The Origin of "The Night Before Christmas"

The Visit: The Origin of the Night Before Christmas, by Mark Kimball Moulton

Illustrated by Susan Winget

(Schiffer Publishing, 2013), hb., 54 pp.

Ages 4 & up

This is a fun book, richly illustrated, telling the story of how the famous poem, “The Night Before Christmas” was conceived. Apparently Clement Moore first developed and told the poem as a Christmas present for his sick daughter. The poem was first published anonymously. Some suggest Moore did not put his name to it because he didn’t think such popular verse was fitting for his reputation as a scholar of biblical languages. He told his family the story of how the ideas came together for the poem, and the family passed the story down across generations. Then, Ms. Dinghy Sharp, great-great-granddaughter of Clement Moore told the story to Mark Moulton who has put it into verse reminiscent of the poem itself for this book. The result is fascinating and fun.

I thought the story in verse was well done and engaging. It was a delight to see pieces of the famous poem embedded in the author’s experience the night of writing the poem, from the sleigh, to sugar plums to a kindly old woodman who was secretly leaving firewood for families. This woodman, who was “rotund and jolly,” had a white beard, was dressed in red coat, and was known for telling stories to the village children gathered round in the general store.

It was fun to me to discover that Clement Moore was a biblical scholar (he published a Hebrew-English Lexicon), and watching for echoes of the poem in Moore’s Christmas Eve outing was a delight. We had a lot of fun with this book and commend it to you.

Christmas Time: It’s All About Jesus,

Christmas Time: It’s All About Jesus, by Sue Barksdale

Illustrated by Alicia Young

(Aneko Press, 2015), pb., 28 pp.

Ages 2-9

You might be tempted to overlook this book as just one more Christmas story with simply a cute story & very little biblical content. But, that would be a real mistake! I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  The author retells the Christmas story following very closely the accounts from Matthew and Luke in poetic form. I was impressed by how careful she was to follow the biblical text, and the nice poetry made the reading even more fun and engaging.

Part of the Christmas tradition in our house is retelling the Christmas story on Christmas morning. The form of the retelling has grown with our children, often involving them acting out, with little figurines, what I read. If we had had this little book when our kids were smaller, I would have used this for our reading. It is that good.

So, as you prepare for Christmas this year, this is a fun, readable book- one which your children might continue to read for themselves, as mine have. We warmly commend it to you as we prepare to celebrate the wonder of the Incarnation.

In fact, I have an extra copy to give away! Pass on word about this review and you will be entered in the drawing to receive a free copy. You can link to this on Twitter (@rvannest), Facebook, or your own site. Provide your link in the comments here to insure I see it and enter you in the contest.

Santa’s (Zany, Wacky, Just not Right!) Night Before Christmas

Santa’s (Zany,Wacky, Just not Right!) Night Before Christmas, by DK Simoneau & David Radman

Illustrated by Brad Cornelius

(AC Publications Group, 2014), hb., 32 pp.

Ages 3-7

This is a fun, lighthearted book with nice illustrations. It is written in rhyme which enhances the experience of reading it aloud, and the fact that the little mouse shows up on each page adds another dimension as you try to find him at each turn.

We have never done Santa in our family, but that does not keep us from enjoying fun stories like this one. This was a fun, light read.

Advent books

Over the years I have mentioned here a variety of books for Advent and Christmas and these can be found here. As I’ve mentioned before, among all of these books and numerous nice new Advent books we continue to return each year to Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration (you can see my previous post on the book here). The book is wonderfully simple, giving us key texts to read and then two songs to sing for each week. This allows us to pursue conversation about the songs and texts to whatever degree fits each setting according to ages, time, etc.

Our children now look forward to this during the year, and in the evenings it is not uncommon to hear my younger ones say, “Let’s hurry and get things done so we can do Advent!” The picture here is of Timothy, my youngest (7 yrs old) on the big night when he had his first reading this year.  I had not thought much of it, but it was all he could talk about the day leading up to it (for some reason he also wanted to wear his Thanksgiving puppet as a hat!). This simple little book has been a great help to us in establishing this tradition in our family, and we commend it to you.

