot pie, which of course is a specialty of the house, surreptitiously examined my fellow citizen and patron of the Automat. Wiry, lightly powdered, tough as spring steel, the old doll dug with Old Lady gusto into her meal. Succotash, baked beans, creamed corn, side order of Harvard beets. Bad news--a Vegetarian type. No doubt also a dedicated Cat Fancier.

Silently we shared our tiny Automat table as the great throng of pre-Christmas quick-lunchers eddied and surged in restless excitement all around us. Of course there were the usual H & H club members spotted here and there in the mob; out-of-work seal trainers, borderline bookies, ex-Opera divas, and panhandlers trying hard to look like Madison Avenue account men just getting out of the cold for a few minutes. It is an Art, the ability to nurse a single cup of coffee through an entire ten-hour day of sitting out of the biting cold of mid-December Manhattan.

And so we sat, wordlessly as is the New York custom, for long moments until I could not contain myself any longer.

"Disarm the Toy Industry?" I tried for openers.

She sat unmoved, her bright pink and ivory dental plates working over a mouthful of Harvard beets, attacking them with a venom usually associated with the larger carnivores. The red juice ran down over her powdered chin and stained her white lace bodice. I tried again:

"Pardon me, Madam, you're dripping."

"Eh?"

Her ice-blue eyes flickered angrily for a moment and then glowed as a mother hen's looking upon a stunted, dwarfed offspring. Love shone forth.

"Thank you, sonny."

She dabbed at her chin with a paper napkin and I knew that contact had been made. Her uppers clattered momentarily and in an unmistakably friendly manner.

"Disarm the Toy Industry?" I asked.

"It's an outrage!" she barked, causing two elderly gentlemen at the next table to spill soup on their vests. Loud voices are not often heard in the cloistered confines of the H & H.

"It's an outrage the way the toymakers are forcing the implements of blasphemous War on the innocent children, the Pure in Spirit, the tiny babes who are helpless and know no better!"

Her voice at this point rising to an Evangelical quaver, ringing from change booth to coffee urn and back again. Four gnarled atheists three tables over automatically, by reflex action alone, hurled four "Amen's" into the unanswering air. She continued:

"It's all a Government plot to prepare the Innocent for evil, Godless War! I know what they're up to! Our Committee is on to them, and we intend to expose this decadent Capitalistic evil!"

She spoke in the ringing, anvil-like tones of a True Believer, her whole life obviously an unending fight against They, the plotters. She clawed through her enormous burlap handbag, worn paperback volumes of Dogma spilling out upon the floor as she rummaged frantically until she found what she was searching for.

"Here, sonny. Read this. You'll see what I mean." She handed me a smudgy pamphlet from some embattled group of Right Thinkers, based--of course--in California, denouncing the U.S. as a citadel of Warmongers, profit-greedy despoilers of the young and promoters of world-wide Capitalistic decadence, all through plastic popguns and Sears Roebuck fatigue suits for tots.

She stood hurriedly, scooping her dog-eared library back into her enormous rucksack and hurled her parting shot:

"Those who eat meat, the flesh of our fellow creatures, the innocent slaughtered lamb of the field, are doing the work of the Devil!"

Her gimlet eyes spitted the remains of my chicken pot pie with naked malevolence. She spun on her left Ked and strode militantly out into the crisp, brilliant Christmas air and back into the fray.

I sat rocking slightly in her wake for a few moments, stirring my lukewarm coffee meditatively, thinking over her angry, militant slogan.

DISARM THE TOY INDUSTRY

A single word floated into my mind's arena for just an instant--"Canal water!"--and then disappeared. I thought on: As if the Toy industry has any control over the insatiable desire of the human spawn to own Weaponry, armaments, and the implements of Warfare. It's the same kind of mind that thought if making whiskey were prohibited people would stop drinking.

I began to mull over my own youth, and, of course, its unceasing quest for roscoes, six-shooters, and any sort of blue hardware--simulated or otherwise--that I could lay my hands on. It is no coincidence that the Zip Green was invented by kids. The adolescent human carnivore is infinitely ingenious when confronted with a Peace movement.

Outside in the spanking December breeze a Salvation Army Santa Claus listlessly tolled his bell, huddled in a doorway to avoid the direct blast of the wind. I sipped my coffee and remembered another Christmas, in another time, in another place, and . . . a gun.

I remember clearly, itchingly, nervously, maddeningly the first time I laid eyes on it, pictured in a three-color, smeared illustration in a full-page back cover ad in Open Road For Boys, a publication which at the time had an iron grip on my aesthetic sensibilities, and the dime that I had to scratch up every month to stay with it. It was actually an early Playboy. It sold dreams, fantasies, incredible adventures, and a way of life. Its center foldouts consisted of gigantic Kodiak bears charging out of the page at the reader, to be gunned down in single hand-to-hand combat by the eleven-year-old Killers armed only with hunting knife and fantastic bravery.

Its Christmas issue weighed over seven pounds, its pages crammed with the effluvia of the Good Life of male Juvenalia, until the senses reeled and Avariciousness, the growing desire to own Everything, was almost unbearable. Today there must be millions of ex-subscribers who still can't pass Abercrombie & Fitch without a faint, keening note of desire and the unrequited urge to glom on to all of it. Just to have it, to feel it.

