Christmas at The New Yorker: Stories, Poems, Humor, and Art

by John Updike (Foreword)

From the pages of America’s most influential magazine come eight decades of holiday cheer–plus the occasional comical coal in the stocking–in one incomparable collection. Sublime and ridiculous, sentimental and searing, Christmas at The New Yorker is a gift of great writing and drawing by literary legends and laugh-out-loud cartoonists.

Here are seasonal stories, poems, memoirs. and more, from a stellar roster of writers, including John Cheever, James Dickey, Richard Ford, Ken Kesey, Alice Munro, Vladimir Nabokov, S. J. Perelman, Adrienne Rich, and James Thurber. And it wouldn’t be Christmas–or The New Yorker–without dozens of covers and cartoons by Addams, Arno, Chast, and others, or the mischievous verse of Roger Angell, Calvin Trillin, and Ogden Nash (“Do you know Mrs. Millard Fillmore Revere? / On her calendar, Christmas comes three hundred and sixty-five times a year.”)
From Jazz Age to New Age, E. B. White to Garrison Keillor, these works represent eighty years of wonderful keepsakes for Christmas, from The New Yorker to you.

Genres: Christmas, Short Stories, Humor, Poetry, Fiction, Anthologies, Holiday

305 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2003

About the author

John Hoyer Updike was an American writer. Updike's most famous work is his Rabbit series (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; and Rabbit Remembered). Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest both won Pulitzer Prizes for Updike. Describing his subject as "the American small town, Protestant middle class," Updike is well known for his careful craftsmanship and prolific writing, having published 22 novels and more than a dozen short story collections as well as poetry, literary criticism and children's books. Hundreds of his stories, reviews, and poems have appeared in The New Yorker since the 1950s. His works often explore sex, faith, and death, and their inter-relationships.

He died of lung cancer at age 76.

Reviews

[Jessaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book But there are too many stories so I will read more next year.

2 story stand out for me. 1 is about 2 grammar school brothers who are celebrating Christmas. 1 of the boys Learns that he likes his brother's gift better than his own so he switches them out while his brother is still sleeping. There is a moral to this story. The other story is about an elevator operator in New York city. He works in a hotel and meets the people everyday. When they say merry Christmas to Him he says that Christmas is a sad season and then says that he is always alone. This story 2 has a moral at the ending. There should be no morals at Christmas. Christmas should always have a happy ending.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there's a theme to this collection, it might be How Difficult Christmas Can Be For the Bourgeoisie. The writing is good, as one would expect, but really how many melancholy stories do we need about how lonely and alienated many people feel over the holidays? There are a couple of grimly humorous pieces, but, overall, unless you are one of those people who enjoy hating Christmas, this book is fairly depressing.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2003’s collection, Christmas At The New Yorker: Stories, Poems, Humor, And Art, contains Christmas related stories, poems, and cartoons from The New Yorker magazine from between 1925 to the early 21st Century. The collection had a written forward by the Pennsylvanian-born writer John Updike, who wrote for The New Yorker frequently between 1954 until his death in January 2009. Updike wrote three pieces for the collection: the personal history of Christmas growing in 1930s Pennsylvania entitled “Christmas Cards” (1997), a humorous piece called “The Twelve Terrors of Christmas” (1992), and the fictional short story, “The Carol Sing” (1970). I enjoyed the personal history of an Associated Press correspondent named Max Hill, who spent the Christmas of 1941 in Sugamo Prison, known in Japanese as Tokio Kochisho, for being an American press correspondent in Japan. The story is entitled “Tokio Christmas” (1942). I found the short fictional story by the Missourian-born writer Emily Hahn, “No Santa Claus” (1945) interesting. The 1940s seemed to have produced several pieces that I found interesting. Massachusetts-born writer John McNulty's fictional short story, “Two People He Never Saw” (1944) was also interesting. Christmas At The New Yorker is an interesting overview of Christmas material at the New Yorker over the course of 78 years.

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I just don't get the New Yorker. A few of the cartoons were funny, and maybe a couple of the stories. The rest of it was kind of "huh?"

[Nina Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to bump this up to 4 stars, despite not being able to read all of its contents. I’ll get to that. The stories that were good, were really good. Fabulous writing from some literary giants. Endearing, sweet, and cheeky short stories and jokes that truly honed in on the spirit of the Christmas season. The comics usually gave me a small aha, but it was the short humor blurbs that really made me laugh. Quite a charming little collection of Christmas relics.

