Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas Book Notes on FairyTaleChannel


To help you navigate the various Christmas links on this blog, sort through the many different Christmas themes and perhaps provide impetus for further reading, here are some book notes from FairyTaleChannel.org. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Much has been written about the themes addressed in Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol. Many critics see it primarily as a condemnation of social injustice and poverty. But few have identified the many fairy tales, folk traditions and popular beliefs much of the story is based on. The whole notion of ghosts and spirits haunting the Christmas season comes from the world of the fairy tale, as does the idea of three spirits from the past, present and future illuminating and interpreting one’s destiny. See the links on this website to read more, in particular, the links for Ghosts, Ghost Theory and Norns.

Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie

The story Peter Pan shares the major themes and plot points of the Doomed Prince, a tale from ancient Egypt. Hit the link Doomed Prince to read an original translation of this tale.

Too Much Happiness, by Alice Munro

So what does ghost theory have to do with this latest book of short stories by Alice Munro? The title story of this collection is based on the life of 19th century Russian mathematician Sophia Kovalesvsky, the first woman elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences and the great-great granddaughter of Johann Ernst Schubert, the Lutheran theologian whose ideas about Ghost Theory are featured on this blog. See link to find out more.

Christmas Carols relating to the fairy tale themes explored on this Blog can be heard sung in German and English if you hit the Christmas Carols link.

Christmas Fairy Tales on this Website Featuring Christmas Hauntings:
The Advent Flibbertigibbet (Flibbertigibbet link)
Hille Bingel’s Wedding
The Troll’s of Winter
Marriage of King Wilt and Lady Lee
Ghosts of Christmas Past (Christmas Ghosts link)

The Lives of the Christmas Saints:
Saint Joseph in the Forest
Child of Mary
Saint Andrew, the Protocolete (Saint Andrew’s Eve link)
Saint Nicholas
Saint Lucy (Christmas Saints link)

The season is also a popular time for auguring one’s future, especially in regard to the New Year and designing your own New Year Celebration. See the links about

St. Andrew’s Eve,
The Lover Invited to Dinner
Augury/Text
Augury for the 21st Century

And finally, who would have thought the Christmas Season would be such a good time for Nose Fairy Tales? A Nose Trilogy appears on this blog, the links are:

Nose Fairy Tale
Hille Bingels Wedding
St. Joseph


Happy Reading and Merry Christmas!

1 comment:

Gypsy Thornton said...

Thanks for so much for all your hard work with posting these tales! I linked to you at the end of my Stories for the Season Roundup post on Once Upon A Blog.

I always enjoy visiting your site and discovering new (to me) tales. Thanks again and Happy New Year.