Early in the Fall the ad first appeared. It was a magnificent thing of balanced copy and pictures, superb artwork, and subtly contrived catch phrases. I was among the very first hooked, I freely admit it.

BOYS! AT LAST YOU CAN OWN AN OFFICIAL RED RYDER CARBINE ACTION TWO-HUNDRED SHOT RANGE MODEL AIR RIFLE!

This in block red and black letters surrounded by a large balloon coming out of Red Ryder's own mouth, wearing his enormous ten-gallon Stetson, his jaw squared, staring out at me manfully and speaking directly to me, eye to eye. In his hand was the knurled stock of as beautiful, as coolly deadly-looking a piece of weaponry as I'd ever laid eyes on.

YES, FELLOWS. . . .

Red Ryder continued under the gun:

YES, FELLOWS, THIS TWO-HUNDRED-SHOT CARBINE ACTION AIR RIFLE, JUST LIKE THE ONE I USE IN ALL MY RANGE WARS CHASIN' THEM RUSTLERS AND BAD GUYS CAN BE YOUR VERY OWN! IT HAS A SPECIAL BUILT-IN SECRET COMPASS IN THE STOCK FOR TELLING THE DIRECTION IF YOU'RE LOST ON THE TRAIL, AND ALSO AN OFFICIAL RED RYDER SUNDIAL FOR TELLING TIME OUT IN THE WILDS. YOU JUST LAY YOUR CHEEK 'GAINST THIS STOCK, SIGHT OVER MY OWN SPECIAL DESIGN CLOVERLEAF SIGHT, AND YOU JUST CAN'T MISS. TELL DAD IT'S GREAT FOR TARGET SHOOTING AND VARMINTS, AND IT WILL MAKE A SWELL CHRISTMAS GIFT!!

The next issue arrived and Red Ryder was even more insistent, now implying that the supply of Red Ryder BB guns was limited and to order now or See Your Dealer Before It's Too Late!

It was the second ad that actually did the trick on me. It was late November and the Christmas fever was well upon me. I thought about a Red Ryder air rifle in all my waking hours, seven days a week, in school and out. I drew pictures of it in my Reader, in my Arithmetic book, on my hand in indelible ink, on Helen Weathers' dress in front of me, in crayon. For the first time in my life the initial symptoms of genuine lunacy, of Mania, set in.

I imagined innumerable situations calling for the instant and irrevocable need for a BB gun, great fantasies where I fended off creeping marauders burrowing through the snow toward the kitchen, where only I and I alone stood between our tiny huddled family and insensate Evil. Masked bandits attacking my father, to be mowed down by my trusted cloverleaf-sighted deadly weapon. I seriously mulled over the possibility of an invasion of raccoons, of which there were several in the county. Acts of selfless Chivalry defending Esther Jane Alberry from escaped circus tigers. Time and time again I saw myself a miraculous crack shot, picking off sparrows on the wing to the gasps of admiring girls and envious rivals on Cleveland Street. There was one dream that involved my entire class getting lost on a field trip in the swamps, wherein I led the tired, hungry band back to civilization, using only my Red Ryder compass and sundial. There was no question about it. Not only should I have such a gun, it was an absolute necessity!

Early December saw the first of the great blizzards of that year. The wind howling down out of the Canadian wilds a few hundred miles to the north had screamed over frozen Lake Michigan and hit Hohman, laying on the town great drifts...

Review: IT WON'T SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT
This slim collection of 5 stories by the late Jean Shepard (that was the basis for A Christmas Story) is an excellent gift for anyone who loves the holiday (or at least the movie). While not exactly like the now classic film, you can get a feel for how they were taken and molded into the annual favorite. Definitely a safer gift then a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle (with it's built-in compass and sundial).

Review: THE STORIES THAT INSPIRED THE MOVIE
If you're like me, Christmas isn't Christmas unless you see this great movie at least two or three times during the holidays. Now, you can read the stories by humorist Jean Shepherd that inspired the book.
While all of the stories themselves didn't actually take place during Christmas, they were all woven together to make the film. Read about Ralphies quest for the Red Ryder BB gun, about the battle with bully Grover Dill, the "Old Man" winning the leg lamp, an more.

Five stories in all in this light, but funny book. It's interesting to see how the the stories were all incorporated into the movie and Shepherd himself was on the set making sure the director stayed very close to the spirit of his work.

Great book.

Review: Ralphie Revisited
Jean Shepherd shared many a humorous account about his childhood during the Great Depression. Some of those stories served as the basis for the holiday film "A Christmas Story." However, the stories were never collected in one book until "A Christmas Story" was released in 2003. The five stories in this book were originally published in Playboy magazine from 1964-66. These stories, however, seldom involved specific ties to the Yuletide. Shepherd protagonist Ralph Parker draws some nostalgic inspiration by the events from his life in mid-sixties New York. For example, when Ralph visits a pop art exhibit, he's reminded of the winter when his father proudly owned a woman's leg lamp. His Red Ryder tale is inspired by a woman who wore a button demanding "DISARM THE TOY INDUSTRY!"

