But why wait for that, when there are literally hundreds of books and literary passages out there to choose from right now? So now that you may be expanding the reading lists for both you and your kids, how can you enhance your holiday reading? Start some family traditions that will continue through the years.
One of my all-time favorite book series is the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. Extremely well-written and expressive, it is a 10-book series, based on the author’s childhood memories of growing up in a small Minnesota town at the turn of the last century. (If you have a young child who shows an interest in history, I highly recommend this series. It starts when Betsy is 5 years old, and continues through her wedding in her early 20s. But I digress).
The family had a Christmas Eve tradition in which the youngest daughter recited ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, the middle daughter read the story of the Cratchit’s Christmas Dinner from A Christmas Carol, and the oldest daughter read the story of Jesus’ birth from the Book of Luke. I always thought that it was such a lovely tradition, as their choices reflected their beliefs while reaffirming the messages of the season.
Now, obviously you wouldn’t have to pick the same ones, but start a tradition of reading particular books or passages on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Pick different books and passages for each night of Chanukah. Find ones that tie into other lessons or beliefs that are important to your family.
Or start earlier in the month with a sort of literary advent calendar: wrap up individual books and unwrap one each day in December, to be read together with family each evening. You wouldn’t have to buy 25 new books each year, just take the kids’ favorite holiday books and wrap those with a few new ones. They won’t know which ones they are opening, so it will be a surprise every time. (Note: you could do the same with a book each night of Chanukah).
For a “big finish,” embrace Jolabokaflod (literally translated as “Yule Book Flood”), a tradition of Iceland in which books are exchanged on Christmas Eve and the whole family spends the evening reading their new books. In the craziness of everything else in the season, how wonderfully calming does that sound?
Whatever you choose to do, enjoy the vast choices of holiday reading out there, and make sure you take a moment to appreciate the messages of the season contained in even the silliest of holiday movies.