| Christmas Stories are always fascinating, but we | | | | trees with green leaves for the whole year and this is |
| hardly try to find out why we have so many stories on | | | | the legend of Evergreen Trees. |
| Christmas. Elizabeth Harrison's "Little Gretchen and the | | | | The Christmas spirit is best felt in the legend on |
| Wooden Shoe" or "A Christmas Star" by Katherine | | | | nutcracker. It is about the girl Clara and her magical |
| Pyle gives some of the religious flavor of Christmas. | | | | mysterious nutcracker. There is a fight with the Evil |
| What the stories are actually about? These are not | | | | and ultimately the Nutcracker Prince takes her to the |
| always religious. The mystical power of mistletoe has | | | | magic land, the land of hope, beauty and fancy. The |
| its origin in the legend of Goddess Frigga and her son | | | | ballet of Alexander Drumas Pere has a positive ending |
| Balder. The story unfolds a very important Christian | | | | in tune with the Christmas spirit- Clara wakes up on |
| theme, the theme of love and well being of all. One | | | | Christmas Day and finds herself surrounded by her |
| cannot really label the connection as "pagan" as the | | | | family. It is the time to be with your closed ones. |
| spirit is highly Christian but the Goddess was a mythical | | | | Mostly the stories have child characters. Dickens's A , |
| persona.. | | | | Christmas Carols carry the secular spirit of a festival |
| There are fabulous stories relating the birth of Christ | | | | and 'Toinette and the Elves' by Susan Coolidge give us |
| which attract the children most. Mario and Pablo, the | | | | fascinating stories on the event. Some are directly |
| two poor brothers and sisters decided to decorate the | | | | related to the birth of Jesus and some were never a |
| bed of the baby Jesus with weeds as they could not | | | | part of the event but later on some religious |
| afford expensive gifts for Him. The miracle happened | | | | significance has been added to them to make them |
| when the weeds turn out to be red star shaped | | | | apt for the Christmas spirit.. So, what was once |
| flowers. The legend really does not have the name of | | | | sacrilegious now it is a part of the religious custom to |
| the flower in it. The name comes from another story. | | | | have candy cones on Christmas. The stories are |
| Dr. Joel Poinsett, the first ambassador to Mexico | | | | perhaps the best tools to convey in a simple language |
| bought the red star shaped flower to U.S. Thus we | | | | what Christmas stands for . Birth of Christ is just an |
| get the name from this person. The legend is a fine | | | | event and the legends are there to explain why Christ |
| blending of a myth and a reality. | | | | was bought in this world of sin. Hence, fight with Evil |
| The legend of candy cone is highly interesting and | | | | and vanity is a common theme for most of the stories. |
| secular in spirit. One can trace back its origin in | | | | The stories are quite interesting with the essence of |
| Cologne Cathedra where children were not paying | | | | mystery, magic, miracle and fancy that they definitely |
| attention to choirmaster on a particular day. The | | | | have an universal appeal. They are basically good |
| choirmaster gave them long, white sugar candy stick in | | | | stories with real characters fighting their bad luck and |
| order to keep them quiet. He knew that giving out | | | | ultimately meeting their good fortune. The readers get |
| chocolates and candies in the church was sacrilegious | | | | the satisfaction as poetic justice is always done .The |
| and so he gave them the shapes of shepherd's cane | | | | world has been divided into black and white or evil and |
| who went to worship the Christ on the day He was | | | | good. There is no modern gray characters and so less |
| born. Here comes the religious significance of the | | | | complex and easy to understand. Thus they are |
| candy cones. Now the white and red J-shaped | | | | perfect children stories till date. Why do we really |
| candies get always associated with Christmas and the | | | | believe all these? Perhaps it is because of the |
| Christian religion as 'J' stands for "Jesus". | | | | satisfaction we get when the evils are punished or we |
| Many stories evolve round the helping spirit of | | | | get the hope of meeting the dream world of Clara in |
| Christmas. The little migrating birds got shelter from | | | | the nutcracker legend. Even if we fail to give a new |
| spruce, pine and juniper tree in the midst of frost and | | | | world to the children we can at least give them Oliver |
| snow. The Frost King punished willow, oak and bird | | | | Miller's "Christmas in the Alley". |
| trees for their selfish attitude and rewarded the kind | | | | |