The other stories go directly to the childhood memories. Shepherd tells about Ralphie's devotion to the Little Orphan Annie radio show and his membership in her Secret Circle. Another talks of the day he'd had enough of neighborhood bully Grover Dill. The book ends with the entire saga of the months Ralphie and his family had to deal with the Bumpus family as neighbors. Those not familiar with the writings of Shepherd will not only notice the lack of seasonal ties, but they'll also see how other things changed, such as Grover being the main bully. One of the stories even refers to Ralphie's family as the Shepherds instead of the Parkers. Still, these stories have the essence of what made the movie so successful. Shepherd waxes nostalgic in great detail, but the nostalgia never gets too warm or fuzzy. Ralphie learns that life has at least one hard lesson for every wish that comes true. Even Santa joined in on the chorus of "You'll shoot your eye out" when Ralphie openly wished for a BB gun.

In his writing, Shepherd found ways to make his childhood relate to the general experiences of American childhood. He may have listened to the radio, but kids have the shows they won't miss, whether they're on radio or TV, complete with sponsors who look for a way to get paid. Many adults survived childhood by somehow surviving the Grover Dills in their lives. Even worse than the smell of the steel mills were the sights and smells that emanated from the Bumpus residence, which included outhouses and tired hounds sleeping with the tired rats they chased. Yet, Ralphie uses his young mind to use Red Ryder ads on his parents in the same way Ovaltine used product placement in Little Orphan Annie. Ralphie's lack of subtlety, though, is absolutely hilarious. The leg lamp story shows even adults have their favorite toys, too. Hohman, Indiana, could have been any American city, and Ralphie Parker could have been any kid. Most readers didn't grow up with Ralphie, but it's not hard to laugh with him and to find common bonds as well.

Jean Shepherd wrote four collections of short stories about Ralphie Parker. Five of the best tales became the basis for both the film and the book versions of "A Christmas Story." The works of Jean Shepherd were among the reasons I decided to try my hand at fiction writing (Three of my stories are a part of my Epinions output). Even though I have all four original titles, I was happy to revisit the world Shepherd created in his fiction. Through his humor and his imagery, Jean Shepherd took people to the sort of place they knew in childhood. Dreams get dashed and egos get deflated, but a nice hot supper awaits at the end of the day's travails. No good day ends without savoring some little victory, and Ralphie Parker had plenty of those to savor.

Review: You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!
When I think of my favorite Christmas moments, it all pretty much has to do with The Parker Family. Not Natalie Wood sitting on Santa's lap at the mall, or Jimmy Stewart running through his snowy town wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. But giant pink bunny costumes, a scary Santa with a big sled, a father battling the furnace, and of course, a Red Ryder BB gun. We have all come to love and appreciate the Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story", released back in 1983. With little fanfare in the beginning, it has grown over the years to match, and maybe outdo, yearly favorites like "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Miracle On 34th Street". This book, a collection of the works of Jean Shepherd, is what inspired the now beloved movie. I have never read it before, and I was quite surprised with how different it was. I wasn't expecting most of it. All of the little things in the movie we know and love, were not actually part of the original story. They were all seperate stories of their own, and most never even took place during the holidays. The first story, "Duel In The Snow, Or Red Ryder Nails The Cleveland Street Kid", is basically the Red Ryder Christmas tale we all know. There were some surprising differences, but I will let you find those out yourself. The second is, "The Counterfeit Secret Circle Member Gets The Message, Or The Asp Strikes Again", and this short story is all about the Little Orphan Annie and the decoder ring. Something that was put into the actual movie. The third story is, "My Old Man And The Lascivious Special Award That Heralded The Birth Of Pop Art", which is the infamous tale of Mr. Parker and his questioable leg lamp. The fourth is, "Grover Dill And The Tasmanian Devil", which tells the tale of the neighborhood bully, who was renamed Scut Farkas for the movie. The fifth and final story in the book is "The Grandstand Passion Play Of Delbert And The Bumpus Hounds", a story about The Parkers' hillbilly neighbors, and their unruly pack of dogs. The book, and Shepherd's writing and immaculate way of spinning a yarn, is so drenched in Americana and nostalgia, that you can definiltey imagine the whole thing in your head and feel as if you are there. You can actually see Ralphie's eyes, or any other of the characters. He writes with such a sure, warm hand, that it feels as if he is writing directly to you and that you could of been a part of this. If that makes any kind of sense at all. It will surprise many when you read the book and find out that things were not originally written like it is in the movie. Shepherd wrote the script to the movie, and when he did, probably to make it movie length, he incorporated the stories of Little Orphan Annie, the leg lamp, the bully, and The Bumpus hounds, into the script, and wove it into a coherent and sensible script. Thank god he did. Can you imagine the movie today without any of those side stories?. I don't think so. I also find it interesting that the parents are always 'Mom' and 'The Old Man'. Fans might be disappointed with some things that were changed for the movie. And changed for the better. For instance, the pink bunny costume was originally just a pair of slippers. Slippers? funny. Big pink bunny costume?. Very funny!!. And other things. Still, it is a warm and brilliant display of writing that will warm the heart on the coldest, and snowiest, day of the season. Perfect to own, and to be cherished year after year. Same with the movie.

Here are my recommendations for music, literature, film, cookery, Christmas history, etc. Apologies for errors or omissions and my British spelling.

