8 Unexpected Holiday Reads from the Writer in Residence

It takes a lot to get me into the holiday mood. Not sure if I’m so different from other writers, especially writers of fiction, in that respect. We tend to like to create our own moods rather than have others create them for us. Probably arises from that tricky balance between observing and recording life and actually living it (the hard part). In any case, in the hope of a mood change that didn’t involve my suddenly volunteering to write Harlequin romances (which I once evaluated and edited) or Hallmark mysteries, I decided to attend the Choral Extravaganza the other evening at Darke Hall.

Listening to The Dickens Yuletide Singers, one of the five great choral ensembles that evening, got me thinking about books that might serve as mood changers. And naturally, there’s everyone’s favourite classic for the season, A Christmas Carol. 

But there must be more, I said to myself. I should cast my holiday book net a little wider to see what it hauls in. This is what I found:

Alternative Views of the Holidays

Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice by Susan Moonwriter Pesznecker

Here’s your chance to try out some of those spells and divinations you’ve always wanted to put to the test now that you have the entire family on which to practice! And you can follow that up with some recipes for the winter solstice celebrations that will make the longest night seem shorter.

Christmas in Ritual & Tradition: Christian and Pagan: Study of The History & Folklore of Christmas Holidays Around the World by Clement A. Miles

Originally written in 1912 but with the latest edition releases in 2022, this is a very comprehensive study of the mingling of pagan and Christian elements in the celebration of Christmas. Everything you’d ever want to know about Teutonic, Celtic and Slav influences, Santa Klaus and talking animals.

The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice by Carolyn McVickar Edwards
 
Stories from North America, China, Scandinavia, and more about the day the “sun stands still,” the longest night of the year, on either December 20th or 21st. All about rebirth and the transition from darkness into light. Definitely will put you in that hard-to-capture spiritual mood.

Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide by Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling

Did you know that, by bringing a Christmas fir tree and plants such as ivy and holly into your living room, you are transforming that room into a place primed for shamanistic rituals? And did you know that Father Christmas got his start as a red and white hallucinogenic mushroom eaten by northern shaman in Siberia so their souls could fly? This book tells you all you need to know about the evolving nature of yuletide, its origins in pre-Christian rites and the symbolism of plants connected to Christmas. Just make sure those mushrooms are your ordinary portobellos.

A Couple of Christmas Compilations

The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories edited by Jessica Harrison

Christmas stories from around the world. And I mean from all over: Nordic woods, Paris, Lagos, Rio, and more. But what got me hooked was the note about a Christmas story set in outer space! 

The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler

Love Christmas and a cozy mystery? Then this is the collection for you!. The book features 60 crime stories set during the holiday season: from Arthur Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie, from Ellery Queen to Ed McBain.

A Few Classic Christmas Tales

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

Classic Christie. Christmas Eve. Tyrant father found dead. Rather than mourning, family members start accusing each other. A Belgian detective to the rescue.

The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol

For those who enjoy a bit of the gothic in their holiday reading, this story of a blacksmith and the devil both in love with and competing for the heart of the same girl should do the trick. Apparently, the tale is read to children in Russia and Ukraine on Christmas Eve.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Set during the U.S. Civil War, it’s all about the March sisters who are happy and relatively well off. In one scene, the four sisters decide to give up their Christmas breakfast so they can give it to a family that has no food.

Other classics: Christmas Day in the Morning (Pearl S. Buck); A Christmas Memory (Truman Capote); The Family Under the Bridge (Natalie Savage Carlson); A Christmas Story (Jean Shepherd); The Christmas Box (Richard Paul Evans); Letters from Father Christmas (J.R.R. Tolkien).

This mini-compilation started with The Dickens Yuletide Singers and A Christmas Carol. Only appropriate for it to end with:

The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford

Dickens thought his career as a novelist was over when his publisher turned down A Christmas Carol. Dickens published it himself and … the rest … as they say … well, probably half-invented and fictionalized. But everyone loves a story of the down-and-out rising to fame and fortune, right?

Anyway, no matter how you celebrate the holidays, be sure to include a few books in there. Visit your local bookstore and shop around.

Better yet: visit your local library and check out their holiday book offerings. Mood-changing guaranteed!

-Michael Mirolla, 2024-2025 Regina Public Library Writer in Residence.