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Noel Günleri
Evimde ağaç var. Işıldayan bir ağaç. Her kim getirdiyse süs ışıklarından anlıyormuş ama mesele bu değil. Tavuğu, pirinci ve kaju fıstıklarını yedim, kayısıları bıraktım. Ağacın ışıklarını kapatabilirdim. Onun yerine oturup seyrettim. Bayan Noblovsky’nin kâhin votkasından dört kadeh yuvarlayınca ağacı neredeyse sevmeye başladım. Kendimi önümüzdeki Noel’de buna benzer bir şey satın alırken hayal edebiliyordum.
İngiliz edebiyatının yaşayan en önemli ve sıra dışı isimlerinden olan Jeanette Winterson, bu kez Noel sezonu için yazdığı öykülerle karşımızda. Yılın bu döneminde damakları şenlendirecek on iki tarifini de paylaşırken, anlattığı on iki Noel öyküsündeyse o yaratıcı ve cüretkâr edebiyatını konuşturuyor. Altın burunlu bir eşekten kardan bir anneye, neşeli ruhlardan perili bir eve dek, her biri diğerinden şaşırtıcı bu masalları okurken zamanın yavaşladığını hissedecek ve “Wintersonvari”, büyüleyici bir Noel haftasının içine çekileceksiniz.
İngiliz edebiyatının yaşayan en önemli ve sıra dışı isimlerinden olan Jeanette Winterson, bu kez Noel sezonu için yazdığı öykülerle karşımızda. Yılın bu döneminde damakları şenlendirecek on iki tarifini de paylaşırken, anlattığı on iki Noel öyküsündeyse o yaratıcı ve cüretkâr edebiyatını konuşturuyor. Altın burunlu bir eşekten kardan bir anneye, neşeli ruhlardan perili bir eve dek, her biri diğerinden şaşırtıcı bu masalları okurken zamanın yavaşladığını hissedecek ve “Wintersonvari”, büyüleyici bir Noel haftasının içine çekileceksiniz.
272 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2016
575 people are currently reading
8550 people want to read
About the author
Jeanette Winterson
129 books7,821 followersNovelist Jeanette Winterson was born in Manchester, England in 1959. She was adopted and brought up in Accrington, Lancashire, in the north of England. Her strict Pentecostal Evangelist upbringing provides the background to her acclaimed first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, published in 1985. She graduated from St Catherine's College, Oxford, and moved to London where she worked as an assistant editor at Pandora Press.
One of the most original voices in British fiction to emerge during the 1980s, Winterson was named as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Writers" in a promotion run jointly between the literary magazine Granta and the Book Marketing Council.
She adapted Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit for BBC television in 1990 and also wrote "Great Moments in Aviation," a television screenplay directed by Beeban Kidron for BBC2 in 1994. She is editor of a series of new editions of novels by Virginia Woolf published in the UK by Vintage. She is a regular contributor of reviews and articles to many newspapers and journals and has a regular column published in The Guardian. Her radio drama includes the play Text Message, broadcast by BBC Radio in November 2001.
Winterson lives in Gloucestershire and London. Her work is published in 28 countries.
One of the most original voices in British fiction to emerge during the 1980s, Winterson was named as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Writers" in a promotion run jointly between the literary magazine Granta and the Book Marketing Council.
She adapted Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit for BBC television in 1990 and also wrote "Great Moments in Aviation," a television screenplay directed by Beeban Kidron for BBC2 in 1994. She is editor of a series of new editions of novels by Virginia Woolf published in the UK by Vintage. She is a regular contributor of reviews and articles to many newspapers and journals and has a regular column published in The Guardian. Her radio drama includes the play Text Message, broadcast by BBC Radio in November 2001.
Winterson lives in Gloucestershire and London. Her work is published in 28 countries.
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December 26, 2024
For those looking for a little holiday spirit in their lives, Jeanette Winterson’s Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days will shake the snowglobe of your heart and usher you into a magical winter wonderland of good tidings and great cheer. Truth be told, as an adult I’ve always struggled with Christmas for a variety of reasons—a big one likely being years and years of holiday retail where the holidays meant good fun for others but endless long shifts, an overabundance of (cranky) customers, and exhaustion—but to celebrate the holidays with a Wintersonian Christmas in 2022 was just the thing I needed to be filled with joy. The book consists of 12 stories for each of the 12 days of Christmas, each followed by a little essay by Winterson complete with a holiday recipe from her or her friend’s personal repertoire, and I set about reading one per day leading up to Christmas eve. It was the best reading idea I’ve had in years. This is a lovely collection where Winterson provides a variety of tales, from somber reflections on the season to corny hallmark-style romance and—my personal favorite—ghost stories that help tap into the magic of the holidays. I even made many of the recipes provided and enjoyed them! ‘Christmas is about community, collaboration, celebration,’ Winterson writes, ‘done right, Christmas can be an antidote to the Me First mentality that has rebranded capitalism as neo-liberalism,’ and across 12 days of tales and feasts, we too can share in Winterson’s infectious love for her favorite holiday.
‘Why are the real things, the important things, so easily mislaid underneath the things that hardly matter at all?’
When I read these last holiday season I left notes for each day but never came around to providing a proper review, so I shall correct that finally. Besides, if you start now you can can enjoy this book right up until Christmas day. I love that Winterson cheerleads an enjoyment of holidays—2023 saw the release of her collection of ghost stories just in time for Halloween, Night Side of the River—as its so easy to get caught up in our lives and miss the bliss of leaning in to a celebration. The essays here are just as fun as the stories, and I love her research and undeniable passion for bringing christmas into the hearts of the reader
I have successfully made and drank the mulled wine. Would recommend.
Below are my original notes for each section of the book going day by day. I have kept portions of them if anyone wants to follow along, but I also wanted to keep them for myself.
Winterson begins trimming the tree of this holiday treat with a lovely introduction on the historical context of the Christmas season. ‘Christmas traditions are a bizarre mix-up of influences,’ Winterson explains, ‘that is part of their charm.’ There is an overview of how our modern perspective of the holiday draws from many cultural traditions, often as a way for the christian narrative to co-opt and override pagan beliefs, and aspects of all that were absorbed are still present today. She covers how the dates are important in this way, with Christmas being positioned over Saturnalia, which also allows a symmetry of Jesus’ conception and crucifixion having a nice symmetry in March.