Carols and Christmas Songs
Complete lyrics for festive singalongs are in 'Christmas Carols : Complete Verses (Dover Thrift Editions)'. 'The New Oxford Book of Carols' is the Rolls-Royce of carol books with piano music. For simple sheet music of Christmas songs, 'The Best Christmas Songs Ever (Best Ever)'. For guitarists: 'Mark Hanson's Fingerstyle Christmas Guitar: 12 Beautiful Songs & Carols for Solo Guitar'.

'Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas (Stories Behind Books)' gives interesting anecdotal background to carols and some popular songs (for example that Mel Torme wrote "Christmas Song" [chestnuts roasting on an open fire] during a heatwave...).

Cats and Christmas
"If you're a cat lover, you'll know that cats celebrate Christmas" (per Amazon's review of 'CatChristmas' by cartoonist B. Kliban).

'Cats and Carols', a beautiful gift book, has illustrations subtly symbolizing the carol lyrics opposite them, by arguably the world's best cat artist, Lesley Anne Ivory.

Christmas CDs
There are gazillions of these for all tastes, but 'Christmas with the Rat Pack' or 'Frank Sinatra Christmas Collection' are safe bets.

Collections range from the innovatively-handled classics on 'Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, Part One', to the eclecticism of 'Silent Night: A Christmas in Rome'.

Best smorgasbords: 'Now That's What I Call Christmas!', and 'Ultimate Christmas'. Many British hits are on 'Best Christmas Album in the World Ever'.

Christmas Novels
If you haven't read Charles Dickens's definitive 'A Christmas Carol (Bantam Classic)', with its memorable villain-turned-benefactor, Scrooge - "Bah! Humbug!". (Annotated version also available).

John Grisham's subversive 'Skipping Christmas', about a family who decide not to "do" Christmas, contrasts with the personal recollections in the three short stories constituting Truman Capote's 'A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, & The Thanksgiving Visitor (Modern Library)'.

If you're looking for a book for the run-up to Christmas, read Jostein Gaarder's 'The Christmas Mystery', bursting with narrative skill, general knowledge, air of anticipation and spirituality. [Expensive, so try rare books shops like abebooks.com ]

Christmas kids' lit
Oh go on - 'The Night Before Christmas', if you must, then. The popular poem, with illustrations from legions of artists it has inspired. And there's also the modern classic 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'.

Two books which have undergone film adaptation: 'The Polar Express' features a young boy whisked to the North Pole by a magical train on Christmas Eve to win a present from Santa Claus. And in 'The Snowman', a snowman takes his young creator flying over rural England.

'The Twelve Days of Christmas' is the classic illustrated version, in board book format for youngsters.

Christmas movies
Christmas ain't Creitchmouth without the classic 'It's a Wonderful Life', the story of a small-town guy, generous and honest. Beaten by life's reverses, he temporarily gets his wish - that he'd never been born - only to see how his community would have turned out without him.

Yes, 'White Christmas' is fairly appalling as drama. But, hey, pass over the mulled wine and enjoy the festal crooning of Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.

'Miracle on 34th Street' shows the adventures of Kris Kringle through his job playing Santa at Macy's department store. Perhaps the antics of 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Special Edition)' are preferable?

Of the Dickens story, 'A Christmas Carol (Original B&W Version)' is the definitive version. A skilful updated adaptation, 'Scrooged', stars Bill Murray.

Robert de Niro and Meryl Streep shine in 'Falling in Love', a profoundly Christmassy movie. Quality romance about two people who fall in love, eventually quitting their homes. Notwithstanding the marital wreckage on both sides, it's intensely watchable.

For the family, the animated classic, 'The Snowman & Father Christmas' (see above, "Books"). For kids, a trad-fest: 'The Original Television Christmas Classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer / Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town / Frosty the Snowman / Frosty Returns / The Little Drummer Boy)'.

Christmas Opera, Ballet and Musical Classics
The first two acts of Puccini's weepie 'Puccini: La Boheme (Highlights) / Bergonzi, Tebaldi, et al', take place on Christmas Eve. Poet Rodolfo and seamstress Mimi fall in love at in the definitiveParisian artists' garret. Subsequently, they join Rodolfo's friends for dinner at Cafe Momus.

'Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors' is a children's one-act Christmas opera. The Amazon trade review sums it up as the "story of a poor shepherd boy's encounter with three kings and the miraculous healing of his crippled leg when he offers his crutch as a gift".

Find the music of Tchaikoveky's Christmas ballet on the CD 'Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete); The Sleeping Beauty (Highlights)'. [Space prohibits including the DVD - get the Balanchine choreographed version, with Kevin Kline narrating.]

Classical music Christmas anthologies include 'A Christmas Festival', 'The Joy Of Christmas' (conducted by Leonard Bernstein), and, for the incomparable sheen of brass music, 'A Festival of Carols in Brass'.

For many, choral singing embodies the sound of Christmas. A brilliant US choral version of the carols, 'A Festival Of Carols / Robert Shaw Chorale' has been a favourite over 40 years. Actually, the custom of 'The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' was started by, and features, King's College Choir at Cambridge University, England.

History of Christmas
'Christmas Past' describes how Christmas customs developed over the centuries. A good stocking-filler is 'The Truth About Christmas: Its Traditions Unravelled', a collection of trivia about Christmas going back to ancient times.

