Eldrbarry's Christmas Pages and Links

An Essay: Father Christmas and Mr.Grinch

Eldrbarry's Legendary Saints Pages:

For a number of years, "St. Nicholas" was a guest at our annual Church Christmas Social. He told stories about great Christians of the past - aka "Saints" - around whom have arisen a variety of legends. Many of these legends have become a part of our traditions and our celebration of Christmas, or other holidays. In preparation for telling these stories, there was plenty of research, and a handout was prepared about one of these saints and the history and the legends about them.
• The Legends of Bishop Nicholas of Myra (1999) 4.5 x 11 Brochure (pdf)
• The Legends of Bishop Boniface of Mainz (2000) 4.5 x 11 Brochure (pdf)
• The Legends of the First Christmas Trees (2001) 4.5 x 11 Brochure (pdf)
• The Legends of Martin of Tours (2002) 4.5 x 11 Brochure (pdf)
• The Legends of Lucy of Syracuse (2003) 4.5 x 11 Brochure (pdf)

These look at the legends and the real people behind them, and include a number of links for further study. Eventually I hope to add similar pages on other "legendary saints" such as Stephen, George, Christopher, Francis, Augustine, Athenasius, Dominic and Bernard of Clairvaux, and Patrick. For more on researching Saints' Stories, see my Christian Storytelling Resources page

Christmas Services: Programs of Scripture Readings and Carols

• The Prophets Foretold His Coming - a family tradition with banner and ornaments
• The Tailor Shop: a Christmas Eve Play with Caroling presented at Lake Stevens Presbyterian Church, Lake Stevens, Wa. December 1990
• The Bums Rush A Christmas Program with Singing and Storytelling persented at Lake Stevens Presbyterian Church, Lake Stevens, Wa. December 1991
• In The Stable (2000)
• Christ with us - the Hope of Glory (2002)
• The Advent Candles and Wreath at Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church, with links

Favorite Christmas Stories: both sacred and profane:

• Little Fir An original story by Cathy Shackelford
• The Broken Gift - a Christmas homily on gift giving . . . Adapted from an essay by Micheal Card
• The God in the Cave An essay by G. K. Chesterton
• This was the Christmas by Ruth Sawyer
  Ruth Sawyer was a gifted storyteller and a prolific writer, with a passion for folk-tales and a great affection for Christmas stories. It seems particularly fitting that her first book, This Way to Christmas, was a collection of folk tales, bound together by the surrounding story of a lonely young boy who is separated from his family at Christmas-time. Ruth Sawyer's books include Newberry and Caldecott Award winners. A favorite is Joy to the World: Christmas Legends. Another Christmas story, The Good Night, a Finnish tale, will appeal to astronomers. The Legend of St Elizabeth is a good Medieval Christmas story. Ruth Sawyer's The Way of the Storyteller is a classic volume on the art of telling that continues to inspire storytellers.

Several more I've adapted for use for the holidays:

• Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant There are clear allusions to the Christ Child in this literary Fairy Tale.
• Aaron Shephard's The Gifts of Wali Dad (found also in Andrew Lang's The Brown Fairy Book.) While not a Christmas Story - it is still a good story about giving and receiving gifts!
• The Mouse-wife Rumor Godden (which I told with a changed ending in which the dove dies saving the mouse.)
• Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Greene - I enjoy reading aloud Chapter V Dulce Domun
• The Cat on the Dovrefell A Norwegian tale about a bear and some trolls that is a lot of fun to tell (with implications about "unwanted company!".)
• Three Christmas Poems by Eleanor Farjeon

More Christmas Stories available online:

• David Brown's Christmas Story List
• A Baker's Dozen A Saint Nicholas Tale.
• Three Little Trees
• New Clothes A Tomte tale
• Christmas Stories at My Holiday Place. Site also has poems, recipes, legends, traditions, and lots of ideas for a Christmastime Celebration.
• Good Stories for Great Holidays by Francis Jenkins Olcott includes a section on Christmas
• Wacky Anne's Christmas Stories includes Olcott's and other stories by well known literary figures - her Christmas links
• SOS: Save our stories - Christmas stories
• Four Christmas Stories including Sawyer's A Candle for St Bridget
• Sermons.org Christmas Page
• Joyful Heart Christmas Stories and Articles Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries - Dr. Ralph Wilson
• John Piper's Advent Poems
• Expository Christmas Sermons an index of sermons by Stedman, Piper, Spurgeon, MacArthur, and others.

