19 Christmas Stories and Poems by Famous Authors (2023)

A literary Christmas!

Many famous poets and writers have written Christmas stories and poems and I have collected 19 of the best. Also, I've provided a link to each one so you can read them online. Finally, there is a YouTube video for most of them, so you can watch and listen to them if you prefer.

1. Papa Panov Christmas Special by Leo Tolstoy

Christmas special by Papa PanovIt was written by the great Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Papa Panov is an elderly shoemaker living in a small town in Russia. Her Christmas wish is to give baby Jesus the best pair of shoes she has ever made. On Christmas Eve, Jesus appears to her in a dream and tells her that he will visit Papa Panov on Christmas Day. What follows is Papa Panov's happiest Christmas ever, as he learns that the best way to celebrate the Savior's birth is to do good things for others. He canRead the story online here(and there is a historical analysisHere), and you can also listen to it below:

2. The beggar boy at the Christmas tree by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Tolstoy was not the only famous Russian author to write Christmas stories. So did Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Anton Chekhov.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote a story entitledThe beggar boy at the Christmas tree. It begins in a dark, icy, miserable hut in Petersburg. A six-year-old boy, dressed in rags, sits alone next to his recently deceased mother. He's almost starving, so he goes in search of food.

As he walks the empty streets, he looks into the houses and sees that they are full of happy children celebrating Christmas. He knocks on several doors, but no one lets him in. Fearing some older boys, the little one flees into a yard behind a pile of firewood. There he freezes to death.

But before he dies, the little boy dreams of the Christmas tree festival, a festival for all children who are victims of social injustice. There he meets that mother again, and the two join the party and are overjoyed. You can readThe beggar boy at the Christmas tree here online.

3. Not cozy by Anton Chekhov

by Anton Chekhovnot at homeIt was published in 1900 and is now considered a Christmas classic.Like Dostoyevsky's story before it, it deviates from the typical Christmas sweetness story.

The story begins with an illiterate Russian peasant woman who hires a man to write her daughter a letter she hasn't heard from for four years.Although it's a sad story, it reminds us to be thankful for what we have. You can readnot at homein lineHere.

For more Russian Christmas Stories, see “A Very Russian Christmas: The Best Russian Christmas Stories Ever“.

4. The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter

The Tailor of Gloucesteris a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It's about a Gloucester tailor who falls ill and can't finish a waistcoat ordered by the mayor for his Christmas Day wedding.

However, on Christmas morning, the tailor enters his shop to find that the waistcoat has been finished by the grateful mice he saved from their cat. He canread online here, or you can buythe fully illustrated book here. Also, you can watch a nice adaptation on YouTube:

5. A Christmas inspiration from Lucy Maud Montgomery

a Christmas inspirationby Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, best known for her novelAnna on Green Gables. It's the story of five girls who spend Christmas in the boarding house where they live.

The girls happily tell about all the presents they got for Christmas. However, when they decide to buy gifts for someone who doesn't seem to have a friend in the world, they discover that it is more blessed to give than to receive. He canread hereor listen below:

"A Christmas Inspiration" is one of the stories featured in "Christmas with Anne and other Christmas stories“.

6. A Letter from Santa Claus by Mark Twain

In 1875, Mark Twain wrote a letter to his three-year-old daughter, Susie Clemens, which he mailed as Santa Claus. You can read Twain's beautiful letterHere. You can also hear it below:

7. Country Christmas de Louisa May Alcott

a rural ChristmasIt was written by Louisa May Alcott. She is, of course, the author of the popular novellittle woman(By the way, the first two chapters oflittle womanwill be discontinued around Christmas time).

However, not many know that he also wrote several stories and poems about Christmas. One of May Alcott's Christmas Carols is calledA country Christmas.

Sofia is the protagonist ofa rural Christmas. She lives with her guardian in a big city, but decides to visit her Aunt Plumy and her aunt's two grown children, Saul and Ruth, over Christmas. They live on a humble farm in Vermont and life there is much slower.

Sophie gets permission from Aunt Plumy to invite two friends over for Christmas. She shows them "a real old-fashioned party" like it's done in the country. You can reada rural Christmas here online.

8. Tilly's Christmas by Louisa May Alcott

Another charming Christmas story by May Alcott isNatal de Tilly, which is very short and can be read in a few minutes. It's about a poor girl and her mother who are faced with a somber Christmas.

However, they are both good people, always trying to do good for others, and their kindness is rewarded when a stranger leaves gifts on their doorstep for them to find on Christmas Eve. You can readNatal de Tillyhere online. In addition, most of May Alcott's Christmas writing was collected in the bookLouisa May Alcott's Christmas Sweetheart.

9. On the Morning of the Nativity by John Milton

English poet John Milton is best known for his epic poemlost paradise.On the morning of Christ's birthit was written in 1629 when Milton was still a student at Cambridge University. It is one of four of Milton's poems to be read on the 2ndThe Harvard Classics.

You can readOn the morning of Christ's birth here online, or you can hear it read below:

10. The Gift of Kings by O. Henrique

The Mage's Giftis a beautiful Christmas story written by O. Henry, a well-known American short story writer. I've heard this story since I was a kid.

It's about a young couple who love each other very much but can barely make ends meet. Each sacrifices their most prized possession to buy the other a Christmas present. The story has a surprise ending that O. Henry was known for.

You can readThe Mage's Gift here online. You can also hear it below:

11 Christmas Bells by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Christmas bellsis an inspirational poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He wrote it on Christmas Day 1863 during the American Civil War.