This lack of ‘purity’ of the holiday celebrations led Puritans to ban Christmas in New England in 1659 (repealed in 1681) and Cromwell banned Christmas in England from 1647 until 1660. Winterson looks at how the Reformation ‘demoted’ Mary, mother of Jesus, and how the Catholics retaining Mary’s status was part of the impetus to ban the holiday, along with it being ‘too pagan in its origins…too party time, too pleasurable.’ Those who have read Sexing the Cherry will be familiar with Winterson’s antagonistic stance towards the Puritans. This also leads to an interesting discussion on the tradition in myths for ‘marvelous mortals’ being born of ‘one divine and one human parent,’ something we see with figures like Hercules or Helen in Greek mythology and Winterson also notes The New Testament was written in Greek, allowing the Gospels to ‘fix their Messiah in the roll call of superheroes with a divine dad.’ Of course, returning to Mary, the virgin birth is also key, with Mary’s purity and submissive nature being a departure from fertility rites and Goddess-worship in non-Jewish or non-Christian beliefs.After some more discussion on the history, Winterson ends on a lovely message of hope and warmth, reminding us to not get caught up in the commercialization and capitalist ploys of Christmas, noting that the Christmas story begins with demand for money with Caesar Augustus putting out a decree to tax all the world
Day 1:
This was an adorable and moving story of a couple so caught up in the hectic nature of the holidays and the stress of familial relations that they have been pushing one another away. A possibly magical child locked in a corporate Christmas display brings them through a magical night with lessons about unburdening yourself, the joy in renewal, and coming together. Is it Santa or a burglar with a sweet ride? Will the narrator learn to notice the things in life that make worth living, or will we always be bogged down in distractions. Funny and heartwarming, this was a great start to the collection.
Day 2:
Possibly my favorite story of the whole collection. The holiday magic is on full blast in this whimsical story that riffs on the Frosty the Snowman tale. A young girl, Jerry, and her friend build a snowman together that comes alive one night and brings Jerry on a late-night adventure. There is some excellent snowman lore about how they come alive to those who believe and how the power of love is a magical force. ‘Every year we meet again, because once we come alive, we live forever,’ SnowMama says, ‘you see us melt, and we do, but that’s us moving on, to the next place where it snows.’ But this story is also about the magic that comes from helping others, and how an act of..well, straight up theft can help turn Jerry’s mother’s life around. It is a very whimsical tale, one that seems like it could verge into corny territory in lesser hands but Winterson pulls it off. ‘Love is a mystery and that love is the mystery that makes things happen,’ Winterson tells us, and by retaining the mystery this story allows us to re-experience the wonders and magic of childhood. I found this story very moving and enjoyed the way it subverts gender expectations a bit. A whimsical and touching story about the power of aid and that ‘love comes back.’
Day 3:
For today’s tale, Winterson treats us to a spooky tale of a haunted house during a snowstorm. I’ve always loved that ghost stories for Christmas were a tradition in Victorian England and I think we need to resurrect this. Winterson does well here with and makes me hope she gives us a haunted house novel someday. Dark Christmas has some creepy moments, a tragic past, and is a lot of fun with the way a nativity set figures prominently in the horrors. A good one to read on a dark and (snow)-stormy night, remembering that ‘We are lucky, even the worst of us, because daylight comes.’
Day 4:
Here we have Sam, who’s parents vehemently did not celebrate Christmas, being coaxed towards holiday magic by his friend Lucille and learns that ‘home is where you make it.’ This was a charming holiday-enemy-to-holiday-lover trope and the holiday spirit has only intensified with each day of reading these.. Oh and this story also references Fairytale of New York which you absolutely MUST listen to at least once in December (bonus points if its on Dec. 24th).
‘It’s about making your own raft of time. Your own doorway into Christmas.’
Today, Winterson treats us to their smoked salmon and champagne recipe, and with 2 hours still left of this work shift right now let me tell you I want some champagne. She discusses how ritual is important and what the ritual of this recipe means to her, as well as always listening to the same BBC Christmas Eve program every year:
I like how much through these stories and essays Winterson focuses on not rushing, not letting the distractions of life bogging us down, and just enjoying the things that really matter.
Day 5:
I really loved today’s story. It is a retelling of the legend of the bride who, while playing hide-and-seek as is a Christmas Eve tradition, gets locked in a chest only to be found years later decomposed in her wedding dress. This is Winterson so there are many more nuances to the story, like what if the man had only married this young bride to produce an heir because he really wants to marry his cousin? I love how the maids subvert their master’s plans and this becomes a story of women helping women escape patriarchal oppression. It has a killer ending, literally,
Day 6:
Today’s story revolves around the trope of the Christmas wish, and centers the story with Irish culture where faeries are a big part of cultural lore. It’s a bit light but cute, with O’Brien finding much of life too exhausting and spending a lot of time resenting the commercialization of Christmas which is a common theme in this collection. A chance wish from a fairy, a cool lesbian fairy at that, seems wasted on something actually surface related like the commercialization she dislikes but ends up being a confidence boost she needs. Another Christmas romance in the books.
The recipe allows us more insight into Winterson’s relationship with her adopted father. Mrs. Winterson was such a larger than life personality that he was mostly relegated to the fringes in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit though we learn more about him and his second marriage in the memoir. Winterson returns to themes of forgiveness here in a few gorgeous passages:
Reconciliation is a big theme in this book, and Winterson long journey through addressing her childhood is always in the periphery in her books. Wishing Winterson a Christmas season of peace and love.
Day 7:
The moody, eeriness of today's story was a perfect companion for this gray, moody day. Winterson returns to a holiday ghost story narrative where, like in Dark Christmas, a house spills the tea of its violent past through apparitions and nightmares. The stronger of the two, I quite enjoyed the added tension between the narrator’s friend and her husband, who has always been jealous of his wife’s close relationship with the narrator. This is reminiscent of the Roman myth of Iphis with a woman raised as a man who chooses to wed another woman, but homophobia can lead to violence and thus we have a ghost story to tell here. This also reaffirms to me that Winterson should write a haunted house novel someday.
