Sometimes, it really does feel like Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Give us the fairy lights, colored baubles, fresh smell of pine, whipped cream-topped hot chocolate, and cookies. ALL THE COOKIES, PLEASE.
One of the best things about Christmas is that it stretches and bends to fit the shape we want and need it to be. Sure, holiday traditions can punch above their weight in December — sometimes feeling more like an over-loaded sleigh of obligation than a festive treat. But Christmas also invites us to adapt the season to be just as we like it: Stay up too late with books, greet the dawn with a walk, eat one more bite of your favorite treat, Grinch-out under a blankie, or get together with your people for holiday hijinks. Do all of it! Do none of it! Santa will add you to the Nice List no matter what.
In this episode, Mel explains why she thinks everyone should read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and Dave tries to trick us with a holly-jolly version of Two Truths and a Lie. Then we recommend five great books sprinkled with holiday magic, including two fantastic (and fantastical) books about yuletide traditions around the world, a rom-com with just the right level of sweet and sassy, a YA Gothic mystery set in a smuggler’s inn, and a cozy murder mystery that proves making merry can be quite dangerous.
Read the full transcript of Christmas: May Your Heart Be Light.
Perhaps you’d like to listen to some Christmas music while you dig into these links.
And some photos to set the scene…
A Plea to Resurrect the Christmas Tradition of Telling Ghost Stories
Mental Floss: 10 Things You Might Not Know About A Christmas Carol
Article from 1855: Charles Dickens reads A Christmas Carol to audience in Sheffield
The Morgan Library: Charles Dickens’ performance copy of A Christmas Carol
I Tried Ranking A Christmas Carol Adaptations and It Turned Me Into a Scrooge
THE WHOLE MOVIE ON YOUTUBE!
Dickens’ Other Christmas Stories and Essays
Statement 1: Judy Garland thought the original lyrics to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” were too grim to sing. NPR has the story behind the song.
Statement 2: Modern Icelandic parents tell their children a story about a fox that comes around on December 24th and steals the Wi-Fi from houses where people have ignored their grandparents all year. Read about The Icelandic Yule Lads and Their Mother Grýla.
Statement 3: A Canadian airline once secretly bought Christmas presents for an entire planeload of passengers while they were in the air and delivered them on the baggage carousel. Here’s a complete playlist of the WestJet Christmas Miracle videos. For 2025: WestJet spreads holiday cheer with the gift of giving at Ronald McDonald House® locations across Canada.
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
The Atlas of Christmas by Alex Palmer
Alex Palmer on Christmas Past podcast:
The Legend of the Christmas spider
How to make a Finnish himmeli sculpture
Why Iceland’s Christmas Witch Is Much Cooler (and Scarier) Than Krampus
‘The Dead of Winter: The Demons, Witches and Ghosts of Christmas’ by Sarah Clegg
The Origin of Krampus, Europe’s Evil Twist on Santa
In Germany, Santa’s Sidekick Is a Cloven-Hooved, Child-Whipping Demon
Sarah Clegg on the Turn the Page podcast:
Beware the evil gingerbread men!
Greenglass House by Kate Milford
‘12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas’ by Natasha Bache
Congratulations! You made it to the end. Here are your rewards:
And Smudge’s favorite show:
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