Christmas Fare
Festive cookery abounds in 'Betty Crocker's Best Christmas Cookbook', 'A Simply Delicious Irish Christmas', and 'Christmas from the Heart of the Home'.

'Victorian Christmas Cookery' and 'Historical Christmas Cookery' give a historical perspective.

Banish those winter blues with 'Hot Toddies : Mulled Wine, Buttered Rum, Spiced Cider, and Other Soul-Warming Winter Drinks' but, ahem - DON'T drive yourself home (or anywhere else) afterwards.

Craft, Kitsch and Nostalgia
'It's a Wonderful Christmas : The Best of the Holidays 1940-1965', and see "Christmas from the Heart of the Home" (listed above under "Christmas Fare") for those spangly Christmases of yesteryear.

The Whole Shmegegge
'The Little Big Book of Christmas' is a literary anthology, recipe book and how-to book, rolled into one.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Book Description
This enchanting Christmas classic returns for a new holiday season, combining historical fact with glorious legend as St. Nicholas himself reveals the definitive story of Santa Claus.

With seven centuries of holiday magic all rolled into twenty-four chapters-one for each cold December night leading up to Christmas-The Autobiography of Santa Claus is a great gift for the whole family!--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review: Too smart for its own good.
Reading this book, I could not help but see it more as a vessel for the author to show off his extensive historical and Christian knowledge than a tale about Saint Nick. There were far too many unnecessary details that drew attention away from the story.

Something else that constantly pulled me out were the questions posed by Santa to the reader, it was as if the author wanted me to stop thinking about the story and instead realize how improbable it was that it was actually by Santa. I think with the direct questions, "That last chapter was rather sad, wasn't it?", he was attempting to remember a quainter time...it does not work for him.

If you want an innovative and beautiful Christmas read, try The Legend of Holly Claus by Brittney Ryan

Review: One of the best books around--not just for Christmas!
This is an amazingly clever book, in which the author weaves traditional Christmas beliefs with history and biography. Attila the Hun, Alfred the Great, Theodore Roosevelt--they are all there--and you'll find out what really happened to Amelia Earhart as well. BUY THIS BOOK!

Review: Very pleased
I was very pleased with the condition of the book and the fast response after ordering it.

Review: Santa Through the Ages
Jeff Guinn has given us a fascinating look at the development of a cultural icon. His use of such diverse historical and semi-historical figures as St. Patrick, Arthur of Britain, and Charlemagne creates a sense of collective mythology and unites many different legends and historical facts into one absorbing narrative. It is really interesting to observe Guinn's approach to the subject matter of St. Nicholas' transformation from saint to toymaker and gift-giver. I also appreciate the sensitivity and political correctness regarding various historical attitudes toward women, slavery, etc. Guinn's Santa gives a modern perspective on outdated ways of thinking (well, after all he can, because he's lived through all of those ages into the present day!). I found it fascinating how Nicholas' life was prolonged so that he just went on living year after year, long after people thought he had died.
For contrast, readers of this book might want to check out my novel "Giftbringer: The Story of Young St. Nicholas" (also available through Amazon and other places)as it covers a portion of Nicholas' life--mainly built around the tale of the Dowerless Maidens--but develops it in a very different way. Alas, I fear I am much more "historical" and less "p.c." in my depiction of ancient times, although I tried to show the women as well as the men as intelligent and resourceful.

Having devoted years of my life to research of this subject matter, I can well appreciate the effort that Jeff Guinn has put into this absorbing and interesting work. It is a challenging and somewhat daunting task to write about someone so pure and good, and still keep the drama and interest flowing. Speaking from experience as a writer developing this same personage in a different way, I know exactly how hard that is.

I wish Jeff Guinn the best success with his effort, and look forward to reading other books by this author.

Review: I'm so glad that Santa decided to tell his story!
Although this book was a little slow at times (chalk it up to the ramblings of a VERY old man, who has lived a long and fun-filled life), I feel that everyone, bouth yound and old, should read this story. Live the magic of Christmas through Santa's eyes and never forget that to give up on Santa is to give up on hope! Merry Christmas!!! :)

Review: Amazing - A must read for families everywhere!
No matter what religion you are or faith you have in Santa Claus, this book is a must read for famlies all over the world. It is packed with the history every kid and adult wants to know about St Nickolas (better known as Santa in America), how he gained his magical powers to live on forever and many of his adventures from the past century, as he travels the world.

Don't wait til Christmas. Santa's love and spirit of giving lives all year round.

Review: Spare yourself and those you love!
I was unfamiliar with this book until I received it for Christmas from my boss. I was impressed by its elegant dust jacket and it looked like it would be a nice, comprehensive overview of all the Santa Claus myths and legends.

It starts out interestingly enough with a story about Bishop Nicholas of Myra, although I was a bit put off by the level of writing aimed at a 10 year old. Soon, however, the story deteriorates from the unmitigatingly ridiculous to the patently absurd. By story's end, Santa has recruited as his helpers along the way Attila the Hun, King Arthur, St. Francis of Assisi, Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Sequoyah, Teddy Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart, to name but a few.

What on earth can be the purpose of injecting such nonsense into the beloved legend of Santa Claus? I would call it "revisionist history," but it's not even close to history. What is a child who hasn't yet studied history going to think when he or she has his or her first lesson on Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, or Teddy Roosevelt?