I absolutely adored the recipe essay today as it dives into the history of the famous Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Co. and it’s legacy amongst writers. Including Winterson, who also lived there in Winter 2007. It is a beautiful tribute to the place and it’s literary past, and Winterson provides the recipe to their Chinese Dumplings, providing a quick tale of when the first time they served them at a Christmas dinner amongst writer friends, there was almost a medical disaster when the person who prepared them didn’t know what an onion was and served it to someone with allergies. Today was certainly a high point in this collection.
Shakespear and Co. was a popular hangout for writers, including Allen Ginsberg (second from left).
Day 8:
Today began with Christmas Cracker, a goofy story about a stray dog that finds himself through a comedy of errors being one of the prizes at a charity event. 'This is the children’s charity party,' Winterson tells us, 'rich parents have paid a lot so that their children can help children in need without having to meet any of them.' Its a bit of a dumb story, but cute and fun enough. I did enjoy how much she dunks on the rich though. The three kids seem to have been influenced by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and to let you know she thinks all the people there are shitty they keep name dropping Putin and Trump as personal acquaintances. Light but charming enough.
Day 9:
'I never sought to avoid the overwhelming fire of existence. It’s not death that’s to be feared. It’s eternity. Do you understand?' I love Winterson doing horror, this is now the third story and I can see how they would really make it sing in full novel space. This one was fun, I spent a lot of my teenage years skiing and do enjoy the almost eerie space of a snowy hill that this story captures. It has a good historical legacy attached: I liked the incorporation of Arthur Conan Doyle and the real mystery of George Mallery and Arthur Irvine who perished on Everest. Chilling, especially with a snow storm headed my way.
Day 10:
Okay today's story was really fun and taps into the vibes of children's fiction (this one has an affinity with Dahl's Matilda) with an evil orphanage director and the children being freed by oppression through a magical army of frogs. It is whimsical and charming and worked better for me than Christmas Cracker though the two are somewhat similar in tone. It's got a big children's holiday tv special feel to it and was a nice way to start the day.
The essay/recipe today focused on the idea of memory in a really lovely way. 'I don’t make New Year resolutions,' Winterson tells us, 'instead I have a psychic clear-out. What would I prefer not to repeat?' Winterson discusses how much baggage we carry in our memory, but also how we should honor both the happy and sad memories and allow ourselves to feel, allow ourselves to atone for self-hurt, and be mindful of the memories we make. It is a lovely reminder, also the Cheese crisps sound delicious.
Day 11:
This was a lovely story, a nativity story that Winterson would later have illustrated and made into a children’s book. To save space you can read my thoughts on it here
The recipe essay was fascinating and discusses how March 25th was always the legal New Year though we celebrate it on Jan 1st (oooooh, so thats why the end of the fiscal year is later). I enjoyed learning how Britain did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752 and had been 11 days off from everyone else for awhile because of it. This is also a lovely reflection on Winterson’s childhood and Mrs. Winterson using a comb and paper to sound the trumpet for the apocalypse so the family could practice what to do. I think I am going to borrow Winterson’s tradition of burning the calendar on the new year, seems fun.
Day 12:
‘Have yourself a merry little christmas…’ sings Judy Garland as Winterson’s christmas collection ends and I sat sobbing because this final story is beautiful. A really moving story about moving on after the death of a loved one, who appears to his partner for a final christmas eve farewell. Winterson is always at the top of their game when speaking on love and this story hits hard, reminding us that we should honor the past but also that ‘love is not a prison. You can’t be imprisoned inside your love for me.’ I also love any story that includes a line in all caps saying ‘GO TO THE FUCKIN’ LIBRARY’ so thats also a win. What a lovely way to end the collection, ‘thank you for making me happy.’
The essay is a nice discussion on reversals and how that figures in fairy tales and the nativity story. Reversals disrupt and make anew, she says. ‘[W]e could do with more stability in our outward-facing lives so that we could risk disruption to our inner lives; our thinking, feeling, imaginative lives,’ Winterson writes, which I feel is a good response to how instead of a world on competition and consumerism valued stability, creativity and the human spirit.
I also loved Winterson’s note at the end, telling the story of their final Christmas with Mrs. Winterson (which went awkwardly) and a discussion on why they love christmas and how it gives us ‘space in our lives for imagination and reflection.’ This was such a fun way to spend December and I loved reading these every day.
------------------------------------------------------
Hope you all have a happy holiday season. Love to you all, happy reading!
So light a candle to the dead….to the living…to the future….and light a candle to love. Lucky love.’
‘Why are the real things, the important things, so easily mislaid underneath the things that hardly matter at all?’
When I read these last holiday season I left notes for each day but never came around to providing a proper review, so I shall correct that finally. Besides, if you start now you can can enjoy this book right up until Christmas day. I love that Winterson cheerleads an enjoyment of holidays—2023 saw the release of her collection of ghost stories just in time for Halloween, Night Side of the River—as its so easy to get caught up in our lives and miss the bliss of leaning in to a celebration. The essays here are just as fun as the stories, and I love her research and undeniable passion for bringing christmas into the hearts of the reader
I have successfully made and drank the mulled wine. Would recommend.
Below are my original notes for each section of the book going day by day. I have kept portions of them if anyone wants to follow along, but I also wanted to keep them for myself.
Winterson begins trimming the tree of this holiday treat with a lovely introduction on the historical context of the Christmas season. ‘Christmas traditions are a bizarre mix-up of influences,’ Winterson explains, ‘that is part of their charm.’ There is an overview of how our modern perspective of the holiday draws from many cultural traditions, often as a way for the christian narrative to co-opt and override pagan beliefs, and aspects of all that were absorbed are still present today. She covers how the dates are important in this way, with Christmas being positioned over Saturnalia, which also allows a symmetry of Jesus’ conception and crucifixion having a nice symmetry in March.