The Mail Box Tree

I have mentioned a number of good Christmas books here over the years including Gabriel’s Magic Ornament by my friend and colleague, Randall Bush. Recently Randall’s follow up The Mailbox Tree (volumes 1 & 2) have also been released. Below is my endorsement which appears on the back of the book.

"Christmas is in danger! The seed of the Serpent is once again trying to snuff out the light in our world and in Arboria. It’s up to two boys, Alex and Grant, with angelic help, to uncover the truths about Christmas from the past in order to preserve Christmas for the present and future. This is a wonderful romp of a story, delightful fun saturated with deep truths. Amidst the fun and adventure, it is a primer on the interpretation of Christian symbolism in scripture and history.

Randall Bush’s previous two Christmas novels are favorites of our family so we were excited to hear of a third installment- and it did not disappoint! If you want to enrich your family’s celebration while gathered around a fun book together, make Randall Bush’s Christmas books a part of your family’s tradition."

These are great books with good humor, fun adventure, and profound insight. I encourage you to enjoy them with your family this Christmas.

The publisher is currently offering a special deal on the whole series!

Christmas Story in Biblical Texts and Art

The Nativity: From the Gospels of Matthew and Mark , Ruth Sanderson

(Eerdmans, 2011), hb., 28 pp.

Ages 5+

Part of our Christmas tradition is reading together the biblical account on Christmas morning while our younger children act out what is read with the nativity set. This year we used this book for that reading.

The text of the book comes directly from Matthew and Luke. There is no further elaboration. The books strength comes from placing together the accounts of both gospels and in nice illustrations by Ruth Sanderson which are done in such a way as to recall medieval art. This “old” feel of the art contributes to a sense of reading these texts along with the church through the ages.

We really appreciated the art work, sense of history, and he gathering of the texts. This will become a fixture in  our Christmas celebration.

The Power of Symbols, Christmas

One of the best books I read this year was The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith by Peter Hitchens (who writes incredibly well, like his recently deceased brother). As we approach Christmas I was reminded of his discussion of the Communist attempt to suppress any vestige of Christmas in Russia. Drawing from written sources and his own experience living in Russia, Hitchens described the Communist concern especially to turn children away from religious interest. Then he provided the following quote from a pamphlet titled, “Against the Christmas Tree” which has been published in a series called “The Library of the Young Atheist”:

“ ‘Millions of little children are brought up by very religious grandmothers. For such children the Christmas tree represents a very great danger.... Not one Young Pioneer detachment, not one school and not one group of young and Atheists should leave children of pre-school age unattended during the Christmas holidays. The struggle against the Christmas tree is the struggle against religion and against our class enemies.’” (181)

My point here is not trees but the value of symbols and traditions. When an atheistic regime sought to stamp out Christianity they were deeply concerned about the power of symbols to keep alive religious memory. Too often today Christians breezily dismiss “mere symbols” claiming to be concerned only with the “real idea.” This is short-sighted and ignorant of history and human nature- not to mention ignorant of the Bible since God saw fit to give us symbols.

The potential application of this point is broad, but, to speak of Christmas, we do much of our best teaching and discipling when we use good symbols, investing them with biblical meaning and incorporating them into meaningful, appropriate traditions. These things will stick with our children and our churches for years to come providing pegs for biblical truths and armor against cynicism. So as you prepare for and celebrate Christmas make the most of your traditions and symbols, enjoying and celebrating the appearing of God’s saving grace (Titus 2:11).

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Van Nestes

May the peace of Christ be with you.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever¸ Barbara Robinson
(Tyndale House, 1972), pb., 80pp.
Ages 5+

It has become a bit of a tradition in our house for Tammie to read this book to the kids at Christmas- and she reads it well! Even after several readings she laughs almost uncontrollably at several points and cries at the conclusion.

It really is a well-written, fun, touching little story about looking afresh at the reality of the Christmas story. The “worst kids in town,” the Herdmans, get into the church’s Christmas pageant and discover the power of this story while some of the regular church members can’t see past their preconceived notions.

