The Greatest Christmas Stories of All Time: Timeless Classics That Celebrate the Season

by Anonymous

This elegant volume of timeless Christmas classics explores the joy of Christmas and the heart of God's love. It is sure to become a favorite treasury of Christmas stories in the years to come.

Genres: Christmas, Fiction, Classics, Christian Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was tedious to read. Out of nearly 50 stories I'd say only about half a dozen were enjoyable. Many were tired tales retold in uninteresting ways; some were pointless, and a couple were completely frustratingly dry and boring.

Most stories in this compilation hail from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, so the language and culture and situations are all very much the same, lending to the book a sense of redundancy. A selection of stories from a broader range of eras would have been greatly appreciated.

That said, I did enjoy reading through classics such as "A Christmas Carol," "The Gift of the Magi," and the Christmas scenes from "Little Women." Having those interspersed with the less interesting tales helped me plod through the book and push through to the end.

Those stories that were enjoyable will truly warm your heart, and will imbue the spirit of Christmas into the reader, without question. But a better book would have been those few engaging stories mixed with several other intriguing options from various parts of the world and periods of time. I was, overall, extremely disappointed in this collection and am glad I only got it from the library and did not purchase it.

[Don LaFountaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. Besides having the best, from my point of view, Christmas tale in it (A Christmas Carol)almost every story brought tears to my eyes. They really reinforced the true meaning of the holiday. A must read for anyone who celebrates the Christmas Holiday!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection so much! This has won my heart back to the power and beauty of short stories after previously concluding that I really didn't like them much compared to the novel.

As with any collection of this sort, there were a few that I didn't enjoy as much. I didn't realize that Hans Christian Andersen challenges the Russians in the "most depressing literature" category, for example. Overall, however, I absolutely loved these stories and found quite a few that are new favorites and ones I will reread and share with family and friends: The Cobbler's Guest by Leo Tolstoy, The Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke, David's Star of Bethlehem by Christine Whiting Parmenter, The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott, Tessa's Surprises by Louisa May Alcott, The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin, and A Christmas Dream and How It Came True by Louisa May Alcott to name a few.

Of course, my favorite from the collection and arguably the greatest Christmas story of all time is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Enjoyed this so much!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure, from a copyright perspective, how this book came to exist, but never mind. I like it for the classic stories like The Gift of the Magi and A Christmas Carol and The Little Match Girl. I skip right over the ones by people I've never heard of, which seem to be in the vein of Chicken Soup for the Soul - no thanks. I keep this by the bed during Christmas time and read a bit when the mood strikes.

[Donna Peake · Rating 4 out of 5]

There really are a lot of old fashioned Christmas stories in this book. Great way to get in the SPIRIT of the holidays.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories that I checked out because we are reading the short story "A Quiet Little Woman" for book club. A cute little tale and there were several familiar titles in this collection- and I can agree that they are classics. Ex. The Gift of the Magi and A Christmas Carol. There were also a few that I had not read or heard of that would be interesting to read in the future. Unfortunately the Christmas season is fast approaching and I had to take this one back to the library for the next patron to enjoy.