This lack of ‘purity’ of the holiday celebrations led Puritans to ban Christmas in New England in 1659 (repealed in 1681) and Cromwell banned Christmas in England from 1647 until 1660. Winterson looks at how the Reformation ‘demoted’ Mary, mother of Jesus, and how the Catholics retaining Mary’s status was part of the impetus to ban the holiday, along with it being ‘too pagan in its origins…too party time, too pleasurable.’ Those who have read Sexing the Cherry will be familiar with Winterson’s antagonistic stance towards the Puritans. This also leads to an interesting discussion on the tradition in myths for ‘marvelous mortals’ being born of ‘one divine and one human parent,’ something we see with figures like Hercules or Helen in Greek mythology and Winterson also notes The New Testament was written in Greek, allowing the Gospels to ‘fix their Messiah in the roll call of superheroes with a divine dad.’ Of course, returning to Mary, the virgin birth is also key, with Mary’s purity and submissive nature being a departure from fertility rites and Goddess-worship in non-Jewish or non-Christian beliefs.After some more discussion on the history, Winterson ends on a lovely message of hope and warmth, reminding us to not get caught up in the commercialization and capitalist ploys of Christmas, noting that the Christmas story begins with demand for money with Caesar Augustus putting out a decree to tax all the world
Day 1:
This was an adorable and moving story of a couple so caught up in the hectic nature of the holidays and the stress of familial relations that they have been pushing one another away. A possibly magical child locked in a corporate Christmas display brings them through a magical night with lessons about unburdening yourself, the joy in renewal, and coming together. Is it Santa or a burglar with a sweet ride? Will the narrator learn to notice the things in life that make worth living, or will we always be bogged down in distractions. Funny and heartwarming, this was a great start to the collection.
Day 2:
Possibly my favorite story of the whole collection. The holiday magic is on full blast in this whimsical story that riffs on the Frosty the Snowman tale. A young girl, Jerry, and her friend build a snowman together that comes alive one night and brings Jerry on a late-night adventure. There is some excellent snowman lore about how they come alive to those who believe and how the power of love is a magical force. ‘Every year we meet again, because once we come alive, we live forever,’ SnowMama says, ‘you see us melt, and we do, but that’s us moving on, to the next place where it snows.’ But this story is also about the magic that comes from helping others, and how an act of..well, straight up theft can help turn Jerry’s mother’s life around. It is a very whimsical tale, one that seems like it could verge into corny territory in lesser hands but Winterson pulls it off. ‘Love is a mystery and that love is the mystery that makes things happen,’ Winterson tells us, and by retaining the mystery this story allows us to re-experience the wonders and magic of childhood. I found this story very moving and enjoyed the way it subverts gender expectations a bit. A whimsical and touching story about the power of aid and that ‘love comes back.’
Day 3:
For today’s tale, Winterson treats us to a spooky tale of a haunted house during a snowstorm. I’ve always loved that ghost stories for Christmas were a tradition in Victorian England and I think we need to resurrect this. Winterson does well here with and makes me hope she gives us a haunted house novel someday. Dark Christmas has some creepy moments, a tragic past, and is a lot of fun with the way a nativity set figures prominently in the horrors. A good one to read on a dark and (snow)-stormy night, remembering that ‘We are lucky, even the worst of us, because daylight comes.’
Day 4:
Here we have Sam, who’s parents vehemently did not celebrate Christmas, being coaxed towards holiday magic by his friend Lucille and learns that ‘home is where you make it.’ This was a charming holiday-enemy-to-holiday-lover trope and the holiday spirit has only intensified with each day of reading these.. Oh and this story also references Fairytale of New York which you absolutely MUST listen to at least once in December (bonus points if its on Dec. 24th).
‘It’s about making your own raft of time. Your own doorway into Christmas.’
Today, Winterson treats us to their smoked salmon and champagne recipe, and with 2 hours still left of this work shift right now let me tell you I want some champagne. She discusses how ritual is important and what the ritual of this recipe means to her, as well as always listening to the same BBC Christmas Eve program every year:
‘Ritual is a way of altering time, by which I mean a way of pausing the endless intrusion of busy life…The reason I suggest making some of this small meal yourself is because ritual has an anticipatory relevance – we prepare for it, practically and psychologically; that’s part of its benefit.’
I like how much through these stories and essays Winterson focuses on not rushing, not letting the distractions of life bogging us down, and just enjoying the things that really matter.
Day 5:
I really loved today’s story. It is a retelling of the legend of the bride who, while playing hide-and-seek as is a Christmas Eve tradition, gets locked in a chest only to be found years later decomposed in her wedding dress. This is Winterson so there are many more nuances to the story, like what if the man had only married this young bride to produce an heir because he really wants to marry his cousin? I love how the maids subvert their master’s plans and this becomes a story of women helping women escape patriarchal oppression. It has a killer ending, literally,
Day 6:
Today’s story revolves around the trope of the Christmas wish, and centers the story with Irish culture where faeries are a big part of cultural lore. It’s a bit light but cute, with O’Brien finding much of life too exhausting and spending a lot of time resenting the commercialization of Christmas which is a common theme in this collection. A chance wish from a fairy, a cool lesbian fairy at that, seems wasted on something actually surface related like the commercialization she dislikes but ends up being a confidence boost she needs. Another Christmas romance in the books.
The recipe allows us more insight into Winterson’s relationship with her adopted father. Mrs. Winterson was such a larger than life personality that he was mostly relegated to the fringes in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit though we learn more about him and his second marriage in the memoir. Winterson returns to themes of forgiveness here in a few gorgeous passages:
’I am sure that if we can find reconciliation with our past - whether parents, partners or friends - we should try and do that. It won't be perfect, it will be acompromise, and it doesn't mean happy families or restored bonds - there is often too much damage, too much sadness - but it might mean acceptance and, the big word, forgiveness.’
Reconciliation is a big theme in this book, and Winterson long journey through addressing her childhood is always in the periphery in her books. Wishing Winterson a Christmas season of peace and love.
Day 7:
The moody, eeriness of today's story was a perfect companion for this gray, moody day. Winterson returns to a holiday ghost story narrative where, like in Dark Christmas, a house spills the tea of its violent past through apparitions and nightmares. The stronger of the two, I quite enjoyed the added tension between the narrator’s friend and her husband, who has always been jealous of his wife’s close relationship with the narrator. This is reminiscent of the Roman myth of Iphis with a woman raised as a man who chooses to wed another woman, but homophobia can lead to violence and thus we have a ghost story to tell here. This also reaffirms to me that Winterson should write a haunted house novel someday.
