December’s grey, short days make it a wonderful period for celebrating light and festivity, although I have often wished that we could save some of the celebration for January and February, which in the DC area feature dismal weather and no break in routine. The tree-lighting ceremony for the Christmas tree in Market Square is held the day after Thanksgiving on November 25th from 7-9 pm, and the Scottish Walk is held this year on December 3rd at 11 am. Up to 30,000 people gather to watch the parade that helps celebrate the Scottish ancestry that helped build Alexandria. Old Town strings its traditional white lights in the trees lining King Street, and shops are bright, busy, and abuzz with activity and passersby. Last year I went to the Jewish Community Center in DC, bought my first menorah and celebrated my first Hanukkah. I enjoyed it thoroughly. In previous years I have spun the dreidel, but ceremonially lighting the slender multi-colored candles on my mosaic-laced menorah was a special ritual for me. I look forward to doing it again. This month is and always should be about light overtaking the darkness. Story is the best form of light there is.
“Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.” Thus begins the most delightfully gruesome Christmas ghost story ever. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was first published on 17 December 1843 in England, when the Christmas tree and Christmas greeting cards were coming into vogue. Since I have been an adult, I have re-read A Christmas Carol every year on Christmas Day. It seems almost unnecessary to say that this tale completely embodies the spirit of the season. Ebenezer Scrooge, an embittered, narrow-minded businessman who has been made cynical and stingy by life, greed, and habit, is forced to see his shortcomings by hearing the fate of his former financial partner, Jacob Marley. Marley’s ghost comes to visit him on Christmas Eve, followed by the Ghosts of Scrooge’s Past, Present, and Future. Scrooge is gradually changed, rejuvenated, and softened through viewing his own life in the visions presented to him by these alternately frightening and empowering spirits. A Christmas Carol is not as much a religious as it is a spiritual story. It is open to anyone and everyone who believes in the human ability to change. As adults, we assume that most people do not change, so it is always refreshing to be reminded that they can. A free online version is available at places including University of Virginia’s http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DicChri.html . Also, there are many nice leather-bound versions available at bookstores that sometimes include other Dickens novels.
Since I am devoting this column to my favorite Christmas stories, I have to include Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory.” Published in the 1950s, Capote’s autobiographical account describes himself and an elderly aunt who collect their spare pennies over the year, gathering just enough funds to buy the ingredients to make a cornucopia of Christmas fruitcakes. They sent these fruitcakes to everyone from local peddlers to President and Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt. Taking place in rural Alabama in the 1930s, Capote’s story of his boyhood self and beloved aunt is magical. This homespun tale of Christmas generosity and the love shared between him and a simple woman who remained a child in spirit also encapsulates a tiny world: the world of a relationship between two people. While poignant enough to bring you to tears, it is not sentimental in a cheap way. A free online version is available at http://members.multimania.co.uk/shortstories/capotechristmas.html . There is also a lovely illustrated 50th anniversary edition with an accompanying CD of the story read by actress Celeste Holm. This tale is another to be shared annually between adults and children.
If you are looking for a published compendium of Christmas stories, The Greatest Christmas Stories of All Time: Timeless Classics That Celebrate the Season has several I mentioned, in addition to many others. It would definitely have been a great present for me, ranging from the time I was about seven to now!
Last year I had much fun with a recordable Hallmark version of the celebrated poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” also known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” by Clement C. Moore. Illustrated for young readers, it allows you to read each page out loud and listen back to your recording before making it permanent. I sent this to my goddaughter last year. Her parents recorded a video of her listening to it intently and flipping the pages. My Christmas happiness was complete.
To finish off my selection, I want to mention briefly two books I have reviewed in previous columns. I have to pick Laura Hillenbrand’s book Unbroken as the favorite new book I’ve read this year. Before reading it I would never have guessed that it would win my vote, but it has staying power and appeal for a wide range of personalities. It will be a classic of its genre. Also, if you are looking for a holiday present for non-readers, this is one to consider. It is extremely well and sparely written. I work hard to find worthwhile works to send to my brother, a very active, outdoorsy person who is not one to pick up the random paperback. He is now on page 200 and really enjoying it. I knew he would, because it is hard for anyone not to find something meaningful within. Parts of it, and its protagonist, Louie Zamperini, come back in my memory and resonate there often. As a nonfiction account of an Olympic runner and WWII pilot shot down in the South Pacific, it is a very American adventure story in all the best ways. At Christmas, it may be your wish to give a gift that is, like this book and A Christmas Carol, a story of redemption.
My favorite re-read classic this year is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. I had not read it since high school. If you have children or grandchildren perusing it as an assignment, think about picking up a copy for yourself so that you are not left out. In addition to providing the topic for an excellent discussion, you will probably find it much more rewarding this time around. This novel, set in small-town Alabama with memorable characters (one smaller member of the supporting cast is actually a fictionalized portrait of the previously mentioned author Truman Capote), exemplifies the many cultural reasons race relations in this country have changed over time.
Please consider buying any gifts at independent bookstores. I say this every holiday season as a former seller at the Olsson’s Books & Records that used to be on S. Union Street in Old Town. Independents provide room for lesser-known but important authors without big publicity campaigns behind them to gain a readership. Most importantly, they give their communities much-needed spaces with individual character where you can browse, meet like-minded people, and dream of other worlds, times, and places. Happy holidays and happy reading!
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