Stories Behind Christmas

Ace Collins
Zondervan Publishing (2006)
ISBN 9780310281122
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (10/07) 

One of the toughest challenges for me after moving to the South was – and still is – getting in the mood for Christmas. When one grew up with snow on the ground and chestnuts roasting, it just isn’t easy to get used to palm trees and temperatures in the 80s when Christmas comes around. That said, the challenge has gotten bigger in the past years and all of a sudden I stopped looking forward to the holidays. Nothing seemed right any longer, until I discovered the wonderful boxed set of “Stories Behind Christmas,” written by Ace Collins.

The set consists of three wonderful collections of stories, two of which deal with the songs of Christmas and one which deals with the traditions of Christmas. Written in a fluid, easy to follow style, the stories touch on 26 traditions and a total of 62 songs, connected to Christmas. The attention to detail, as well as the obviously huge amount of research that went into them, make for pleasant, uplifting reading. With selections as diverse as Silent Night, Ave Maria, Auld Lang Syne, The Little Drummer Boy, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, White Christmas and more you’ll be able to find many of your favorites and learn a lot of surprising facts about them. The majority of the chapters also include the words of the songs, and if you are anything like me, they will be a useful tool to finally decipher some of the more difficult lines.

While I found both Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas and More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas utterly delightful and charming, it was the Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas that stole my heart. Ace Collins managed to include all of my favorites, from holly and mistletoe to nativity scenes and Nutcracker ballet, and definitely not forgetting candy canes, ornaments, stockings, gifts and lights. Any and every question about the symbols and traditions of Christmas that you’ve ever had – and maybe didn’t even realize you had it – is answered in this book. Reading the wonderful vignettes behind each of them put me in the Christmas mood early this year and I have no doubt the spirit will stay around.

This set would make a wonderful Christmas gift, especially for people with children or anybody with a curious mind. Those books are appropriate for most any age and should find their way to the bookshelves of all who celebrate Christmas. And if you are one of those, who – like me – misses a White Christmas, read a couple of stories in “Stories Behind Christmas” and I bet you will see a million tiny crystals sparkling all around you. 

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