I absolutely adored the recipe essay today as it dives into the history of the famous Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Co. and it’s legacy amongst writers. Including Winterson, who also lived there in Winter 2007. It is a beautiful tribute to the place and it’s literary past, and Winterson provides the recipe to their Chinese Dumplings, providing a quick tale of when the first time they served them at a Christmas dinner amongst writer friends, there was almost a medical disaster when the person who prepared them didn’t know what an onion was and served it to someone with allergies. Today was certainly a high point in this collection.
Shakespear and Co. was a popular hangout for writers, including Allen Ginsberg (second from left).
Day 8:
Today began with Christmas Cracker, a goofy story about a stray dog that finds himself through a comedy of errors being one of the prizes at a charity event. 'This is the children’s charity party,' Winterson tells us, 'rich parents have paid a lot so that their children can help children in need without having to meet any of them.' Its a bit of a dumb story, but cute and fun enough. I did enjoy how much she dunks on the rich though. The three kids seem to have been influenced by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and to let you know she thinks all the people there are shitty they keep name dropping Putin and Trump as personal acquaintances. Light but charming enough.
Day 9:
'I never sought to avoid the overwhelming fire of existence. It’s not death that’s to be feared. It’s eternity. Do you understand?' I love Winterson doing horror, this is now the third story and I can see how they would really make it sing in full novel space. This one was fun, I spent a lot of my teenage years skiing and do enjoy the almost eerie space of a snowy hill that this story captures. It has a good historical legacy attached: I liked the incorporation of Arthur Conan Doyle and the real mystery of George Mallery and Arthur Irvine who perished on Everest. Chilling, especially with a snow storm headed my way.
Day 10:
Okay today's story was really fun and taps into the vibes of children's fiction (this one has an affinity with Dahl's Matilda) with an evil orphanage director and the children being freed by oppression through a magical army of frogs. It is whimsical and charming and worked better for me than Christmas Cracker though the two are somewhat similar in tone. It's got a big children's holiday tv special feel to it and was a nice way to start the day.
The essay/recipe today focused on the idea of memory in a really lovely way. 'I don’t make New Year resolutions,' Winterson tells us, 'instead I have a psychic clear-out. What would I prefer not to repeat?' Winterson discusses how much baggage we carry in our memory, but also how we should honor both the happy and sad memories and allow ourselves to feel, allow ourselves to atone for self-hurt, and be mindful of the memories we make. It is a lovely reminder, also the Cheese crisps sound delicious.
Day 11:
This was a lovely story, a nativity story that Winterson would later have illustrated and made into a children’s book. To save space you can read my thoughts on it here
The recipe essay was fascinating and discusses how March 25th was always the legal New Year though we celebrate it on Jan 1st (oooooh, so thats why the end of the fiscal year is later). I enjoyed learning how Britain did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752 and had been 11 days off from everyone else for awhile because of it. This is also a lovely reflection on Winterson’s childhood and Mrs. Winterson using a comb and paper to sound the trumpet for the apocalypse so the family could practice what to do. I think I am going to borrow Winterson’s tradition of burning the calendar on the new year, seems fun.
Day 12:
‘Have yourself a merry little christmas…’ sings Judy Garland as Winterson’s christmas collection ends and I sat sobbing because this final story is beautiful. A really moving story about moving on after the death of a loved one, who appears to his partner for a final christmas eve farewell. Winterson is always at the top of their game when speaking on love and this story hits hard, reminding us that we should honor the past but also that ‘love is not a prison. You can’t be imprisoned inside your love for me.’ I also love any story that includes a line in all caps saying ‘GO TO THE FUCKIN’ LIBRARY’ so thats also a win. What a lovely way to end the collection, ‘thank you for making me happy.’
The essay is a nice discussion on reversals and how that figures in fairy tales and the nativity story. Reversals disrupt and make anew, she says. ‘[W]e could do with more stability in our outward-facing lives so that we could risk disruption to our inner lives; our thinking, feeling, imaginative lives,’ Winterson writes, which I feel is a good response to how instead of a world on competition and consumerism valued stability, creativity and the human spirit.
I also loved Winterson’s note at the end, telling the story of their final Christmas with Mrs. Winterson (which went awkwardly) and a discussion on why they love christmas and how it gives us ‘space in our lives for imagination and reflection.’ This was such a fun way to spend December and I loved reading these every day.
------------------------------------------------------
Hope you all have a happy holiday season. Love to you all, happy reading!
So light a candle to the dead….to the living…to the future….and light a candle to love. Lucky love.’
February 5, 2017
This may well be the only Christmas book I read this season, and of so I am glad I chose this one. I loved every single story, though of course I had a few favorites.
The Snowmama, a magical heartwarming story with a wonderful message.
The Mistletoe Bride, a gothic tale of well deserved revenge.
Christmas Cracker, a wonderful tale that ends with the true meaning of Christmas.
The Silver Frog, a loose presentation of a Scrooge type story.
The Lion, The Unicorn and me, a humorous telling of the birth of Jesus, narrated by the donkey who carried Mary.
In between each story is a recipe and I also loved the stories that went with them. Here Winterson lets the reader into her life, her hardships, her wife, Suzy Ormond and trying to keep her traditions, Winterson loves Christmas, with a Jew who does not celebrate Christmas. Her times at Shakespeare and Company, some tidbits of her family life growing up and her wonderful friendship with the late Ruth Rendell. Personal and interesting stuff here, one gets a sense of who this author is and what she considers important.
Beautiful book packaging as well, a win, win.
The Snowmama, a magical heartwarming story with a wonderful message.
The Mistletoe Bride, a gothic tale of well deserved revenge.
Christmas Cracker, a wonderful tale that ends with the true meaning of Christmas.
The Silver Frog, a loose presentation of a Scrooge type story.
The Lion, The Unicorn and me, a humorous telling of the birth of Jesus, narrated by the donkey who carried Mary.
In between each story is a recipe and I also loved the stories that went with them. Here Winterson lets the reader into her life, her hardships, her wife, Suzy Ormond and trying to keep her traditions, Winterson loves Christmas, with a Jew who does not celebrate Christmas. Her times at Shakespeare and Company, some tidbits of her family life growing up and her wonderful friendship with the late Ruth Rendell. Personal and interesting stuff here, one gets a sense of who this author is and what she considers important.