Santa himself becomes a thoroughly unlikeable character by the end of the book, a man with serious body-image issues who expresses himself exclusively by mumbling, grumbling, snapping, moaning, groaning, whining and complaining, and whose wife (a woman allegedly named "Layla") is a cheerless sort, constantly berating him. This story will do nothing to dissuade those who already don't believe in Santa Claus, and I'm afraid it will cause those who do to lose faith.

The dust jacket points out that the book has 24 chapters, one to be read aloud with your family starting Dec. 1 and continuing through Christmas Eve. I can't imagine any loving family subjecting themselves to such torture!

Review: What a Delight
I have to say that this book brings back the magic of the season. It was very well written and definately a page turner. I was suppose to read it in 24 nights but cheated and did it in 5. I will read this every year just before the season gets going. 5 stars plus.

Review: How I Wish Santa Had Told His Story Sooner!
This book is a true gem. I only wish Santa had chosen to confide his life story twenty or so years ago, so that I could've shared it with my daughter as a child! This is a delightful blend of history and Santa's own story, and explains all the strange little details we've always wondered about. Every true lover of Christmas should read this one.

Reviw: Great fun with myth and history

You can tell that the author is a journalist. Each chapter
has elements that challenge the traditions that we accept
without really thinking about them. Aside from St. Nick
himself, and his liberated and practical wife, there are
many characters from our vaguely understood past that
the book gives us with a fresh view.

Sure, I know Atilla the Hun was a barbarian who raided
civilized people... but wouldn't you get tired of that after a
while? He didn't do it all by himself, too -- what about all
those other guys that were looting and pillaging? What
do I actually know about him, at all?

This is a great book for critical thinkers with curiosity about
our cultural roots. It presents a (probably) well-researched
amount of factual information about the characters,
combined with each main character's befuddlement about
the way history and/or myth has made up somebody that
was not the person that actually lived.

It is also really charming in the Christmas message that
flows through all of the chapters. This is a guy that has
a mission to give, but he didn't even start out giving on
Christmas -- he had to do it then because that was what
the myth became. It is what he continues to do, though,
despite challenges like teaching reindeer how to fly,
introduced by another myth.

It's a really fun book to read, and I recommend it for everyone
who feels like there is some reason for their existence, but
maybe the rest of the world has seen them differently than
they see themselves. If you liked The Incredibles, you will
like this book.

Father Christmas is a well-loved figure in the United Kingdom, and is now interchangeable with Santa Claus, though the two had quite different origins. The term Santa is as widely used and understood by British children as Father Christmas.

Santa is a variant of a European folk tale based on the historical figure Saint Nicholas, a bishop from present-day Turkey, who supposedly gave presents to the poor. Originally, this had nothing to do with Christmas, however the Germans had a tradition of giving gifts on Christmas and at some point in history traditions merged. This helped to explain the source of Christmas presents given to children on Christmas Day.

The name is derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas, an intermediate figure between the bishop and the Christmas icon. He forms part of the Christmas tradition throughout the English speaking world as well as in Latin America and Japan.

In Eastern Orthodox tradition, he visits children on the New Year's Day and is identified with Saint Basil whose memory is celebrated on that day.

Contents
1 The story
2 Origins
2.1 Possible parallel origin
3 "Santa Claus" in shopping centers
4 Christmas gift-bringers around the world
5 Footnotes
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

The story
Conventionally Santa Claus is portrayed as a kindly, round-bellied, merry, bespectacled man in a red coat trimmed with white fur, with a long white beard. On Christmas Eve, he rides in his sleigh pulled by flying reindeer from house to house to give presents to children. To get inside the house, he comes down the chimney and lands in the fireplace. During the rest of the year he lives together with his wife Mrs. Claus and his elves who serve as his toy production staff. His home is usually given as either the North Pole in the US and Canada, Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland, Dalecarlia in Sweden, Greenland, or Caesarea when identified as Saint Basil; traditions vary.

Since there would be extreme difficulty in delivering presents to all of the believing children in one night, and since some houses may not have chimneys, "magic" is usually used as an explaining device. However in truth, it is the parents of children which deliver all of these toys on Christmas. In today's world with toys being store-bought and not homemade anymore, it is obvious to children that the toys are not made by elves; some modern depictions of Santa (often in advertising and popular entertainment) will thus show the elves and Santa's workshop as more of a processing and distribution facility, ordering and receiving the toys from various toy manufacturers from across the world.

Origins
The modern Santa Claus is a composite character made up from the merging of two quite separate figures.

The first of these is Saint Nicholas of Myra, a 4th century bishop of Myra in Lycia, a province of Byzantine Anatolia that is now in Turkey. Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they wouldn't have to become prostitutes. He was born at Patara, province of Lycia, Asia Minor. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. In Europe (more precisely Holland, Belgium, Austria and Germany) he is still portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes. The relics of St. Nicholas were translated to Bari in southern Italy by some enterprising Italian merchants; a basilica was constructed from 1087 to receive them and a pilgrimage site was established.

