The Spirit of Christmas

by Henry Van Dyke

"The Spirit of Christmas" is a short Christmas book by American author, educator, clergyman, critic and outdoorsman Henry Van Dyke, first published in 1905. It includes a short story, two essays, and two prayers for the season.

Genres: Christmas, Classics, Christian, Christianity

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1905

About the author

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) was an American Presbyterian clergyman, educator, and author. He graduated from Princeton in 1873, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1874. He was pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City (1883-99), professor of English literature at Princeton (1899-1923), and U.S. minister to the Netherlands (1913-16).

Among his popular inspirational writings is the Christmas story The Other Wise Man (1896). As President Wilson's ambassador to the Netherlands from 1913, Van Dyke was a first-hand witness to the outbreak of World War I and its progress, and was a key player in the President's diplomatic efforts to keep the U.S. out of the conflict.

Not to be confused with his father, Henry J. Van Dyke (1822-1891).

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/van-dyke...

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. (November 10, 1852 – April 10, 1933) was an American author, educator, diplomat, and Presbyterian clergyman.

He wrote a number of well-known Christmas classics The Story of the Other Wise Man and The First Christmas Tree just to name two, which he originally presented to his congregation and only later turned into books. This book consists of a number of delightful shorts which could have been used in or as sermons:

1) A DREAM-STORY - THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL,

2) A LITTLE ESSAY,

3) CHRISTMAS-GIVING AND CHRISTMAS-LIVING,

4) A SHORT CHRISTMAS SERMON,

5) KEEPING CHRISTMAS and

6) TWO CHRISTMAS PRAYERS:
- A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR THE HOME and
- A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR LONELY FOLKS.

This is available for free on Kindle, takes little time to read and will surely do as the title suggests and put you in The Spirit of Christmas! The first offering here, for example, is a conversation among the Holy Angels about the "Problem of Mankind" and how Jesus and only His Coming can solve it. The prayers at the end will fit no matter your situation. Are you surrounded by family and friends? Are you alone? There is a prayer for either.

Thank you, Mr. Henry Van Dyke!

This is only one of many lovely Christmas and other inspirational works by Mr. Van Dyke available for free on Kindle. And while I appreciate their availability, in this case, because they are so good, I would greatly prefer a nicely illustrated compendium of his complete works, which so far, I have been unable to find.

[Janet R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds us to be kind & generous always!❤️

[Linda K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story of the angel that fortells the birth of Chirst to the other angels. Also, a short Christmas sermon of how to keep Christmas in your heart all the year. Two prayers at the end. Charming, beautifully written and recommended to all.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roaringly thoughtful collection of sermons, reflections, prayers, dreams. Makes me want to be a better person, which is always the golden test of Christmas stories. I wonder why these works aren't more often anthologized, or more prominently featured in Christmas sermons. Heaven knows there are enough of those "three trees" stories going around, might as well have something thoughtful, well-written pieces mixed in.

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short little book. Could easily be read in a single sitting.

The story at the beginning kind of reminded me of The Pilgrim's Progress. I guess it was the setting where the angels were living.

I enjoyed the essays most, particularly the sentiment in the last one, about having Christmas feeling all year through.

[Marilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely collection of stories and essays that van Dyke wrote about Christmas. The bulk of it is a short story about angels in heaven talking about the birth of the savior and then being a part of the nativity. It's clear from the writing throughout that van Dyke was a true Christian, and reading this helped me keep the true meaning of Christmas close during this season.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for Christmas!

[Dail Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very short Christmas book. Recommended.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is small collection contains a short story, an essay, a sermon and two prayers all by Henry Van Dyke. I loved reading this on Christmas Day as a way to remember the true meaning of Christmas. The essay and sermon were my favorite and ones that I want to read every year. They highlight that "truly He taught us to love one another" and the message of "peace on earth, good will toward men."

