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Books
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Links to Books & Lit On-Line
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to Holiday Stories Old & New  | Quomodo
Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit
***
***
[The Grinch in Latin] |
Always
on Christmas night there was music. An uncle played the fiddle, a cousin sang
"Cherry Ripe," and another uncle sang "Drake's Drum."
It was very warm in the little house. Auntie Hannah, who had got on to the
parsnip wine, sang a song about Bleeding Hearts and Death, and then another in
which she said her heart was like a Bird's Nest; and then everybody laughed
again; and then I went to bed. Looking through my bedroom window, out into
the moonlight and the unending smoke-colored snow, I could see the lights in the
windows of all the other houses on our hill and hear the music rising from them
up the long, steady falling night. I turned the gas down, I got into
bed. I said some words to the close and holy darkness, and then I slept.
from
A Child's Christmas in Wales
Dylan Thomas The
holidays are a time of stories -- from the original stories from which the
holidays emerge, like that of the Maccabees and the miracle of Chanukah or the
Nativity stories of the New Testament, to classics like The Night Before
Christmas or O'Henry's Gift of the Magi, to more recent works like
Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales or Dr. Seuss's How the
Grinch Stole Christmas. ... This month
in Links to Books & Lit On-Line, then, we thought we offer a few sites with
collections of Holiday Stories, Old & New. ... We hope you enjoy
them. {Note: You may also want to check out this month's Links
to Religion & Spirit On-Line for more links to 'holy-day' sites.}
Classic
Christmas Tales and Christmas
Stories
Both of these links are on the ChristmasStories.com
site. ... The first offers up a simple selection of timeless
classics, including Luke 2:1-20, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa
Claus," {originally a N.Y. Sun Editorial}, "A Christmas
Carol" by Charles Dickens, "Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry,
"'Twas Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore, "How the
Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Suess, "A Child's Christmas in
Wales" by Dylan Thomas, "The Elves & the Shoemaker" by
the Brothers Grimm, "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian
Anderson, and more.
.
The second link
will take you to "original Christmas stories by Daniel 'Chip'
Ciammaichella," the apparent proprietor of the ChristmasStories.com
site. Some of Chip's titles include "My Last Christmas in the
Land of Enchantment," "The Year the Reindeer Couldn't Fly,"
"Miracle in Climax Canyon," and an off-beat sounding title called
"Grandpa Got Runover by a Reindeer." You can also download Christmas
Miracles -- "the entire collection of [the author's] original
Christmas Stories and get a FREE copy of the book too!"
.
Not
every Christmas story site is worth a visit. The fact that this one is
focused on Christmas stories, as well as some music and games and
other things Christmas, makes it worth a look.
Rating: ***1/2
[3-1/2 stars]
. All
about Christmas
While not technically Christmas stories and
poems, this site will probably answer just about any question you might have
about Christmas tradition, lore and celebration. ...
.
Topics
include: The history of Christmas, Solstice, Jesus Christ, Father
Christmas, Christmas trees, Christmas carols, Christmas cards, Christmas
stamps, Christmas crackers, Christmas pudding, The Reindeer, The elves,
Christmas gifts, The gift givers, The mistletoe, and "Boxing
Day?" ... as well as Other festivals over the Christmas
season.
.
There may be other sites out
there that do pieces of this Xmas puzzle better. But there are few, if
any, that take it all on and do it as straightforwardly and well.
Rating:
***1/2 [3-1/2 stars]
. Virtual
Chanukah
This link to VirtualChanukah.com -- a site that leans on
the Chassidic tradition -- is a delightful find. And while it contains
much more than stories, we include it here because, of all the Chanukah
sites, it had the most stories {vs. lessons or other info}. ...
.
Click
on Tales of Light for heart of the stories. It will take you to a page
with ten tales, including A Chanukah Postcard, A Long Day For Morgenstern,
Chanukah Lights and Shadows, It Should Once Again See Light, Loyalty,
Miracles Happen, The Miracle of Bubbie's Menorah, and The Vanished
Flame. ... Click on the Story of Chanukah and you'll find not
only the main story of the holiday, but a story of Yehudit {Judith}, one
called After Chanukah, and something called Tales of the Chanukah Nights, a
link to eight more tales --one for each night of the celebration.
... If you click on Olive Drops, you'll find yourself on a page with
additional tales and meditations. The former are listed at the upper
left, while the meditations are available by clicking on any of the eight
flames of the menorah that appear at the top of the page. ...
Finally, click on Chanukah Insights and you'll find yourself on a page which
offers "deeper discussions of the Chanukah story, laws and
meaning."
.
All in all, Virtual Chanukah has devoted itself to a
single holiday and has done a solid and thoughtful job that is also
enjoyable. ...
Rating: ****1/2 [4-1/2 stars]
. The
Official Kwanzaa Web Site
The African-American celebration of
Kwanzaa is now some 35 years old, and this site derives its
"official" status from the fact that it was developed by the
founder of the holiday, Dr. Maulana Karenga. ...
.
While the
site doesn't contain stories per se, it does contain a wealth of info about
the origins, meaning, and celebration of Kwanzaa -- all of which, taken
together, are the story of Kwanzaa. The main links to info about the
holiday include section entitled Roots and Branches, Seven Principles, The
Symbols, Greetings, Gifts, Colors & Decorations, The Celebration, The
Meditation,, and an FAQ. There are also a series of Founder's Messages
dating back to 1994.
.
For those who will be celebrating Kwanzaa and
are looking for the details, as well as those who would simply like to learn
more about the holiday, this is the definitive starting point.
Rating:
**** [4 stars]
. Yule
{from the Watertown [CT] Library}
We searched pretty hard for a site
that offered stories and info on Winter Solstice celebrations not associated
with any of the major world religions. But, while we could find all
sorts of sites providing info on pagan celebrations, we couldn't find one
with either stories or extensive information. For that reason, we
chose this link from the Watertown Library, which is simply a page of links
to other sources of info about Yule-tide on the web. ...
.
The
links lean heavily toward circlesanctuary.org -- probably the most
comprehensive site of pagan and Wiccan info and lore. But there are
other sites, as well, that, taken together, can help those interested find
what they may be looking for. Topic links include: Winter
Solstice, Yule, Ancient Origins of Winter Solstice, Ancient Origins of Yule,
Observing Winter Solstice Today, Celebrating the Winter Solstice, Yule Plant
Lore, Celebrations for Families & Households, Saturnalia in Ancient
Rome, and a link About the Solstice -- Science.
.
If
anyone knows of a better site, let us know. Meanwhile, this offering
from the Watertown Library will have to do.
Rating: *** [3 stars]
.
About Links to Books & Lit On-Line
The
amount of info on the web is enormous, as anyone who's ever tried to run a
search can attest to. To put it all in context, best estimates say that
only a fraction -- maybe 20 - 40 % of what's out there -- is actually making its
way to the search engines. Well, here at DownStreet,
we'd like to try to help. So each issue, we post a few links in Books
& Lit to sites that might interest you. Sometimes the links will be
related to one another ... sometimes we'll just offer up a somewhat
random sampling. Sometimes they're about Vermont sites, sometimes
not. Of course, while we can't vouch for the fact that
every link we provide will be of interest to everyone, we do our best to filter
out the noise and the bustle and focus on quality sites. ... In that
light, we hope you enjoy these sites as much as we have. . *******
******* If you know of any
links that you think are worthwhile, why not send them along to ...
links@downstreetmagazine.com
... If we agree, we'll be happy to include
them in an upcoming issue to pass the word along. ...
Thanks. *******
******* .
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