Prior to the adoption of Christianity, Germanic folklore contained stories about the god Odin (Wodan), who would each year, at Yule, have a great hunting party accompanied by his fellow gods and the fallen warriors residing in his realm. Children would place their boot, filled with a carrot, straw or sugar near the chimney, for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy. Note that the Sleipnir has eight legs, corresponding to Santa's eight reindeer. This practice survived in Holland after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas. Children still place their straw filled shoes at the chimney every winter night, and Saint Nicholas (who, unlike Santa is still riding a horse) rewards them with candy and gifts. Odin's appearance was often similar to that of Saint Nicholas, Odin being depicted as an old, mysterious man with a beard (Other features, like the absense of one eye, are not found in Saint Nicholas.) This practice in turn came to America via Nieuw Amsterdam (New York, when it was owned by the Dutch), and evolved into the hanging of socks at the fireplace.

An early folk tale, originating in the Germanic states, tells of a holy man (sometimes St Nicholas), and a demon (sometimes the Devil or a troll). The story states that the land was terrorised by a monster who at night would slither down the chimneys and slaughter children (disembowelling them or stuffing them up the flue, or keeping them in a sack to eat later). The holy man sought out the demon, and tricked it with blessed or magical shackles (in some versions the same shackles that imprisoned Christ prior to the crucifixion, in other versions the shackles were those used to hold St Peter or Paul); the demon was trapped and forced to obey the saint's orders. The saint ordered him to go to each house and make amends, by delivering gifts to the children. Depending on the version, the saint either made the demon fulfil this task every year, or the demon was so disgusted by the act of good will that it chose to be sent back to Hell. Yet other versions have the demon reform under the saint's orders, and go on to recruit other elves and imps into helping him, thus becoming Santa Claus.

In Greece, Santa Claus is portrayed as being a spirit of Saint Basil (Vasilis in Greek), a bishop from Caesarea who traditionally comes to Greece on New Year's Day riding on a donkey. Recently though, Greek tradition has conformed to have Santa Claus come around Christmas time.

The second character is Father Christmas, which remains the British name for Santa Claus (although Santa Claus is now more commonly used in the UK). Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long, green, fur-lined robe. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, and was reflected in the "Spirit of Christmas Present" in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

When the Dutch still owned New Amsterdam, the city that later became New York, they brought the Saint Nicholas' eve legend with them to North America, though still dressed as a bishop (see Saint Nicholas for an image). The name Santa Claus is derived from Sinterklaas the Dutch name for the mythical character based on the saint. The date of celebration is the supposed birthday of Saint Nicholas, 6 December (but more likely the date of his death), but the giving of presents often takes place on Sinterklaasavond ("Sinterklaas Eve") on December 5.

Sinterklaas has some similarities to Santa Claus, wearing red, riding a white horse over rooftops and climbing down chimneys to deposit gifts (sometimes in children's shoes by the fireplace), but he comes from Spain in a steam boat and is accompanied by many helpers named Zwarte Pieten (black Petes). The latter is sometimes regarded as politically incorrect (if not racist), but the tradition is strong. However, the traditional threat of black Petes beating bad kids with a rod or even taking them to Spain in a sack has only survived in songs, of which there are many, sung weeks in advance to anticipate Sinterklaas' coming. Presents are accompanied with poems, sometimes fairly standardised, sometimes quite elaborate pieces of art that mock events in the past year relating to the receiver (who is thus at the receiving end in more than one sense). The gifts themselves may be just an excuse for the wrapping, which can also be quite elaborate. The more serious gifts may be reserved for the next morning. Since the giving of presents is Sinterklaas' job, presents are traditionally not given at Christmas in the Netherlands, but commercialism is starting to tap into this market.

In Washington Irving's History of New York, Sinterklaas was Americanised to "Santa Claus" but lost his bishop's apparel, and was at first pictured as a thick bellied Dutch sailor with a pipe in a green winter coat. Irving's book was a lampoon of the Dutch culture of New York, and much of this portrait is his joking invention. Santa Claus appeared in various colored costumes as he gradually became amalgamated with the figure of Father Christmas, but red soon became popular after he appeared wearing such on an 1885 Christmas card. His horse was converted to reindeer and a sleigh, the black Petes (which were in fact Moorish slaves) were converted to elves, and the date was moved forward a couple of weeks to coincide with Christmas. Another popularization is The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum, the same man who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900.

In the United States, the tradition is to leave Santa a glass of milk and cookies; in Britain, he is given sherry and mince pies instead. British and American children also leave out a carrot for Santa's reindeer, and were traditionally told that if they are not good all year round, that they will receive a lump of coal in their stockings, although this practice is now considered archaic. Children following the Dutch custom for sinterklaas will "put out their shoe" — that is, leave hay and a carrot for his horse in a shoe before going to bed — sometimes weeks before the sinterklaas avond. The next morning they will find the hay and carrot replaced by a gift; often, this is a marzipan figurine. Naughty children were once told that they would be left a roe (a bundle of sticks) instead of sweets, but this practise has been discontinued.

Many postal services allow children to send letters to Santa Claus pleading their good behaviour and requesting gifts; these letters may be answered by postal workers or other volunteers. (Canada Post has a special postal code for letters to Santa Claus: H0H 0H0.)

Sometimes charities answer letters from children in poor neighborhoods and give them gifts they would not otherwise receive.

