(listicle)

Reading during Christmas holidays is a wonderful way to get into the festive spirit and enjoy the delights of the holiday season. From amazing children’s fairy tales and historical novels, throughout literature stories touch the heart and illustrate the magic of Christmas Day. There is a list of famous classic titles that are guaranteed to warm the soul and bring back the thrill of Christmas.

‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens

This short parable or morality tale is probably one of the most excellent stories that truly embodies the spirit of Christmas. A disgusting narrow-shouldered old misanthrope Ebenezer Scrooge meets three successive spirits, like the three Biblical Magi, each with a terrible vision of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. At the end, he gets it the error of his ways, and repents: “I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.”

‘The Gift of the Magi’ by O. Henry

Henry’s ‘Gifts of the Magi’ is one of the most inspiring, most touching Christmas stories, set in New York at the beginning of the 20th century. This short piece of writing demonstrates the generosity of real feelings. Della and Jim have the huge wealth – love, and “of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the wisest. They are the magi.” Such books make us think about how often we prefer material goods to moral ones.

‘The Greatest Gift’ by Philip Van Doren Stern

This book offers a magical chance to see the world through new eyes. As protagonist George Pratt contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve, a stranger approaches him and grants his wish: that he’d never been born in the first place. This moment helps George to realize that life is the great challenge. “You had the greatest gift of all conferred upon you, the gift of life, of being a part of this world and taking a part in it. Yet you denied that gift.”

‘The Nutcracker’ by E.T.A. Hoffmann

This is a fun and thrilling story for children. Hoffmann’s book tells the story of young Marie, for whom the evening takes a fanciful turn after the discovery of a fantastic Nutcracker toy. When the clock strikes midnight, every toy becomes alive, and the Christmas holidays are forever changed for Marie. ” You’ll have to suffer a lot if you want to take charge of a poor, deformed Nutcracker. Only you can rescue him. Be strong and loyal.”

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, Agatha Christie

It would be interesting for connoisseurs of the detective genre. The page-turning detective story focuses on a murder that happens in Lee’s family home on Christmas Eve. Who are murderers and are people ready for the truth? That Christmas is not funny for Hercule Poirot, but fantastic twists of the plot are thrilling. “In conversation, points arise! If a human being converses much, it is impossible for him to avoid the truth!” So, Christmas holiday is magic time and you can mix it with classic book reading! Merry Christ-Read-mas!