The Herdmans do use the Lord's name in vain in a couple of places.  We just edit these on the go.
This is a nice one to enjoy and benefit from.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

from the Van Nestes

Our Favorite Advent Book

It is a little late to be recommending Advent resources, but in case anyone is searching, our favorite resource continues to be Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration. We don’t really use the four main stories by the prominent authors. What we like is simply the daily Scripture readings and the two carols a week. The readings have been well selected touching many of the prophetic passages- more than are typically noticed. Reading these together provide opportunity for rich discussion. Then it is nice to sing two carols each week. Singing the same ones through the week gives enough time to learn or refresh your memory on the song and to let its truths sink in.

Many more advent books have come out in recent years and I am glad for them. Our favorite, though, is still this one.

Keeping Holiday

Keeping Holiday, Starr Meade
(Crossway, 2008), pb., 192 pp.
Ages 6+

I got a copy of this book several months ago but waited for Christmas to read it to my children. We enjoyed it. It is sort of a “Pilgrim’s Progress meets Christmas.”

In the story Holiday is a resort where many families come for vacation. The people who come to Holiday enjoy it very much. The main character, Dylan, has always enjoyed his family’s visits to Holiday. One year, however, he discovers that the Holiday he knows is only an image of the real Holiday which is greater, deeper and more wonderful. This leads him on a quest with his cousin, Clare, to find the real Holiday. Along the way he learns about the Founder of Holiday and the more he learns he begins to long to know this Founder even more than he longs to enjoy the blessings of Holiday.

Holiday in the book is easily recognizable as Christmas and the real Holiday is a relationship with Christ and ultimately heaven. The story is then a parable of the process of conversion as Dylan discovers the reality of Holiday and then begins searching for it (thus the comparison to Pilgrim’s Progress). Many good points are made along the way such as the difficulty of pursuing salvation, how others will seek to dissuade you, the fact that you can’t earn salvation, the depth of sin in our hearts (no better than others), our need for grace, and the reality that individuals experience this journey differently (though the gospel is constant, conversion experiences vary widely).

Human responsibility is affirmed while also holding up the sovereignty of God. As Dylan learns that only the Founder can authorize him to be a part of Holiday, he longs to find this Founder. Along the way he often expresses his desire to find the Founder only to be told, by various individuals:

You can’t find the Founder,
He finds you.
He’s not just the Founder,
He’s the Finder too!

This ditty is repeated often so that it becomes humorous, while affirming a key truth.

This is a fun story with a good message. It calls children to Christ without reducing conversion to artificial steps. It affirms our need of grace while also calling for response. We gladly recommend this book to you.

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
Ages 7+

This year for the first time we read A Christmas Carol together as a family as we approached Christmas. I was reminded again of what a great story it really is. When I first read it a few years ago I realized how much better the actual book is than any adaptations I had ever seen. The book has a strong Christian basis and reminds the reader that the “joy of the season” is rooted not in circumstances but in the gospel. There are poignant reminders of the importance of caring for others, for making the most of life and other key truths.

Two things make it difficult to include younger children though. First, some of the ghosts are intended to be frightful and they are at times. Dickens tells his story well, but probably beyond what many younger children are ready for. Second, the language and concepts are difficult at many places. This is due to the age of the book and to the fact that Dickens was not targeting young children. Various aspects of life which Dickens mentions are no longer common, and thus can be confusing. I found myself often rewording as I read and pausing to explain. My son who turned 9 while we read this book said he enjoyed the book though he did not understand all of it- even with my explanations.

In the end, I would recommend A Christmas Carol for family reading, especially for those with older children and with parents taking time to explain. Children will catch the main points and they will be introduced to a classic to which your family and the child individually can return often in years to come.

(My link above takes you to a listing of various editions. You can find very inexpensive editions.)

Who Was Born This Special Day?

Who Was Born This Special Day?, by Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Leonid Gore
(Atheneum, 2000), hb., 32 pp.
Ages 3-5

This book is nicely illustrated and simple. There is not much to the book. The title question is asked through the book going through various animals as not the one born this day. On the last page it is noted that the child was the one born this special day. So, this is a fine picture book if you are looking for something simple. There is nothing objectionable in it but neither is there anything very noteworthy.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from

the Van Nestes!

