On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:47:23 +0000, John Kulig wrote: > We've covered Tipster's favorite christmas songs, here is my >recommendation for books: Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas >Pageant Ever (1972). It was recommended by a friend and I >just finished reading it to my kids. It's a GREAT kid's book, >about an obnoxious, unruly family of kids who manage to get >parts in (what was supposed to be) a prim and proper christmas >pageant
Well, since the Subject line says "Holiday Stories", let me suggest O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi", a story that psychologists can use when discussing interpersonal relationships. Copies of the story are available online and one website that has the story as well as an mp3 reading of the story is this: http://www.transpacificradio.com/2006/12/21/xmas3-deorio/ For background to the story, see its Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_of_the_Magi It should be noted that Wikipedia also has a listing of "Christmas Fiction"; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Christmas_fiction And let's not forget the old Christmas favorites such as Clement Moore's "The Night Before Christmas" which helped to establish our current conception of Santa Claus (though the jolly old man in a red suit was made more popular through his portrayal in Coca-Cola ads in the 20th century;see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/6870862/The-saintly-spirit-of-Father-Christmas.html): For the text of the poem and some background; see: http://www.carols.org.uk/twas_the_night_before_christmas.htm Let us not forget Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", a free version of which is available on books.google.com; see: http://books.google.com/books?id=P9s0AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22a+christmas+carol%22&cd=12#v=onepage&q=&f=false or http://tinyurl.com/y922vja Books.google.com has about 87 books with the title "Christmas Stories" some of which make the full contents available while other provide limited views or no preview; see: http://books.google.com/books?ei=uRgyS7jACozTlAfiqt2VBw&ct=result&q=%22christmas+stories%22&btnG=Search+Books Perhaps I may be permitted to change the direction of this discussion by identifying what are my favorite Christmas movies or Christmas associated movies (i.e., because these movies though not explicitly about Christmas were presented around Christmas time). My top five favorite Christmas movies are, in reverse ranking, are: (5) March of the Wooden Soldier (Laurel & Hardy) (4) The Wizard of Oz (if you have ask...) (3) It's A Wonderful Life (prototypical Frank Capra corn) (4) A Christmas Carol aka Scrooge (with Alistair Sim; for some reason that I could never understand in the past the NY Times in its TV listings would say that this film lays on the "Freudian sauce" heavily) And my favorite Christmas movie is: (Drum roll!) (Wait for it!) (1) Die Hard (with Bruce Willis; a wonderful film about loss and gain, redemption, hope, the human spirit overcoming overwhelming odds, and lots of guns and explosions! ;-) I find that most people look at me oddly when I say that "Die Hard" is my favorite Christmas movie. Perhaps they forget that it takes place on Christmas Eve and its underlying theme of miraculous occurrences. Plus the boyish fun of blowing stuff up! :-) Honorable mentions: A Christmas Story (1983; "You'll shoot your eye out!") Three Godfathers (1948; John Ford directior; Starring John Wayne) Tokyo Godfathers (2003; see www.imdb.com for info) Since You Went Away (1944; starring Claudette Colbert) Meet John Doe (1941; more Capra corn) For a more comprehensive list of Christmas movies and Christmas related movies, see the list on Wikipedia: see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_films And a "Bah Humbug!", er, I mean "Happy Holidays" to all. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] P.S. I have to admit that I found the Saturday Night Live (SNL) Christmas special pretty funny, especially the sketchs with Alec Baldwin reprising his "Glengarry Glen Ross" speech to underperforming Santa's helpers and his "Schweddy Balls" bit; see: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/nprs-delicious-dish-schweddy-balls/2846/ --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
