I thought I’d start something new… Friday conversations. After all, part of the fun of blogs is getting to chat with people.
Since we’re into the Advent season and I just reviewed Melody Carlson’s The Christmas Dog, I thought I’d ask:
Do you like reading Christmas-themed stories this time of year? Does it help give you that Christmas feeling — or does it add to the sense of “I’m not ready yet!”?
For me, sometimes I enjoy reading a Christmas book over the holidays but it’s not something I seek out except… every year between Christmas and New Year’s I read Seeker of Stars, by Canadian author Susan Fish. It’s a novella about Melchior, one of the Three Wise Men, and I don’t fully feel I’ve celebrated the season until I’ve visited Melchi and his crowd. Must review this one so I can tell you more about it….
If you’re looking for short Christmas fiction, check out this month’s Christian Fiction Online magazine. Dee Stewart’s Multicultural Fiction column features eight short stories — and one of them’s mine!
So let us know… do you enjoy Christmas stories or not? Have any favourites?
Joanna,
In thinking about your question, I had to pause a bit….. It seems that I like to read things that strongly point to the birth of Christ any time of the year….. So, the preparations we go through during the Christmas season are just the extras that go along…… The mood is treasured at many different times of the year and are actually appreciated more then because of all the trappings of commercialism that have a way of taking away from the real meaning and mood of Christ’s birth.
Make sense?
Margaret
Hi Margaret,
I think I see what you mean. There’s one Christmas CD I like to play year-round, because it looks at Jesus’ birth through the eyes of the various people involved (Todd Agnew’s Do You See What I See)
I wonder if Christmas reading and music enjoyed during the holidays can be an antidote to the pressures and commercialism that try to pull our focus off-track.
Thanks for stopping to chat!
Joanna,
Yes, definitely!….. We are human beings who are so easily swayed by the pressures and commercialism that are so abundant….. They wear us down….. Humanly speaking, we really need things to get us back on track.
I love having Christmas music in the background all day because it does put truthful and meaningful impressions on the day.
Margaret