[Karla Renee Goforth Abreu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lovely book to read during the Christmas season. It was published in 1905, which means the various sections of the book were written some time before, perhaps even a few years. As with all books from another era, the language and customs of the day have changed from then to now. The book has various writings on the topic of Christmas and the center of it as Jesus.
It opens with a dream story and angels are the characters. The names of places are symbolic and the story fantasy-like, but with eternal truths. It really is quite like a dream, in its telling.
The next section is about the motivation behind each act of our giving of gifts. Examples are used from the life of Jesus. This is good insight and admonition for our attitudes behind what we do during Christmas season.
There is a short sermon with wise instruction, in the following section, entitled "Keeping Christmas."
The book closes with two beautifully moving Christmas prayers. The first is one for the home but is appropriate for the church or other gatherings. It uses the King James type language of "thee and thou", but if one desired to use this prayer and it was thought to be beneficial to update those words none of the actual prayer would be affected.
The second prayer is "A Christmas Prayer for Lonely Folks." This prayer is moving so do not skip reading it.
Obviously, I was delightfully impressed by Henry Van Dyke's little book.
It helped me to focus more on the reason I am observing Christmas: Jesus. It also served to remind me to think of others and how I can bless, or bring joy to someone.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

🖋️This is a peaceful short book filled with Christmas inspired verse, poetry, and prayers. This is a good change of pace for Christmastime reading. ℳℯ𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓈！

Good short essays about the Christmas spirit. I enjoyed most of these.

CONTENTS
A DREAM-STORY: THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL 🌟🌟🌟🌟
🖋️ My review: A story that includes Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Gabriel the Archangel.

A LITTLE ESSAY: CHRISTMAS-GIVING AND CHRISTMAS-LIVING 🌟🌟🌟🌟
🖋️ My review: The best quote from this: "The finest Christmas gift is not the one that costs the most money, but the one that carries the most love."

A SHORT CHRISTMAS SERMON: KEEPING CHRISTMAS 🌟🌟🌟⭐️
🖋️ My review: The best quote from this very short essay: "Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you . . .?

TWO CHRISTMAS PRAYERS:
A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR THE HOME 🌟🌟🌟
🖋️ My review: A short prayer that includes the Protestant version of The Our Father.

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR LONELY FOLKS 🌟🌟🌟
🖋️ My review: Another short prayer that includes the Protestant version of The Our Father.

📕Published in 1905, 1911.
🎨Illustrated in the e-book on Project Gutenberg .

જ⁀🟢 Project Gutenberg .
જ⁀🟣 Kindle.
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very, very short - so much that I partly feel like three stars should be all it can attain to. But for the fleeting moment it lasted, it was beautiful - an evocative Christian reflection on the miracle of Christ's birth, told through a story, an essay, a sermon and two prayers successively.

[Jennifer Wadman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rejection of orthodox Christian doctrine detracts from the Sovereign God’s plan of salvation. This might feel cozy and nostalgic and have a few great passages for solid believers but it emphasizes being a good person and misses the point that depraved people desperately need a holy redeemer and the transformation and sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

[Christopher john Charles cullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gr8 read enjoyed the book recommend it to any1 i liked the prayers the book was very interesting a book you can really get into

Liked the title a book I could read over and over again a book I would also buy brilliant Read

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting concept for the short story. That of Mary telling Jesus’ siblings the story of His birth. The rest really felt like a sermon. In fact, just reading this book from the pulpit would make a good sermon.

[Vonnie Skaggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely story was given to me in the form of a very old book, and part of a collection of stories. I pulled it out to read with a stack of "Christmas" books this December, and I am so glad I did.

It will become a seasonal favourite!

[Lester Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas thoughts

A great read to help get you in the Spirit of Christmas. Short easy to read stories that will fill your heart with joy.

[Shrek · Rating 1 out of 5]

i actually have 0 memory

[Cynthia Wheelehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Christmas read !

[Coleman Wigger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice read. Not personally one of my favorites but good for a one time read.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I am not a very religious person, I am definitely not the target audience for this book. However, I did enjoy the essay about giving.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely. I enjoyed this book.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable little book to read during Advent.

[John Dobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

lovely any time of year

I hope to revisit this brief but rich book again in the coming year. Beautiful, poetic, reverent, and heart felt.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world—stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death—and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.”

~ Henry van Dyke, The Spirit of Christmas.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

The angels talk about what is wrong with the world and the Christmas Angle shows up and is on his way to earth for the first Christmas. There is more sermon in it then I care for but it is interesting.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoughtful read for Christmas time, with messages about the true meaning of Christmas. I really enjoyed the main story, which is a discussion between angels in heaven, immediately prior to the birth of Jesus, ending with the well known Luke 2 announcement to the shepherds in the field.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different kind of Christmas tale, one that gives us a look into heaven while the angels discuss the upcoming birth of the Christ child. Well written with profound thoughts of the true meaning of Christmas.
A good Christmas read.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and sweet book about remembering what Christmas is really about and how to keep Christmas in your heart all year long.

[Coleman Wigger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great religious read about Christmas. From a different perspective. One of the Angel's in Heaven.