By Hannah Garcia, Reporter
With Christmas around the corner, now is a perfect time to enjoy dramatic readings of classic holiday stories. Public readings of famous Christmas stories have always been a part of the numerous ways to get in the Christmas spirit and many celebrities have done their own readings of their favorite holiday stories to celebrate this holiday season.
Bob Dylan Reading ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas’
Legendary musician Bob Dylan gave a dramatic reading of the poem “Twas The Night Before Christmas” that has the legacy of influencing modern Santa Claus mythology and popularizing the Christmas gift-giving tradition during his satellite radio show’s first season.
One the night of Christmas Eve, a father wakes up to noises being made outside of his house while his wife and children were asleep. While looking out of his window, he sees Santa Claus in his sleigh being pulled along by reindeer. After Santa lands his sleigh on the roof, he enters the home through the chimney with a sack of toys. Upon his entrance in the home, the father shares a conspiratorial moment with him.
Neil Gaiman reading “A Christmas Carol”
Neil Gaiman, an English author of short fiction, novels, graphic novels, films, and audio theatre, read “A Christmas Carol” to a full New York Public Library. “A Christmas Carol” has been adapted a countless amount times that it can be easy to forget the power of the original text and that’s where Neil Gaiman comes in. The “American Gods” author dressed up as Charles Dickens and read the story at the New York Public Library in December 2014 using Dickens’ original prompt copy.
A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge who is known for his cold and heartless personality. On Christmas Eve, a series of ghosts visit Scrooge. The three spirits that follow, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come came to show Scrooge the effects of his behavior.
Liam Neeson, The Polar Express
Liam Neeson, an iconic action film actor who softened his known gruffness, seen in his role in the “Taken” films, to read the story “The Polar Express”.
On Christmas Eve, a boy boards a mysterious train: The Polar Express, the train with the North Pole as its destination. Once he arrives, Santa Claus offers the boy any gift that he desires. The boy asks for one of the bells from a reindeer’s harness and the bell is lost. On the morning of Christmas Day, the boy finds the bell under the Christmas tree and his mother admires the bell but is saddened that it is broken. The meaning alludes to that only believers can hear the bell’s sound.
Molly Ringwald, How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Molly Ringwald, an American actress, dancer, author, and singer. She is known for her roles in classic 1980s films such as Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), and The Pick-Up Artist (1987). Although she seems to be the least like The Grinch, she does an impeccable job on capturing the whim of the Dr. Seuss version in her reading of this story.
This Christmas story follows the Grinch, an ill-tempered solitary creature who desires to end the Christmas holiday by stealing all items that celebrate Christmas from every home in Whoville on Christmas Eve. However, despite his efforts the people of Whoville still celebrate the holiday regardless of the Grinch’s thievery. Feeling remorse, the Grinch returns everything and is forgiven and is the guest of honor at the Who’s Christmas dinner.
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