My sister, Bonnie, reading me a story
When I was growing up, my mother gave me the same, wonderful book for a Christmas gift every year. Mom was the librarian in the small village where we lived, and books were a fixture in our household for as long as I can remember. Mom loved to read aloud to my sisters and me, and classics such as Charlotte’s Web and Peter Pan were favorite bedtime stories. But the book Mom gave me every year for Christmas was Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. She didn’t wrap it up and place it beneath the tree with the other gifts, but instead, read it aloud to us on Christmas Eve. As we grew older, my sisters and I would choose parts to read aloud along with Mom’s narration—Marley’s ghost or Tiny Tim or maybe Scrooge himself.
Our family Christmas tree
This annual tradition of reading together as a family helped me understand the true meaning of Christmas. The holiday has little to do with shopping or stressing or consuming, and everything to do with spending time together, sharing our love for each other and, in my family’s case, sharing our love for stories and words.
Our Manger scene on my beloved bookshelf
Dickens’ timeless book is a much-needed reminder in our busy days that we need to pause and reflect on our lives from time to time, as Ebenezer Scrooge was forced to do. We need to make sure we have our priorities straight; that the love of money isn’t consuming us; that we’ve made time for our families, and time to express our faith and love for God. And if we’ve gotten off track, change is possible even for the most hard-hearted of Scrooges. As the characters in A Christmas Carol taught me year after year, love is at the heart of Christmas. “God bless us, everyone!”
Latest posts by Lynn Austin (see all)
- Can An Old Dog Learn New Tricks? - November 15, 2021
- A 1951 Christmas - November 1, 2021
- Researching? - October 18, 2021
LOVE your bookcase! It looks custom. Enjoyed your post about reading aloud; since we are semi-empty nesters, we don’t do that as a family anymore, but my husband used to love for me to read to him from books I especially loved. He is so busy right now with his college classes (he teaches math), but we will do it again I know. Merry Christmas, Lynn!
Yes, it is custom. It came with the house. The former owners were avid book lovers. Have a very Merry Christmas, Karen!
Some of my favorite memories from my childhood are memories of my mom reading aloud to me. I most remember the Little House on the Prairie books, which I loved. Merry Christmas, Lynn!
I used to want to live in the deep woods or on the prairie like Laura. Not so much, anymore! Have a a great Christmas, Becky.
Have a blessed Christmas, Lynn. Thank you for all the wonderful books you have written. They have been a joy to read.
Thanks for the encouragement, Pat. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, too.
That’s a great tradition. But I’m like Karen and totally sidetracked by that awesome bookcase. 😉 My parents have a bookcase twice that length – it takes up the entire wall of their dining room,. But it doesn’t have a ladder! Just gorgeous! lol
I know! I fell I love with this house the moment I saw the bookcase. We’ve only lived here for six months but I still go “Ahhh” every time I see all my books or climb the ladder to get one. Have a great Christmas.
That book case would be worth what you paid for the house. Did all your books fit or did you have left over books ?
I love Charols Dickens’ The Christmas Story and love the movies too.
Shirley
Believe it or not, I have SO many books that they didn’t all fit. Fortunately, the former owners had even more books than I do, so there’s an entire wall of bookshelves in my office and another wall of shelves in the family room.
Definitely worth what you paid for the house if you have all those book cases the former owner left you. Every house should have lots of built in book shelves.
Lucky you!
Shirley