I read it on an e-reader so the layout was a bit strange. Some smaller stories or comics were interspersed with the short stories in a way that awkwardly interrupted what I was reading. This was an annoying e-reader format that might also be annoying in print. Interspersed between the short stories are cover photos from the various Christmas editions throughout the years. They were quite lovely in color, on my phone app. Format wise, the book is likely better read in print.

As for the short stories themselves, they were hit or miss for me. Some were depressing and some were a little too true to the times, in ways that would’ve been better stuck in the past. Particular patriarchal norms from the decades in focus weren’t ones I wanted to revisit. Alice Munro, for example, shows off her writing talent through a most grotesque story about turkey gutting and workplace sexual harassment. There were also quite a few stories and comics that highlighted the chauvinism of the times. Not the spirit of the holidays I was hoping for so I was happy enough to skip over the stories that I found cringey or grim.

The stories that focused on family, tradition, tidings, and general cheer were so delightful, I savored each one. Here are some of my favorites. Sally Benson’s story, “More of a Surprise” from 1944 reads like a vintage postcard from a 1940s Christmas. Joan Acocella, “My Ex-husband and the Fish Dinner” not only gives a shout out to Marcella Hazan’s cookbook that I love (see earlier posts) but was so honest and funny. George Shephard’s, “Occurrence on the Six-Seventeen '' from 1939 hilariously tells the story of a derelict Christmas tree that isn’t allowed on the train. “A Visit from St. Nicholas (in the Ernest Hemmingway Manner)” written by James Thurber in 1927 captures both Hemmingway’s distinct voice and the original story in a comic way. But the crème de la crème for me were the passages from E.B White. I read these with a smile that would rival that of a small child’s upon opening a present containing exactly what they wanted. These passages gave me goosebumps and that special brand of Christmas warmth. They were also laugh-out-loud funny.

Other stories evoked a strong sense of the unique sadness of the holidays. One in particular by William Maxwell’s, “Homecoming” from 1938, captured the quietness and the grief of the holidays after a loved one has passed. This story highlights the presence of such an absence over the holidays. Max Hill’s personal history, “Tokio Christmas”, is about being alone a long way from home on Christmas, as a prisoner of war. This story exhibited, to me, how Christmas can give us something to do when there is little hope around us or just a break from monotony.

I wish I could access some of these works on the New Yorker website, but they are sadly locked behind subscription fees. There were many excerpts I would love to share with friends or family. It was a pleasure to read these Christmas memories and tales, a true glimpse into Christmases of the past. Reading this book left me feeling sentimental and nostalgic for Christmas traditions, my own and those from long before my time. It might be worth owning the book, I could see myself going back every year to review the stories, jokes, and comics I liked so much. It would make a nice gift for someone who loves Christmas tradition and literature. Though only a couple of poems were interesting to me, there was one rather funny one that evoked my own rosy retrospect of Christmases with my own family. Peter De Vries' poem, “Christmas Family Reunion” from 1949 does a wonderful job of wrapping the collection up neatly in the final section. Like the box of Pot of Gold chocolates my grandparents gifted every Christmas, there were a few duds in here but it was worth sifting through them to get to good ones. There is real Christmas magic in this collection!

[Black Tea Lady ☕️📚 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Siempre me ha encantado el humor del New Yorker pero esta vez, los cuentos no me atraparon tanto como otras veces. Pocos fueron los que se salvaron pero la mayoría no fueron tan buenos. Los poemas y las clásicas historietas o cuadros humorísticos fueron los mejores.

[Patrick DiJusto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is mostly a collection of fiction from the New Yorker. I generally don't agree with New Yorker fiction.

[Brian]

Each year during the Christmas season I try to read a "Christmas-y" book, and this was my choice for 2023. It's quite long and the holidays were busy with family time and celebrations, so I just finished it today (December 29th). But it was a nice way to extend the holiday for a few days.

The quality of the stories in the collection (or at least their appeal to me) is mixed, but a few are excellent. Several of my favorites:

—“Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor” by John Cheever (1949), in which an elevator operator in an apartment building gets a bit carried away enjoying the largesse of the building's residents;

—“Homecoming” by William Maxwell (1938), about a man who returns to his hometown at Christmas to see his best friend and spends time with his friend's young son instead;

—“Occurrence on the Six-Seventeen” by George Shephard (1939), in which a group of commuters enjoys an impromptu Christmas celebration in their train car; and

—"Flesh and the Devil" by Peter De Vries (1950), about a man who decides to be a little too honest with his wife about his office Christmas party.