  Some Resources and Links:

  • Martin Luther's Christmas Book by Ronald H. Bainton (Editor), Martin Luther - Thirty Sermons by Martin Luther on Christmas themes.
  • The Innkeeper by John Piper
  • The Gifts of the Child Christ George MacDonald
  • Immanuel Micheal Card
  • A good listing of "sacred" Christmas stories books from a Roman Catholic Diocese
  • A Newberry Christmas by Charles G. Waugh

  Christmas Hymns and Music: some Links

  • Wikipedia: Christmas Music . . Christmas Carols
  • NPR Story on Carols and Christmas Hymns - 12/19/2010
  • Martin Luther's Hymns: Project Wittenberg Page
  • Martin Luther on Music with links
  • An Online Christmas Songbook
  • Christmas is a Time For Singing: Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America (The rest of this eight part series on The Growth of Sacred Music by Herman Mulder includes also the early Church, Luther, Bach, Handel, the Wesley's, and Newton was found in the Archives forThe Pioneer Christian Monthly archives for 1976-1978) but the site was taken down in 2004.
  • The JS Bach page
  • Bach101 included a page on The Christmas Oratorio and on Bach's Chorale Settings.
  • Texts of the Complete Vocal Works of J. S. Bach with English Translation and Commentary by Z. Philip Ambrose
  • Christ the King Anglican Church Christmas Pages has lyrics for many carols and hymns
  • The Anglican Online Hymnal: Index of Hymns appropriate for Christmas
  • The Lutheran Hymnal Online link on Project Wittenberg pages
  • The Unusual Christmas Carol Page

  Christmas Symbols and Customs

  • Christmas Traditions around the World
  • Christmas: An International Holiday
  • Article on the German origins of Christmas Customs
  • The Origins of Christmas Traditions by Shonnie Scarola (Part 1 of 3)

  • Eldrbarry's The First Christmas Trees
  • Chronological History of the Christmas Tree
  • The first Christmas Tree in Riga, Latvia, 1510
  • The first Christmas Tree in a Church in N. America
  • Christmas Trees: Pagan, Christian, or Secular

  • One approach to making the Christmas Tree more Christ-orientated is the use of Christian Symbols as decorations. Ascencion Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia has copyrighted the term "Chrismons" and has books of patterns. There are both elaborate and simple ornament patterns or Christian Symbol decorations on the internet.

  • The Meaning of the Advent Wreath and The History of the Advent Wreath
  • The Advent Wreath by Catherine Fournier
  • Advent: Forgotten Season, Season of Quiet by Mary Jane Moore

  • For Sinterklaas (the Dutch Santa) see Eldrbarry's St. Nicholas Page with links on Nicholas of Myra and on Sinterklaas (the Dutch Santa)
  • My Santa Suit The Nets #1 Largest Santa Suits-Christmas Costumes Shop
  • Garden.com's Christmas Tree Farm Directory

  And some "wordy" Grinch Links

  • Celebrating a Calvinist Christmas with a Clear Conscience: Is the Holiday Unpresbyterian? by Mark Horne
  • Is God Against Christmas? by Raymond L. Cox
  • The Regulative Principle of Worship and Christmas by Brian M. Schwertley - a 45 page argument against the observance of Christmas.
  • Christmas: An Historical Survey Regarding Its Origins and Opposition to It by Kevin Reed
  • Christmas Keeping and the Reformed Faith By David Cason - a debate in the Protestant Reformed Church's Standard Bearer 30 Pages
  • The Religious Observance of Christmas and ‘Holy Days’ in American Presbyterianism By Chris Coldwell
  • The Necessity of Reforming the Church by John Calvin

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