The poem tells of the narrator's despair upon hearing the Christmas bells that "hatred is strong, mocking the song of peace on earth, men of good will". However, the poem ends on a hopeful note. The bells ring even louder with their message of peace on earth.

You can readChristmas bellshere online. The poem became a Christmas carol, which you can listen to below:

12. Los Reyes Magos von Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wadsworth Longfellow wrote another beautiful Christmas poem entitledthe three kingsyou canread online here. It is a classic account of the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus shortly after his birth. You can hear it read below:

13. It Was Christmas Eve by Clement C. Moore

It was the night before Christmasby Clement C. Moore is the quintessential Christmas poem. The poem is largely responsible for many of the ideas we have about Santa Claus today. He canread online here. Also listen below.

14. A Christmas keepsake from Truman Capote

a Christmas memoryis a semi-autobiographical short story by Truman Capote, the author ofBreakfast at Tiffany's.

Ema Christmas souvenir,An orphaned seven-year-old boy named "Buddy" lives in rural Alabama with his older cousin, who is eccentric and childish (and many people consider him retarded). They also live with other relatives who "often make them cry."

Every year in November, when it gets colder, the old woman proclaims:

"It's fruitcake weather."

So she and her friend get all the ingredients needed to make fruitcake. They harvest wild nuts and fund everything else they need with the money they carefully save throughout the year. After four days of cooking, your fruitcakes are ready to be handed out to friends: "People we may have met once, maybe never."

Buddy and his cousin have other adventures together. Unfortunately, the special relationship Buddy shares with his cousin ends when he is sent to military school and then to another home. Although initially written off, the cousin contracted dementia a few years later and died soon after.

He canRead the story online here. a Christmas memoryIt was adapted for television by Truman Capote and Eleanor Perry. The production starred Geraldine Page and Truman Capote was the narrator. You can see below:

15. The Dead by James Joyce

The deadit's fromDubliner, a collection of short stories by James Joyce. Joyce's most important work,UlyssesIt's a difficult read. Therefore, most people will want to become familiar with Joyce by readingThe dead, which is much more accessible.

The story takes place at the annual ball and dinner hosted by Kate and Julia Morkan and their young niece, Mary Jane Morkan. It is on or just before Epiphany in January.6, celebrating the manifestation of Christ's divinity to the kings. The party brings together many family members and friends.

The central themes of the story are mortality and isolation. But there is also a lot of joy in itThe dead, while the financially prosperous characters celebrate the holiday season. He canread online here. You can also watch a movie based on the story below.

16. Match Girl von Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen is a Danish author who is best known for his fairy tales asThe ugly duckjThe little mermaid. He has also written several Christmas stories, the most popular of which is entitled:The Match Girl. It's about a little girl who was sent out into the cold by her abusive father to sell matches.

Despite her best efforts, everyone on the street runs past her and ignores her, and she cannot sell matches. When it gets dark she is afraid to go home because her father will hit her because she doesn't earn any money. So it is located in a corner of an imposing stone building.

He lights a match to keep warm and a glorious vision of a Christmas tree appears. Vision disappears when the match goes out. The girl lights a second match and a Christmas party appears in front of her. This party also dies with the departure. When she lights a match for the third time, her beloved deceased grandmother appears and the girl runs into her arms.

The girl's body was found the next morning. She was frozen.

He canread online here. Also check out the adaptation ofThe Match Girl, below (and if you're not crying, I'm afraid your heart will be made of stone):

17. Abeto de Hans Christian Andersen

the FIRis another Christmas story by Hans Christian Andersen. It's the story of a fir tree so eager to grow and so eager for greater things that it doesn't appreciate living in the moment. He doesn't understand how lucky he is until it's too late.

You can readthe FIRonline here.Or you can hear itis read here. You can also check out a short comic based onthe FIRunder.

18. Does Santa Claus exist? by Frank Church

Francis Pharcellus Church was an American editor and publisher. He was one of the chief editors of his brother's newspaper, the New York Sun, a major New York newspaper at the time. In that position, he wrote an editorial in 1897 answering a question from an eight-year-old girl named Virginia.

The girl asked: "Does Santa Claus exist?" The Church's response is now part of the Christmas story. Here is part of the Church's response:

“Yes, Virginia, Santa Claus exists. It exists as surely as love, generosity and devotion, and you know they abound and bring the greatest beauty and joy to your life. poor me! How sad would the world be if Santa Claus didn't exist! It would be so sad like there weren't any Virginias."

He canRead the entire editorial online here. Also, you can listen to it below. Eventually, the editorial was made into a TV movie, which youYou can see here(Definitely worth a look.)

19. A child's Christmas in Walesvon DylanThomas

A Children's Christmas in Walesis a prose work by Dylan Thomas, one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century. It's a nostalgic retelling of past Christmases. Although nothing dramatic happens in this story, it's a nice read. Here's a quote from the end of the story:

Looking out my bedroom window at the moonlight and endless smoky snow, I could see the lights in the windows of every other home on our hilltop and hear the music rising from them at night. I turned the gas down and went to bed. I said a few words in the almost holy darkness, and then fell asleep.

you can read itHere.A Children's Christmas in WalesIt was made into a TV movie which you can watch below (I recommend you watch this one):

Diploma

I hope these Christmas stories and poems by famous authors have made you feel joy, love for friends and family, compassion and nostalgia. That is, the emotions of Christmas. Also, by reading these stories and poems, you will be a little more informed by the end of the year.

live your best lifea literary Christmas.

Related posts:

• 50 Christmas traditions for a Merry Christmas
• Eight ways to beat the Christmas blues
• 48 Merry Christmas Quotes to brighten the season
• 25 activities filled with Christmas cheer

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