Beautiful book packaging as well, a win, win.
January 5, 2019
I’ve not read Jeanette Winterson’s writing before this lovely and imaginative collection of short stories and personal essays. How delightful it was to sit and get lost in a story or two each night before turning out the lights! All of the short stories had a magical quality to them – a tone that seems quite fitting at Christmastime. Several were nothing short of haunting ghost stories. You may say to yourself ‘how is this Christmassy?', until you stop and consider Charles Dickens’ masterpiece. Not that any of these stories could individually be compared to the brilliance of A Christmas Carol… but what can?! Still, I rather enjoyed them. There were a couple of stories that really didn’t capture my attention, but that was to be expected.
My favorite short stories were those about a snowperson come to life and restoring hope for a young girl and her mother (‘The Snowmama’); a nativity story told from the point of view of a very special animal (‘The Lion, the Unicorn and Me’); and a touching story about the bereavement of a loved one at Christmastime (‘The Glow-Heart’). One story, simply titled ‘A Ghost Story’, immediately transported me to Switzerland where I became completely immersed in this eerie tale. "The room was slowly petrifying. Whitening. The warm tones of polished wood had bleached, like a bone in the sun, like a body left on a mountainside. The fire had gone out, its ash a mountain of its own, grey and useless. The curtains looked like sheets of ice framing the frosted window."
What I appreciated most in this book, however, were Winterson’s personal essays. They included interesting historical snippets about Christmas and its rituals and traditions, reminiscences of family and friends, and engaging ruminations about the holiday season. I loved reading about the people she spent time with during various Christmases and New Years including Ruth Rendell, Kathy Acker, and her spouse, Susie Orbach. Each of the essays finished with a recipe. I think Winterson gets it quite right when she says: "Cooking at home is not an Olympic sport. Cooking is an everyday ordinary miracle." I need to keep this in mind every year when I drag out the cookbooks and laptop for far more recipes than is necessary. Her reflections about the last Christmas she spent with her dad were heartwarming. Her recipe and advice regarding ‘Dad’s Sherry Trifle’ made me laugh: "But one day you may find yourself with some old cake, a tin of custard, a tin of fruit cocktail, a few cubes of jelly, some sweet sherry and a bit of cream – or maybe even a tin of condensed milk if you are camping. These things happen. And you will know what to do." Better yet were her gentle words of wisdom imparted to us: "I have learned, painfully, over the years that the things I regret in my life are not errors of judgment but failures of feeling. So I am glad of that last Christmas with my dad – not because it rewrote the past, but because it rewrote our ending."
For me, this was a perfect introduction to this author’s work. I’m not sure how many of these stories I will specifically recall next year, but what will stand out most in my mind include the beautiful prose as well as the spirit and generosity of Jeanette Winterson and her love for Christmas, family and friends. I’ll certainly be interested to read more of her work now I’ve had a taste of what she has to offer.
"We remember so much of the bad stuff and we are so careless with the good stuff. Remember the year for what it brought. Even if there was precious little, that little is precious."
My favorite short stories were those about a snowperson come to life and restoring hope for a young girl and her mother (‘The Snowmama’); a nativity story told from the point of view of a very special animal (‘The Lion, the Unicorn and Me’); and a touching story about the bereavement of a loved one at Christmastime (‘The Glow-Heart’). One story, simply titled ‘A Ghost Story’, immediately transported me to Switzerland where I became completely immersed in this eerie tale. "The room was slowly petrifying. Whitening. The warm tones of polished wood had bleached, like a bone in the sun, like a body left on a mountainside. The fire had gone out, its ash a mountain of its own, grey and useless. The curtains looked like sheets of ice framing the frosted window."
What I appreciated most in this book, however, were Winterson’s personal essays. They included interesting historical snippets about Christmas and its rituals and traditions, reminiscences of family and friends, and engaging ruminations about the holiday season. I loved reading about the people she spent time with during various Christmases and New Years including Ruth Rendell, Kathy Acker, and her spouse, Susie Orbach. Each of the essays finished with a recipe. I think Winterson gets it quite right when she says: "Cooking at home is not an Olympic sport. Cooking is an everyday ordinary miracle." I need to keep this in mind every year when I drag out the cookbooks and laptop for far more recipes than is necessary. Her reflections about the last Christmas she spent with her dad were heartwarming. Her recipe and advice regarding ‘Dad’s Sherry Trifle’ made me laugh: "But one day you may find yourself with some old cake, a tin of custard, a tin of fruit cocktail, a few cubes of jelly, some sweet sherry and a bit of cream – or maybe even a tin of condensed milk if you are camping. These things happen. And you will know what to do." Better yet were her gentle words of wisdom imparted to us: "I have learned, painfully, over the years that the things I regret in my life are not errors of judgment but failures of feeling. So I am glad of that last Christmas with my dad – not because it rewrote the past, but because it rewrote our ending."
For me, this was a perfect introduction to this author’s work. I’m not sure how many of these stories I will specifically recall next year, but what will stand out most in my mind include the beautiful prose as well as the spirit and generosity of Jeanette Winterson and her love for Christmas, family and friends. I’ll certainly be interested to read more of her work now I’ve had a taste of what she has to offer.
"We remember so much of the bad stuff and we are so careless with the good stuff. Remember the year for what it brought. Even if there was precious little, that little is precious."
December 22, 2022
Like the literary equivalent of a warm glass of mulled wine: soothing, joyous and bubbling. Highly recommended for the season!
Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had?
General
Lyrical, filled with fantasy and warmth, I feel Jeanette Winterson is the ideal writer for Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days. She intertwines the short stories with recipes and reflections of herself on Christmases past. I found the pieces on Ruth Rendell, the famous thriller writer, and reflections on the deceased adoptive mother of Winterson which we know from Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, especially moving.
And normally I would not say that a book should be judged on its looks, but this book is absolutely gorgeous, with red page numbers and colored illustrations.
A real treat for the holiday season!
The stories
Ritual is a way of altering time. By which I mean a way of pausing the endless intrusion of busy life.
The first story has a magical girl as Spirit of Christmas, reminding our characters of the importance of giving, and taking time caring for their relationship.