The Very First Christmas

The Very First Christmas, Paul Maier
Illustrated by Francisco Ordaz
(Concordia, 1998), hb., 32 pp.
Ages 5+

I was so impressed with Maier’s book on Luther that I wanted to see this book of his on Christmas as well. Maier’s chief concern here is to relate the real events of the birth of Christ to reassert to reality of the event. In his introduction Maier states:

Children’s Christmas books are often long on fancy but short on fact. Many of them ignore the central theme of the first Christmas and opt instead for Grimm’s fairy-tale settings ….

This is certainly correct in assessing much of children’s literature, though there is an increasing number of good books on the topic (here is one example). Maier sets up his story as a conversation between a mother and her “bright eight-year-old son” who is inquisitive and has decided he only wants true bedtime stories from now on. The mother has done some study and tells the story of Christ birth in an engaging way filling in various historical details which are at times overlooked (for example the fact that the word the Bible uses for Joseph’s vocation can refer to someone who works with stone and well as one who works with wood).

In the end, this is as good a book though not as good as the Luther book. The illustrations here are not as good as the ones in the Luther book. I also take issue with the way Maier essentially slights fairy tales. I appreciate and affirm his point on the historicity of Christ’s birth, but I see no need to pit that against fairy tales. Probably this is the influence of C. S. Lewis on me as he affirmed the value of fairy tales as another way to express important truths.

This critique, though, affects only a bit of the positioning of the book. The story is well done and this book will be a good resource for families. I recommend it warmly and will plan to get a copy for our church library.

The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats

The Ballad of Matthew's Begats: An Unlikely Royal Family Tree , Andrew Peterson
(Thomas Nelson, 2007)
Hb., 32 pp.
Ages 4-10

Andrew Peterson’s Christmas CD Behold the Lamb of God has been a favorite of our family’s for some time. Among other things he does good biblical theology in the songs. So, when I saw that he had put the lyrics of one song into a children’s book I was intrigued. This book basically pairs the lyrics to his song on the genealogy of Jesus at the beginning of Matthew with fun illustrations. If you have not heard the song you might wonder at a song- much less a children’s book!- on a genealogy. But Peterson has done a good job with it, having fun and highlighting how it points to Christ. This book then is a fun, useful book for younger children.
In addition to the song lyrics Peterson includes “Did You Know” facts about certain individuals in he genealogy. This is a further help in teaching children about biblical characters. One small critique here is that the book, like most treatments, points out the great wickedness of Manasseh but does not mention his late repentance.

We enjoy and recommend this book.

How Great Our Joy

How Great Our Joy: Family Memories & Meditations for Christmas
Ray and Anne Ortlund
(B&H, 2001), small hb., 124 pp.

I am late in getting some Christmas books posted, but I’ll go ahead and put them up. They’ll be here for next year and you might be able to get them on sale now! :)

This little book has been a favorite of ours. It was one of the first ones that my wife and I found where a godly family discussed some of their own traditions. The book is not systematic discussion of a topic but a collection of musings on Christmas themes with interspersed reflections on their own family gatherings and classic paintings.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to you.

Enjoy some extra time for reading together!

A Faithful retelling of the Christmas story for younger children

Long, Long Ago in Bethlehem: The Birth of Jesus, Carine McKenzie
(Christian Focus, 1999), hb.

This is a great illustrated story book for younger kids about the birth of Jesus. Carine McKenzie is our favorite bible story author. She is always faithful to the text and often points you to larger theological truths. The book is also illustrated by Fred Apps, one of our favorite illustrators.

The story is simply told, basically a faithful retelling in simple form of the actual biblical texts. Along the way pertinent texts are given an entire page to be quoted in full. The illustrations are engaging, making this a good way to read the Christmas story with smaller children. With children a bit older you can tease out some of the implications of the Old Testament prophecies, etc.

This is a great resource.