Christmas - the very word conjures up memories of the most wondrous childhood holiday of all-filled with the glitter of colorfully-wrapped presents, family visits, carols, photographs, decorating the tree, attendance at church to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, and tummy-stuffing dinners tucked with treats seen at no other time of the year. But the yule holiday has been celebrated for at least two centuries in North America, and our writers have been producing memorable stories about this unique day for almost as long. Here are 25 Christmas stories old and new, tales to delight, to entrance, to beguile, and even to sadden a whole new generation of readers. From Nina Kiriki Hoffman's poignant "Lazelle Family Christmas" to Jacob A. Riis's gut-wrenching portrait of the holiday in the 1890s slums of New York to Johnston McCulley's riveting tale of Christmas in the Old West, we experience every possible facet of this most precious day of the year. So sit back and relive your memories once again, as recreated through the eyes of some of the finest writers of their time! Included in this volume are: INTRODUCTION, by Robert Reginald THE SUBSTITUTE SHOPPER, by Edna A. Collamore CAN'T SEE THE TREE FOR THE FOREST by Skadi meic Beorh THE GIFT, by Marilyn "Mattie" Brahen SANTA'S STOLEN SACK, by S. Omar Barker CHRISTMAS TREE DETAIL, by Johnston McCulley THE SANTA TRAP, by Robin Aurelian LAZELLE FAMILY CHRISTMAS, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman THE CHRISTMAS CRAZIES: A GRIFF & FATS STORY, by Gary Lovisi SCROOGE 3000, by Michael McCarty A HELL OF A CHRISTMAS, by Michael McCarty THE CHRISTMAS BANE, by S. Clayton Rhodes THE CHRISTMAS EVE GHOST, by Ernest Dudley DOG EAT DOG: A CHRISTMAS TALE, by Robert Reginald WHEN THE YULE LOG BURNS, by Leona Dalrymple MERRY CHRISTMAS IN THE TENEMENTS, by Jacob A. Riis THE RAPTURE OF HETTY, by Mary Hallock Foote THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL, by Henry Van Dyke CHRISTMAS: A STORY, by Zona Gale COLONEL CROCKETT'S CO-OPERATIVE CHRISTMAS, by Rupert Hughes THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS CAROL, by Kate Douglas Wiggin THE MERRYVALE BOYS: CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS AT MERRYVALE, by Alice Hale Burnett PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD-WILL TO DOGS, by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott HOW IT HAPPENED, by Kate Langley Bosher THE LITTLE CITY OF HOPE: A CHRISTMAS STORY, by F. Marion Crawford ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE EVENING, by Grace S. Richmond

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