Holiday Storytelling: The Night Before Christmas

Well, the countdown calendar I’ve had for many years now looks like this:

Yes, I'm a Disneyphile, what of it?

…so it must be time for the iconic Christmas poem! Not that it matters when you can’t see me (I did think of doing a video, but there were technical difficulties with the fireplace), but I’ll be reading from this edition, bought on a whim a few years ago when I realized I didn’t own a copy of Clement C. Moore’s poem. It’s gorgeous:

So without further ado:

The Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
BLESSED YULE!
…just…have a fantastic season,
however you celebrate!

Holiday Storytelling: Yes, Virginia…

In 1897, eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote to The Sun newspaper in New York to ask a very important question that had been weighing on her young mind. On September 21, editor Francis Pharcellus Church replied in what may be the most famous – and certainly still applicable – letter in the world.

Is There a Santa Claus?
by Francis Pharcellus Church
as published in The Sun, September 21, 1897

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Church's letter

Holiday Storytelling: How Claus Made the First Toy

This is just one chapter of L. Frank Baum’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.

How Claus Made the First Toy
by L. Frank Baum

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The entire chapter recording was five and a half minutes long, and AudioBoo has a five-minute limit (as you’ve probably realized from some of my multi-boo readings). I didn’t think it was worth it to do “parts”, so I found a bit that wasn’t strictly necessary to the excerpt and deleted it. But I’d gone to such trouble to re-record it on the first go and provide a distinct voice for Jack Frost (why he came out vaguely Australian is anybody’s guess, and I do apologize for the mangled accent) that I couldn’t just toss it into the Recycle Bin. So, like any good DVD Bonus Features section, the Refuge presents this deleted scene:

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Holiday Storytelling: A Letter from Santa

What I wouldn’t give to hear Hal Holbrook read this. I’m sure I don’t do it justice.

A Letter from Santa
by Mark Twain, to his daughter Susy

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Holiday Storytelling: Santa’s Flight Exam

This is awful, sorry.

Santa’s Flight Exam

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Holiday Storytelling: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Because it’s just not Christmas without the old grouch, is it?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
by Dr. Seuss

Part 1: Or click here.

Part 2: Or click here.

Holiday Storytelling: The Christmas Fairy of Strasburg

I think this is going to be the last tree-related one. Tomorrow starts Christmas Week, and I’ve found several Santa-related stories!

The Christmas Fairy of Strasburg:
A German Folk-Tale

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Holiday Storytelling: Why the Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves

Understandably, there are a lot of tree-related stories for this time of year. This one reminds me of a Native American story about a birch tree (with a much different personality than this one!) I learned from my dad and keep meaning to record… This one also sees me trying ten different voices. Apologies.

Why the Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves
by Florence Holbrook

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Holiday Storytelling: The Christmas Thorn of Glastonbury

Keeping on a plant theme…

The Christmas Thorn of Glastonbury:
A Legend of Ancient Britain

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Holiday Storytelling: How the Fir Tree Became the Christmas Tree

How the Fir Tree Became the Christmas Tree
by Aunt Hede, in Kindergarten Magazine

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