Once upon a Christmas

by Pearl S. Buck

How often have you heard it said of Christmas: If it could only last! For, during this all too brief holiday each year, there does exist among so many people a feeling of friendliness and brotherhood... a spirit of peace on earth, good will to men.

Pearl Buck writes about this unique and mysterious Christmas spirit and its many and varied manifestations for young and old in this very special book. Here she has gathered together her own stories and her Christmas reminiscences of nearly a lifetime. Whether a tale for children or a wise story for mature men and women, each selection reveals the perception and deep humanity of this master story teller and Nobel Prize winner.

Genres: Memoir, Short Stories, Christmas

180 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for The Good Earth, the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and which won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China" and for her "masterpieces", two memoir-biographies of her missionary parents.
Buck was born in West Virginia, but in October 1892, her parents took their 4-month-old baby to China. As the daughter of missionaries and later as a missionary herself, Buck spent most of her life before 1934 in Zhenjiang, with her parents, and in Nanjing, with her first husband. She and her parents spent their summers in a villa in Kuling, Mount Lu, Jiujiang, and it was during this annual pilgrimage that the young girl decided to become a writer. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, then returned to China. From 1914 to 1932, after marrying John Lossing Buck she served as a Presbyterian missionary, but she came to doubt the need for foreign missions. Her views became controversial during the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy, leading to her resignation. After returning to the United States in 1935, she married the publisher Richard J. Walsh and continued writing prolifically. She became an activist and prominent advocate of the rights of women and racial equality, and wrote widely on Chinese and Asian cultures, becoming particularly well known for her efforts on behalf of Asian and mixed-race adoption.

Reviews

[Linore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Christmas-related collection of stories and remembrances is both great fun (due to Buck's masterful fiction writing) but also, sad to say, disappointing when it comes to her autobiographical offerings. The best of it are the short stories. Buck's signature ability to capture a character's emotion and the backstory that explains it in as few words as necessary, is alive and well here. The stories are touching, relatable, and concise. The scenes from China are always interesting (including those from her remembrances). Most of the stories, moreover, are happier than not, even fun, whereas her autobiographical offerings, while interesting and with the odd quotable insight here or there, are nevertheless heavily infused with bittersweet nostalgia laced with tacit criticism of the world today--as if it were ever truly peaceful and without danger. The worst offender in my opinion is what she calls "Thoughts of a Woman at Christmas." Using Mary and Joseph as a mere springboard for her opinions (which are not Christmas related), she takes off on a long rant that is worth skipping. Other remembrances brim with vignettes of magnanimity on the part of her and her household, which are admirable; and simplicity is stressed, both in giving and in the Christmas menu. Buck was truly a humanitarian and it shows.
Yet, while I am a great admirer of (most of) Buck's fiction, which is what earned the four stars, this book that is purportedly about Christmas from a child of missionaries doesn't once give Jesus His due. Instead, she applauds the "spirit of Christmas," namely, goodwill among men, as the ultimate truth. Her references to the Lord are always "the Christ Child;" as if He never grew up, died on the cross, and was resurrected for the sins of the world. I will keep this book and hope to re-read the short stories, but skip the remembrances (with the exception of "Christmas Away from Home," which was truly eye-opening and touching, about pre-Communist China). To put all of this another way, the book celebrates Christmas joy but often lacks it. Nevertheless, any fan of Buck's will find the read worthwhile for its better parts.

[Barb Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories written and told by Pearl Buck for and too her children then eventually compiled and published. I love her short stories.

[Ocean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. Loathed the writing style, too concise for my liking. I had no interest in any of the short stories I read in this book either.

Found this book in the trash -literally- so at least I don't have to regret buying it.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming collection of stories by Pearl Buck. Many take place in China where she spent her early childhood.
She writes with a pleasant style and introduces the reader to many tales from China
I really enjoyed this Christmas collection of stories!

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Affectionate collection of Christmas stories, some of them autobiographical.
I liked it.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the stories about her christmases. Interesting woman

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some time back in the 1970's, I spent a delightful few hours reading
Pearl S. Buck's collection "Once Upon a Christmas." For years, I had
fond memories of these stories, though I must admit that I didn't
recall too many specifics. Several years ago, I recommended this
collection to friends who, upon reading it, informed me in no uncertain
terms that I had lost my mind. They insisted that the stories were
incredibly depressing and that the Christmas spirit I promised them
was nowhere to be found in this little volume.  

Well, after all that, I just had to give "Once Upon a Christmas," another look.
 
Let's first deal with the issue of its contents. was it as depressing
as my friends claimed? Not quite. It's true that the stories did not
exactly exude holiday cheer. Loneliness, depression, death and even
suicide pervades this collection. What Buck manages to do, at least
sometimes, is to show through these stories that the Christmas spirit
can be found even in the most dire of circumstances.
 
Was it worth the read? Not particularly. While I enjoyed some of the
stories, I don't understand why I have such fond memories of this
rather odd compendium. While I found some of the selections moderately
interesting, most of them simply didn't hold my attention. The essay on
the woman's movement which appears in the middle of the book seemed
completely out of place, though buck did make a halfhearted effort to
connect it to Christmas. The strongest stories were those which dealt
with human relationships, though even here, none were truly outstanding.
 
I'm not sure just why I was so
impressed by Buck's collection, but it would have been nice to keep
those memories alive. AT any rate, Buck is a fine writer and perhaps
some who read this review will experience the beauty and wonder I
originally found in its pages.


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[Elizabeth Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each of the entries collection of Christmas tales and reminiscences was written by Buck over decades of Christmases as Christmas present for her family. Shared here, they are mostly slight, some are antique in style and tone, others are insightful, or provide insight into Christmas traditions in the China of Buck's youth, or are tender as they consider Christmas in Vietnam during the war, but all are satisfying in a perfectly sweet old-fashioned Christmas way.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a marvelous view of Christmas and the values we all hold so dear. I appreciated Buck's insight into humanity, and the sacredness of the Christchild - who tradition holds differently among different nations and cultures. I also felt very validated as she told about the children of the world she has taken into her home and care, and the Welcome House. It made me long for the time of living on the land and resources that made many things possible.

[Alexandra]

i don't know

[Donna Gabbard]

Abandoned!