Snowmama has an inventive snow woman coming to live to help a abandoned girl (I broke into Store's Stores! But that's stealing! Yes it is. But that's wrong! So is a child with nothing to eat.) and the third story, Dark Christmas, is the gothic Christmas you didn’t knew you needed till you read it.
The fourth story is a contemporary love story and the fifth more a fairytale of revenge that follows love. O’Briens First Christmas, the sixth story, didn’t do much to me (even though the satire on Christmas shopping, with a ticker tape counting down the shopping days to Christmas and the slogan Only too much was enough was a fun start to the story).
I did liked The Second-best Bed for it’s creepiness and Christmas Cracker is so sweet and magical it’s ideal for children. Ghost Story felt well researched and eerie enough, with the links to the colonial explorers of Mount Everest and one of the beautiful quotes of the book: We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for.
Silver Frog had a delicious Tim Burton kind of feel to it, being very over the top and sad at the same time. A bit Roald Dahl The Witches like.
We have a Mrs Reckitt, head of an orphanage, who looks both like a turkey and a crocodile and has a terrible dark humour: If there is one thing I dislike more than orphans, it is crippled orphans, she said, inspecting Reginald as though she might be considering eating him. Ronald, are you a crippled orphan or an orphaned cripple? HA HA HA HA HA.
I liked this story a lot, also because at the end of it we are offered a visceral sentence on how the orphans live: And there had been a bear, but the smallest children had shared him, so that one had a leg, another an arm, and his head was passed round to anyone who had been punished that day so that they could hold his gentle head against their hurt hearts.
The Lion, The Unicorn and Me is a rather plain retelling of the Christmas through the eyes of the donkey while The Glow-heart story kind of ripped my heart out.
Marty and recently deceased David, oh gosh, what a sweet story we are offered of carrying loss with you. Why do we fall in love with someone because the glory that they are, and immediately try to change them? and Only the impossible is worth the effort. were quotes that I really found touching.
Last thoughts
Normally the last page of a book doesn't add much, and certainly never have I had the idea to fully write down the last page of a book.
But Christmas Days’ last page shows perfectly the warmth, insight and humanity of the writing of Jeanette Winterson.
A collection to keep on rereading when times are getting dark and days shorter. 4,5 stars.
Sometimes the thing we long for, the thing we need, the miracle we want, is right there in front of us, and we can't see it, or we run the other way, or, saddest of all, we just don't know what to do with it. Think how many people get the success they want, the partner they want, the money they want, et cetera, and turn it into dust and ashes - like the fairy gold no one can spend.
So at Christmas, I think about the Christmas story, and all Christmas stories since. As a writer I know that we get along badly without space in our lives for imagination and reflection. Religious festivals were designed to be time outside time. Time where ordinary time was subject to significant time. What we remember. What we invent.
So light a candle to the dead.
And light a candle to miracles, however unlikely, and pray that you recognise yours.
And light a candle to the living; the world of friendship and family that means so much.
And light a candle to the future; that it may happen and not be swallowed up by darkness.
And light a candle to love.
Lucky Love
Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had?
General
Lyrical, filled with fantasy and warmth, I feel Jeanette Winterson is the ideal writer for Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days. She intertwines the short stories with recipes and reflections of herself on Christmases past. I found the pieces on Ruth Rendell, the famous thriller writer, and reflections on the deceased adoptive mother of Winterson which we know from Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, especially moving.
And normally I would not say that a book should be judged on its looks, but this book is absolutely gorgeous, with red page numbers and colored illustrations.
A real treat for the holiday season!
The stories
Ritual is a way of altering time. By which I mean a way of pausing the endless intrusion of busy life.
The first story has a magical girl as Spirit of Christmas, reminding our characters of the importance of giving, and taking time caring for their relationship.
Snowmama has an inventive snow woman coming to live to help a abandoned girl (I broke into Store's Stores! But that's stealing! Yes it is. But that's wrong! So is a child with nothing to eat.) and the third story, Dark Christmas, is the gothic Christmas you didn’t knew you needed till you read it.
The fourth story is a contemporary love story and the fifth more a fairytale of revenge that follows love. O’Briens First Christmas, the sixth story, didn’t do much to me (even though the satire on Christmas shopping, with a ticker tape counting down the shopping days to Christmas and the slogan Only too much was enough was a fun start to the story).
I did liked The Second-best Bed for it’s creepiness and Christmas Cracker is so sweet and magical it’s ideal for children. Ghost Story felt well researched and eerie enough, with the links to the colonial explorers of Mount Everest and one of the beautiful quotes of the book: We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for.
Silver Frog had a delicious Tim Burton kind of feel to it, being very over the top and sad at the same time. A bit Roald Dahl The Witches like.
We have a Mrs Reckitt, head of an orphanage, who looks both like a turkey and a crocodile and has a terrible dark humour: If there is one thing I dislike more than orphans, it is crippled orphans, she said, inspecting Reginald as though she might be considering eating him. Ronald, are you a crippled orphan or an orphaned cripple? HA HA HA HA HA.
I liked this story a lot, also because at the end of it we are offered a visceral sentence on how the orphans live: And there had been a bear, but the smallest children had shared him, so that one had a leg, another an arm, and his head was passed round to anyone who had been punished that day so that they could hold his gentle head against their hurt hearts.
The Lion, The Unicorn and Me is a rather plain retelling of the Christmas through the eyes of the donkey while The Glow-heart story kind of ripped my heart out.
Marty and recently deceased David, oh gosh, what a sweet story we are offered of carrying loss with you. Why do we fall in love with someone because the glory that they are, and immediately try to change them? and Only the impossible is worth the effort. were quotes that I really found touching.
Last thoughts
Normally the last page of a book doesn't add much, and certainly never have I had the idea to fully write down the last page of a book.
But Christmas Days’ last page shows perfectly the warmth, insight and humanity of the writing of Jeanette Winterson.
A collection to keep on rereading when times are getting dark and days shorter. 4,5 stars.
Sometimes the thing we long for, the thing we need, the miracle we want, is right there in front of us, and we can't see it, or we run the other way, or, saddest of all, we just don't know what to do with it. Think how many people get the success they want, the partner they want, the money they want, et cetera, and turn it into dust and ashes - like the fairy gold no one can spend.
