A Selection of Christmas Fairy Tales

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!

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The Elves of Christmas

Grimm’s Fairy Tale No. 39: The Elves of Christmas (or: Die Wichtelmaenner)

Through no fault of his own, a shoemaker had slipped into abject poverty. Finally he became so poor that he had nothing left but a bit of leather for a single pair of shoes. And so in the evening he cut out the leather and planned to begin his work the next morning.

Because he had a clear conscience he went to bed peacefully, commended himself to God and fell asleep. In the morning after saying his prayer, he wanted to sit down to work. But there before him stood two shoes on his table, completely finished! He was amazed and did not know what to say. He took the shoes in his hand to examine them more carefully. They were so cleanly made and no stitch was wrong, the shoes seemed to be his masterpiece! Soon a buyer arrived and because he liked the shoes so much he paid more than the usual amount and shoemaker could negotiate more than the customary fee.

Now with the money he was able to buy leather for two pairs of shoes. In the evening he cut out the leather and intended to start work the next morning with a fresh heart. But when he awoke the shoes were already finished and buyers were also not in short supply. They offered him so much money that he could buy leather for four pairs of shoes. And so it continued. Whatever he cut out at night was finished in the morning so that he soon had an honorable income, and finally, he even became a wealthy man.

Now it happened one evening not long before Christmas, that the man began his cutting work. He said to his wife “How would it be if we stayed up tonight to see who lends us a helping hand?” The wife was satisfied and made a light. Then they hid themselves in the corner, behind the clothes hanging there, and watched. When it was midnight two small little naked men emerged, sat down at the shoemaker’s table and took up the freshly cut leather. They began to stitch, sew and tap so that the shoemaker, in his amazement, could not turn his eyes away. They did not stop until everything was finished and stood complete on the table. Then they hopped away quickly.

The next morning the woman said “The small men have made us rich. We must show our gratitude. They were busy running around all night and had no clothes to warm them. They must have been freezing! Do you know? I will sew a little shirt, jacket, jerkin and pants for them. I will knit for each one a pair of stockings and you shall make a pair of shoes for each.” The man replied “Yes, I am satisfied.” And in the evening when they had everything finished they placed the gifts on the table instead of the leather. Then they hid to see what the little men would do. At midnight they appeared and wanted to immediately start their work, but they did not find leather cut out and ready but cute pieces of clothing. First they were amazed but then they were gripped by tremendous joy. Quickly they put on the clothing, ran their hands over the pretty cloth and sang:

“Are we not fellows fine? Why should we be shoemakers more?”

Then they jumped and danced and leapt over chair and bench. Finally they danced through the door. They never returned and the shoemaker lived a long and prosperous life and as long as he lived he was successful in everything he did.

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The Witch's Sabbath

Grimm’s Saga No. 252: The Witch's Sabbath

A woman from Hembach took her son Johannes, who was barely 16 years old, to the witch's gathering. Because he wanted to learn how to whistle, the mother told her son to practice whistling for the dancers there. She told him to climb the highest tree so that his whistling could be heard far and wide. The boy obeyed and climbed the tree.  And so he whistled loud and long and saw how they all danced below. Perhaps because it all seemed so strange to him, he finally said out loud: “ Protect me, dear God! Where do so many crazy and wild people come from?”  He had barely uttered these words, when he fell from the tree, sprained his shoulder and called out loud for help. But no one was there to help him, he found himself quite alone.

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The Assembly of the Dead, Grimm's Saga No. 342

Fairy Tale for Halloween: The Assembly of the Dead

The queen had died. She lay in her castle in a splendid bed in the mourning hall that had been draped in black. At night the great room was illuminated with wax candles and the guards sat outside in the smaller antechamber.

The watchmen included a captain and forty-nine other men. Toward midnight the captain heard a carriage, pulled by six horses, rushing toward the castle. He then saw how a woman, dressed in the manner of a mourner with noble and decent countenance, descended from the coach.

She immediately asked to be given an audience with the deceased lady. But the captain replied he did not have the power to grant this wish. She insisted, mentioning her own famous name and arguing that as the Lord Chamberlain’s wife she had the right to see the deceased one last time. The captain hesitated, but the woman needled him so until he could no longer disagree.

After granting the woman access, he closed the door to the chamber and walked back and forth outside, listening carefully and peering through the key-hole. There he saw how the dead queen suddenly sat upright and appeared to be speaking softly to the woman, but with closed eyes and with no sign of life in her demeanor (except for her lips moving slightly). Whispering to his men, he invited one after another to look through the key-hole and each man saw the same thing. 

Finally, he took his turn at the key-hole once more and saw how the dead woman slowly lay down again on the fine bed. At once the woman opened the door and was led to her carriage by the captain, who could feel that her hand was ice-cold.

The wagon hastened away as quickly as it had come and the captain saw in the distance how her horses exhaled sparks of fire. The next morning news came that the Lord Chamberlain’s wife, who lived several hours away at her country estate, had died precisely in the hour she visited the dead woman.


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