One of the best aspects of the collection is the nostalgia that it evokes for the Christmas season in years gone by. And I love The New Yorker, so the old covers and classic cartoons that are liberally interspersed among the stories and other short pieces were a real treat.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology covers about 79 years of The New Yorker and gives a good sampling of the cartoons, short stories, poetry, and humor to be found there at Christmastime. Some of the stories and memoirs are slightly depressing, and even some of the cartoons have a cynical side, but New Yorker readers will enjoy this book. Many of the magazine's great ones are represented -- James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Frank Sullivan, John O'Hara, E. B. White and Roger Angell. I am fortunate to own the set of CDs that The New Yorker put out some years back including all the magazines up to that time, and this book made me want to go and look at all the Christmas season issues to see what didn't make the cut. Recommended.

[Vanessa Ellermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give the short story portion three stars, but the poetry section at the end of the book is five stars.

[Jeannine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting for its range of authors, and a nice introduction to ones never read before. But as for Christmas cheer, or Christmas spirit - not so much. I appreciated several of the poems by Joseph Brodsky (translated by Seamus Heaney), but otherwise there was nothing memorable or moving. Darn.

[Kristina Silverbears · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps the problem I'm having with this book is that it isn't a cheerful holiday collection. It isn't funny, or heartwarming or even religious. It is darn depressing, to cut to the short of it. Oh, it is well-written, edited, and in clear English. But the content isn't moving me into any Christmas spirit, which is what I expected from this kind of book. I wanted snow people, marriages, baking, and presents. I got divorce, drunkenness, and guilt. I feel tricked.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection included short stories by many well known writers as would be expected from The New Yorker. I ended up skimming some of them, and skipping most of the poems. The stories were, for the most part, not what I expect from short stories. Often they were more "ironic" than substantive. This may be The New Yorker style. I don't know because I don't read the magazine. In the end, it doesn't deliver the Christmas season good feelings.

[Len Knighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merry Christmas

It would be difficult for a book to have better bookends: John Updike and Roger Angell, brilliant prose in the introduction, whimsical poetry to conclude.
Updike's first sentence sets the tone for the entire book: NEW YORK CITY IS THE CAPITAL OF THE AMERICAN CHRISTMAS. There is truly something special about a city, almost any city, at Christmas time, but The Big Apple exceeds all others. This book reflects such a pinnacle position, placing The New Yorker in a similar literary pose.
Amidst the wonderful writing is the artwork of past New Yorker covers and cartoons. The ghoulish Addams Family made me laugh out loud while I was reading during a recent repast.
I read this book on Kindle. The cartoons did not come out as clearly as they might have on paper, but my phone's Kindle helped in this regard.
While we may think of Christmas more for its festive nature surrounded by lights, music, toys and cheer, whether good natured or out of a bottle, and there is plenty of that here, The New Yorker does not ignore the dark scenes of city and soul. For those of us who regard Christmas as much more than a secular holiday, these glimpses into the "hidden depths of many a heart" remind us that darkness cannot shut out The Light of the World.
We all "toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow." Christmas reminds us, if we need it, that our voices are strong enough to "give back the song which now the angels sing."

[EasyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book over the last two Christmas seasons. I was looking for Christmas collectibles and found it at a used book seller’s booth at a local antique mall. It is a collection of mostly short stories with some poems interspersed with excerpts, illustrations, covers and cartoons from the New Yorker. I was aware of the New Yorker publication but had never read it and chose it chiefly for its theme. There are several memorable short stories including those by John Cheever and Alice Munro. John Updike contributed a story as well as the forward that tempts me to go and experience a New York Christmas, although I fear that the New York Christmas it conjures no longer exists, or maybe never did. This collection offers an unvarnished and sometimes bittersweet view of the holidays, perhaps best reflected by these lines from Alice Munro’s The Turkey Season, “It seems unlikely that on my way to the Turkey Barn, for an hour of gutting turkeys, I should have experienced such a sense of promise and at the same time of perfect, impenetrable mystery in the universe, but I did. The truth is, such feelings weren’t hard to come by then. I would get them but not know how they were to be connected with anything in real life.”

