This most wonderful time of the year has motivated our family to put aside our typical reading and select several pieces of holiday literature for the season. So what is top on our list this month?
I assigned Brandon A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, to read for school while his literature class is on hiatus. He devoured the book in a week, appreciating this timeless tale that we watch each Christmas. His daddy followed his lead and also read Dicken's holiday classic.
Brandon refused to stop at one Christmas reading and gave himself quite a goal of having several holiday books read before the big day. He paused from his current venture of completing the Chronicles of Narnia series and the Hardy Boys collection to also read the seasonal stories assigned to Nicholas and Zachary.
Nicholas was able to choose among several options and decided upon the original nutcracker story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, written in 1816 by E.T.A. Hoffmann. His choice is not surprising to anyone who has observed the abundance of these figures in his room, a collection he began a few years ago. He thoroughly enjoyed the book and anticipates reading Alexander Dumas’ version next year, if he can wait that long.
Zachary’s assigned seasonal reading was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson. My lack of planning in advance gave him one week to complete this book during our reading time together. Being quite a task for my second grader, we alternated reading sections aloud.
I absolutely love this book and have read it multiple times. Mike and I both remember acting in play versions during our own school days so long ago. I hope our children develop a similar love for it as they learn to appreciate its message of what Christmas is all about. “Hey, unto you a child is born!”
After having read A Christmas Carol last year, this year my holiday reading has included a book my mom loaned me, Christmas at Herrington’s, by Melody Carlson. What I appreciate most about this redemptive, feel-good story is Carlson’s message that while Santa Claus and other traditions are fun, God’s gift of Jesus is what Christmas is really all about.
Today, on the first day of our Christmas school break, I have begun the lofty goal of also reading Hoffman’s nutcracker story before we see the ballet (a condensed, complimentary version for students) tomorrow at noon. Even though this tale is less than 100 pages, it will be quite a feat to complete due to baking, laundry, a party tonight, and other tasks on my agenda for the day. I hope to at least finish the book before Christmas arrives in five days!
Our regular family devotions are suspended in December in order to focus together on special Christmas ones. In past years, we have read prophecies in the whole testimony and the fulfillment of those prophecies by Jesus in the New Testament. Another favorite has been Lisa Whelchel’s book The Adventures of Christmas.
This year we have been reading from a book my brother gave us, The Christmas Countdown, by Margie J. Harding. We are encouraged by the meaningful messages with practical application, but our favorite part has to be the Christmas carols at the end of each lesson. A bit hesitant at first, we now eagerly anticipate singing our best around the living room table at the conclusion of our devotional time.
Our holiday reading will climax on Christmas morning as we gather in our bedroom for our annual tradition of reading the story of Jesus’ birth from the books of Matthew and Luke in the Bible. Jesus is the reason for all of our celebrations, and we want to begin this very special day with our focus on the true meaning of Christmas.
“For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
2 comments:
Enjoyed your post, and glad you are enjoying the Advent devotion book. Ryan is reading A Christmas Carol as well, and I think they are watching the movie tomorrow in school. I have been enjoying a book by Paula Gooder, titled, "The Meaning is in the Waiting." The title comes from a line in a poem by R.S. Thomas, one of my favorites. Chapters are about Abraham and Sarah—who waited a lifetime for the fulfillment of God's promises, the Hebrew prophets—who waited with hope and trepidation for God to intervene and bring about justice and mercy, John the Baptist—whose own ministry set the stage for Jesus' new covenant, and Mary—whose life was shaped by waiting for the birth, death and resurrection of her son. It is easy to fill this season with activity and rush, but this book finds deep meaning in waiting.
Glad you are having a meaningful Advent and Christmas season. Blessings to you all.
A book you need to read sometime at Christmas is Jotham's Journey. My kids groaned every night when we had to stop reading it! I got the companion books to read in the future.
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