Some people have created websites for Santa on which children can send e-mails to Santa Claus requesting gifts and telling of their good behaviour.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has been immortalised in a Gene Autry song, written by a Montgomery Ward copywriter, which is frequently played at Christmas. As such, he is typically included as the sleigh's lead reindeer. The names of all the other reindeer were invented in the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (better known today as The Night Before Christmas) ascribed to Clement Clarke Moore, although there is some question as to his authorship. The reindeer are traditionally pictured with antlers, although male reindeer shed their antlers in the winter. (Female reindeer keep their antlers until spring.)

Many Christian churches dislike the secular focus on Santa and the materialist focus that present-giving gives to the holiday. They would prefer that focus be given to the birth of Jesus, their nominal reason for the Christmas celebration. It should be noted that the festivities at this time of year are predated by the Roman Saturnalia and Germanic Yule festivals which were subsumed within Christianity. It should also be noted that the date of Jesus' birth is not known. The connection between Saturnalia and Jesus' birth was a clerical decision in order to introduce a religious element into the more carnal festivities that the Christian laity were indulging in during winter solstice.

In other countries, the composite figure of Saint Nicholas of Myra and Sinterklaas was blended with local folklore. As an example of the still surviving pagan imagery, in Nordic countries there is the Yule goat (Swedish julbock), a somewhat startling figure with horns which will deliver the presents on Christmas Eve, and a straw goat is a common Christmas decoration. Later, though, in Sweden and Norway, the gift bringer was seen as identical with the Tomte, or tomtenisse, another folklore creature. In Finnish, the Yule Goat survives in the gift bringer's name, joulupukki.

Thomas Nast immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the January 3, 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly.One of the first artists to capture Santa Claus' image as we know him today was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century. In 1863, a picture of Santa illustrated by Nast appeared in Harper's Weekly. It is believed the inspiration for his image came from a mythical German character called Pelznickel (Furry Nicholas) who visited naughty children in their sleep. Urban legend has it that Santa Claus in his current guise (particularly his red and white attire) was created by Haddon Sundblom, an artist working for The Coca-Cola Company, but this is in fact false; the modern image of Santa Claus was already established in the 1920s, years before Sundblom painted the first Coke-promoting Santa1. Nevertheless, Santa Claus and Coca-Cola are still closely associated, and to this day, Santa Claus still appears on Coca-Cola products and advertisements each year around Christmas time.

The depiction of Santa at the North Pole reflected popular opinion about industry. In some images of the early 20th century, Santa was depicted as personally making his toys by hand in a small workshop like a craftsman. Eventually, the idea emerged that he had numerous elves responsible for making the toys, but the toys were still handmade by each individual elf working in the traditional manner. By the end of the century, the reality of mass mechanized production became more fully accepted by the Western public. That shift was reflected in the modern depiction of Santa's residence—now often humorously portrayed as a fully mechanized production facility, equipped with the latest manufacturing technology, and overseen by the elves with Santa and Mrs. Claus as managers. Many TV commercials depict this as a sort of humorous business, with Santa's elves acting as a sometimes mischievously disgruntled workforce, cracking jokes and pulling pranks on their boss.

A current popular comic book series Jingle Belle by writer/cartoonist Paul Dini depicts Santa Claus as harried father with a rebellious half-human, half-elf teen age daughter.

Possible parallel origin
American mycologist Jonathan Ott suggests in his book Pharmacotheon (ISBN 0961423498) that many of the modern features attributed to Santa Claus may somehow be derived from those of the Kamchatkan or Siberian shaman. Apparently, during the midwinter festival (holiday season) in Siberia (near the north pole), the shaman would enter a yurt (home) through the shangrak (chimney), bringing with him a sack of fly agaric mushrooms (presents) to give to the inhabitants. This type of mushroom is brightly colored red and white, like Santa Claus, though the relevance of this is questionable as the standardised red and white Santa dates from no earlier than 1920. The mushrooms were often hung (to dry) in front of the fireplace, much like the stockings of modern-day Christmas. Furthermore, the mushrooms were associated with reindeer who were known to eat them and become intoxicated. Reindeer are also associated with the shaman, and like Santa Claus, many people believed that the shaman could fly. (For more information, see this excerpt from The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey by Roger Highfield)

"Santa Claus" in shopping centers

Eaton's Santa Claus Parade, 1918, Toronto, Canada. Having arrived at the Eaton's department store, Santa is readying his ladder to climb up onto the building.Santa Claus is also a costumed character who appears at Christmas time in department stores or shopping malls, or at parties. He is played by an actor, usually helped by other actors (often mall employees) dressed as elves or other creatures of folklore. His function is either to promote the store's image by distributing small gifts to children, or to provide a seasonal experience to children by having them sit on his knee (a practice now under review by some organisations in Britain [1], and Switzerland [2]), state what they wish to get, and often have a photograph taken. The area set up for this purpose is festively decorated, usually with a large throne, and is called variously "Santa's Grotto", "Santa's Workshop" or a similar term. In America the most notable of these is the Santa at the flagship Macy's store in New York City - he arrives at the store by sleigh in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the last float, and his court takes over a large portion of one floor in the store. David Sedaris is known for the diary he kept while working as an elf in the Macy's display, which he later published.

Quite often the Santa, if and when realised to be fake, says that he is not the real Santa and is helping him at this time of year. Most young children seem to understand this, as the "real" Santa would be extremely busy around Christmas.