[Terzah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few books I'm finishing this year are all Christmas books that were started last month. I enjoyed this one greatly. Most of the stories and poems are from early- to mid-20th-century issues of the magazine and have a melancholy cast to them. But there is also a lot of humor. My favorite item was a poem by Adrienne Rich called "Landscape of the Star." You should go find a copy and read the whole thing, but here is the last stanza, a note of hope to take us into 2019:

"Our gifts shall bring us home--not to beginnings,
Nor always to the destination named
Upon our setting forth. Our gifts compel,
Master our ways, and lead us in the end
Where we are most ourselves, whether at last
To Solomon's gaze or Sheba's silken knees
Or winter pastures underneath a star,
Where angels spring like starlight in the trees."

[Joseph Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay...So I don't regularly read the New Yorker. I've enjoyed many of their stories over the years (one of my favourite non-fiction books of all time, The Golden Spruce, started as a piece in the New Yorker) but I'm not a die hard fan. I enjoy literary fiction but I guess I like my Christmas fiction either a little more cheesy (Miracle on 34th) murdery (Hercule Poirot's Xmas etc.) or funny (Holidays On Ice). What I got here were some truly excellent pieces of short fiction by such notables as Alice Munro. I really enjoyed some of them but the tone was more fiction set at Christmas rather than truly an anthology dedicated to my favourite time of the year. In short, it just didn't feel Christmassy enough!

[Richard Tolleson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could have given this four stars before I got to the poetry section, which was generally topical for the year it was written, and thus not of much interest today. The stories themselves were generally engaging, if depressing. If you are looking for a respite from the usual upbeat Hallmark Channel movies and Christmas romance books that promise seasonal reading pleasure, this might be the ticket. Since it is a collection, you can read as much or as little as you want. But take my advice: skip the poetry.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories, bits of reportage, personal narratives and cartoons from the New Yorker, all with a Christmas theme, some serious, some sad, some funny. Nice range of time frames, from the 30s into the 21st century. Some readers here have complained about the style of the pieces. It's the New Yorker style through and through. If you don't like the house, you should skip this. Otherwise, a decent holiday collection

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I meandered through this book. I relaxed and remembered. Though I have read (and listened to) lots of pieces from The New Yorker, this book helped me understand how important it is. This compilation is almost a history of the US told through who we have been at Christmas. I appreciate many of the individual pieces in this book, but find myself enjoying more the portrait they create.

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

not in anyway what I was expecting, incredibly disappointing. filled with stories that were creepy, depressing, sketchy, not well written and just plain weird. was hoping for a fun Christmassy read but got a long read that I dreaded instead. do not read this

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of stories, articles, comments, cartoons and poetry from the 1920’s on up. I enjoyed the stories even though the majority are quite melancholy in tone. You can get a good feel for the era in which the stories were written, especially the war years.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a disappointment. The one fully enjoyable page in the whole book is a brilliant illustration by Ian Falconer. The rest is by turns maudlin, saccharin, or inscrutable. I remember reading the New Yorker with enjoyment at some point, but none of this was what I remembered.

[Joe Stinnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been dipping into this for years; finally read it all the way through and really enjoyed it. Melancholy is a central theme as other reviewers have said. Some of the greatest short story writers of the 20th century, plus cartoons, shorts and poems.

[Britt · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book took forever to read and wasn’t what I was hoping for. Its mostly morose Christmas stories, and quite honestly, I didn’t understand many of them. Even the comics or small quips I didn’t get. I’ve never read the New Yorker so it must be a little over my head or just these jokes/stories are outdated. I did like the John Updike entries though and one quote about Christmas from him is me: “At bottom it’s a woman’s affair, a chance in the darkest of months to put on some gayest clothes and get out of the house.”

[Julian M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mix of essays and cartoons across the 20th century
Some amusing, some dour, some historical and more like a view into another time
My favorites were EB White’s message, Christmas is a terrible time for the poor and the poetry section - along with the cartoons!

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Art

The art is interesting. Few stories are worth reading. The content is dated and I found it irritating. If you’re interested in the historical value of writing it might be worthwhile for you.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable collection of Christmas themed stories, poems, and cartoons from The New Yorker. It is the type of book one can pick up and read a bit at a time. I enjoyed it!

[Dale Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - - Loved some of the stories and poems, but found others to be less interesting.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good selections and some not so good! Enjoyed being able to access it when I had only a few minutes to read! Loved the poems and the art!