OPINION

DANA D. KELLEY: Read all about it

Christmas is a season, not just a holiday.

This distinction predates all modern notions of red-letter calendar dates. Advent is a Latin-derived word that means "coming," and the practice of anticipating and preparing for Christmas is unique among other public days of festivity or observance.

Its roots are religious, of course, but people of any faith (or no faith, for that matter) can and do share each December in what has long been denominated by the loving and giving "Christmas spirit."

And as a holiday with so long a history, and such a stretched-out season, spread across so many nations, one of the most wonderful benefits is a wealth of great storytelling from writers great and small.

My little library of Christmas books grows every year, and my annual contribution to decking our halls is scattering the various volumes about on tables, mantles, shelves and counters.

I liken my task to tree-trimming; if I look at our house as a tree and rooms as branches, my books are the ornaments. I position them to peek out invitingly from places people might gather or pass.

There are large coffee-table-sized books and small pocket-sized ones; colorfully illustrated versions and traditional leather-bound ones; old editions and new ones; anthologies and poetry collections and novellas.

It's wishful thinking, I'm regularly reminded by household skeptics, to imagine that anyone besides myself would ever be prevailed upon to pause, pick up a book, and indulge a random urge for reading a short Christmas tale or verse.

But this I know: it'd be a happier holiday for all if we took more time to do just that.

There is so much to read about Christmas, but without a committed effort the commercialism crowds out most everything--especially something as old-fashioned and time-consuming as reading.

One joy of holiday reading is that it spans almost every genre, time period, rhetorical style and type of author. You can read all about Christmas in mysteries or ghost stories, essays or anecdotes, classic novels or unknown works.

Inspiring words that celebrate the season have poured forth from the pens of both mighty authors and lowly nobodies, and in a way that is peculiar to this time of year and its particular subject, can be equally moving regardless of the source.

The coming of Christmas carries a centuries-old legacy, but it's also brand-new every year, and because of that its vast literature is continually being churned, rediscovered and expanded upon.

The heart of the timeless story never changes, but it's related through a never-ending supply of different settings and characters and experiences.

Part of the season's magic is that different yuletide yarns, in prose or rhyme, unlock different reckonings in each of us as we consider our collective role and purpose with other "fellow passengers to the grave," as Dickens characterized the contemplation.

Holiday reading lists are becoming as popular as the summer variety, and I'll be the first to stand with the stalwart favorites. You can't go wrong re-reading A Christmas Carol, "The Night Before Christmas" or "The Gift of the Magi."

But I'm also quick to suggest that you illuminate your mind in this season of lights by unearthing some new revelations. Selections and opportunities are so numerous, and anthologies so abundant, it's a seek-and-you-shall-find sure-thing endeavor. Even sorting through old Christmas Ideals magazines, which can be found at nearly any antique mall, offers interesting passages, poems and stories you may have never read before.

Here are a few suggestions of Underrated and Overlooked Christmas Stories worth reading.

• "The Burglar's Christmas." Willa Cather was so new when she wrote this short story that she used a pseudonym. It's an introspective look at a young troubled life, with an O. Henry-like twist and a prodigal son flavor.

Christmas Day in the Morning. Intangible gifts often cost nothing in terms of money but can deliver priceless dividends, as this story from Pearl S. Buck so movingly demonstrates. The Pulitzer and Nobel prize winner also published her own collection of holiday stories, Once Upon A Christmas.

The Other Wise Man. Longfellow opens "The Three Kings" by naming them (Melchior, Gaspar and Baltasar), but here Henry Van Dyke tells the story of a fictional fourth pilgrim, Artaban, whose selfless service to people in need made him miss the Magi's caravan to Bethlehem. Artaban's persistence over presenting his gift to the Savior is stirring and uplifting.

A final bibliographical thought: Consider giving a Christmas book as an early gift. Books still make excellent presents in that they are easily memorialized (the sweetness of re-reading an old inscription never fades), have exceedingly long shelf lives and deliver repeatable and recurring pleasure to recipients.

They're also ridiculously inexpensive. I bought good-condition gift copies of a favorite anthology--Jack Newcombe's A Christmas Treasury--for as little as $1.89 on eBay.

Pick one and highlight a story or passage in it. Write a note on the overleaf. And savor the special bliss that comes from sharing something that will furnish its main enjoyment and happiest moments later on, when it's being read.

But do it soon. The season waits for no one.

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Dana D. Kelley is a freelance writer from Jonesboro.

Editorial on 12/06/2019

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