Christmas is a very emotional time for me. I get choked up easily thinking about love and peace and goodwill and all that crap.  Christmas brings out my sensitive side. Maybe it’s because of all the wonderful stories there are about the season.

I’d like to suggest a few worth reading.

1. The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Andersen
   1. Kind of like “Father Christmas,” that great anti-Christmas song by The Kinks, “The Little Match Girl” follows a child who has nothing, and very little hope of getting anything, as no one will even bother to help her by buying a match. Don’t worry, there’s a happy ending. – Spoiler – She dies, but gets to go to Heaven where we can hope people will be nicer to her than they were in life. Incidentally, Disney produced the most beautiful cartoon version of this story. If you want to ball your eyes out, watch it on Netflix in the Disney Shorts collection.
2. The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry
   1. A beautiful story of love – the love between two people who haven’t enough money to buy each other a great Christmas present. They each make a sacrifice in order to be able to give a gift to the other. Anyone who’s ever been in love with the right person knows that it’s not the gift that matters. Anyone who’s ever been in love with the wrong person knows what it’s like to put undo significance on an insignificant matter, like a gift. In this story, the gift they share is equal love for each other.
3. The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg
   1. My dad gave me this book when I was a teenager, already too old to “believe.” That might be why the story made me cry, because I wished I could still hear the bell.  I read this book to my 3 year old the other day and had to choke back the tears as I got through the last pages. Her face was so lit with excitement and joy and the magic of Christmas. I believe she will hear the bell for many years to come.
4. A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
   1. The “Romeo and Juliet” of Christmas stories. There’s a reason this story has been told over and over again – it’s worth it. Watch all the movies, go see the plays, but don’t forget to read the original. Dickens wasn’t too shabby a writer. His Scrooge is still the best in town.
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss
   1. Like Ebenezer, this story works because of the villain at the heart of it – and the villain’s heart. The Grinch has it all wrong and we get to experience the true meaning of Christmas through his eyes for the very first time. A gift of Christmas that proves it doesn’t have to come from a store to mean a little bit more.
6. The Stupidest Angel, by Christopher Moore
   1. I have a sick sense of humor, and appreciate like minded people. If you are in the spirit for a slightly darker, funnier Christmas story, one with an edge, you can’t beat Moore’s take on it. Spoiler, Santa gets killed, there’s a dumb angel, an awesome dog and, oh yeah, zombies.  Like the rest on this list, one of my favorite Christmas tales of all time.

It’s funny how many Christmas stories – or maybe just my favorites – seem to have a theme revolving around materialism, and how there are more important things in life than things. The idea that we don’t need to make a lot of money or spend a lot of money to be happy would work at any time of the year. I find it somewhat ironic that we tell those stories at the time of the year when many people feel obligated to spend a lot of money, and perhaps feel stressed about not making enough money. Or perhaps it’s just that at this time of year we most need to be reminded. It’s okay. You don’t have to make a million dollars, or spend it on gifts. Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Christmas means a little bit more.