So at Christmas, I think about the Christmas story, and all Christmas stories since. As a writer I know that we get along badly without space in our lives for imagination and reflection. Religious festivals were designed to be time outside time. Time where ordinary time was subject to significant time. What we remember. What we invent.
So light a candle to the dead.
And light a candle to miracles, however unlikely, and pray that you recognise yours.
And light a candle to the living; the world of friendship and family that means so much.
And light a candle to the future; that it may happen and not be swallowed up by darkness.
And light a candle to love.
Lucky Love
December 21, 2024
This is a physically beautiful collection of a dozen (for the twelve days of Christmas) new short stories, alternating with a dozen pieces about food (each ending with a recipe), all with a Christmas or winter theme, topped and tailed with an introduction and a Christmas message. I use, but don’t read cookery books, and to my surprise, the musings on food, festivities, and ritual (4*) were far better than most of the stories (2* - 3*), some of which felt more suited to Halloween. Many of the stories would be fine for family reading; the food passages would be of less interest to children. The structure of this reminded me of Ali Smith's Public library and other stories (my review HERE).
Stories, Religion, Orphans, Making Families, Rituals, and Time
The more Winterson I read, the more I realise the importance of knowing her life story and how that relates to her recurring themes.
Here, she mentions key aspects as she goes, but it helps to know more. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit was a fictionalised account that brought her to fame (my brief review HERE). Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal? is her more recent autobiography that brings her story up-to-date, and explains more deeply, the importance of literature and storytelling, especially in relation to abandonment (my review HERE).
Christmas-Tide (introduction)
Winterson writes about the power of imagery, especially in pre-literate times, the cult of Mary, and other things we treat as sacred, even those of us who are broadly secular. She may not believe in the Christian faith she was raised in, but she values aspects of it. She loves the traditions of Christmas and dislikes its commercialisation, though acknowledges wryly that the story starts with a demand for money (tax) and ends with gifts (a child, then gold, frankincense, and myrrh).
She moves from the profundity and beauty of "An angel, fast as thought and bright as hope, turning eternity into time" to satirical regret that cooking has become like cycling (requiring unnecessary and expensive equipment, and being too competitive), rather than being appreciated as "an everyday ordinary miracle". That sort of segue is typical of this book.
Spirit of Christmas
"It was the night before Christmas and all over the house nothing was stirring because even the mouse was exhausted."
But it’s the spirit of Dickens that chimes in this poignant contemporary story of a ghostly abandoned child who claims to be The Spirit of Christmas.
Mrs Winterson’s Mince Pies
There is delightful period detail (a Spong, greasing tins with the butter wrapper), and the abusive Mrs Winterson seems almost benign in the festive glow. Nevertheless, “If you want the full 1960s experience… turn off your heating the night before and wear two jumpers under your pinny.”
The recipes here are to be read for the writing more than to be followed. In poignant terms, she explores poverty, loss, and the meaning of giving, instructs you to “Make pleasing circles of pastry.” and drily suggests filling mince pies "generously, but not idiotically". “Store them in an old tin you have no use for but can't bear to throw out.” Delightful.
The SnowMama
“Love is a mystery that makes things happen…. Love always comes back.”
A story of childlike faith in magic, and hope for better things, coupled with practical action. There’s a bit of playing with gender expectations (male and female snowpeople, and human children whose names leave you unsure at first) and puns on “snow” that soften the deprivation of one of the main characters.
Ruth Rendell’s Red Cabbage
The (nearly) lost alchemy of pickling.
Dark Christmas
“We are lucky, even the worst of us, because daylight comes.”
She is quoting herself a decade ago, in Lighthousekeeping (my review HERE).
Friends plan to meet up at a remote cottage for Christmas. A traditional spooky-house story, clichés and all, but with many echoes of madonna and child, and lost children.
“There are seconds that hold a lifetime. Who you were, what you will become. Turn the key!
Kathy Acker’s New York Custard
This book is peppered with intriguing history of Christmas and its traditions. I didn’t know that Bird’s instant custard was invented by a man whose wife was allergic to eggs. Far more surprisingly, apparently Dylan Thomas invented “Night Custard”, intended for eating, hair creme, and vaginal lubricant! Just as well I read that only after making my custard, which is very similar to Acker’s.
Christmas in New York
“Snow’s just rain that’s been left out in the cold.”
The narrator lives alone in a sombre apartment, which he bought furnished and has never added to. He dislikes Christmas because as a boy, he was barely allowed to celebrate it. When he left for college, his mother returned a gift he’d once given her. “She never could receive. She never could give… I kept it like poison I had already swallowed.”
He keeps bumping into a colleague who tries to encourage him to admit a little festive cheer into his life, and to follow his dreams. There is an air of enchantment, but things are not always what they seem.
“It was a day of winter sun that sparkled the city into diamonds and pearls… The windows of the big department stores like magic mirrors into another world.”
My Christmas Eve Smoked Salmon and Champagne
The prelude to the “recipe” is the heart of the book, confirming what all the rest says.
• “We make our own traditions.”
• “A sense of continuity - religion is good at that. And a sense of belonging to something more necessary than shopping and party-going. This is a spiritual experience, whether or not you believe in God.”
• “The point of ritual is that the sameness of it concentrates and then clears the mind… Ritual is a way of altering time… of pausing the endless intrusions of busy life.”
• “Ritual has an anticipatory relevance: making your own raft of time. Your own doorway into Christmas.”
The Mistletoe Bride
“The long icicle of our journey… The tongue of the drawbridge… Words hanging in mid-air like my dictionary of frost.”
Set long ago, in an unknown place, a young girl travels to marry an older man she barely knows on Christmas Eve, as is the tradition in those parts. Others are darker. Hide and seek can have unexpected consequences.
“Mistletoe; mysterious, poisonous, white as death, green as hope.”
Susie’s Christmas Eve Gravlax
“Love affairs are discoveries of new worlds.”
“I need non-linear time to imagine and to write.”
And then there’s something about fish.
O’Brien’s First Christmas
“She had done nothing that caught in the sieve of the world’s esteem.”
A seasonal transformation. Changing outward appearance isn’t necessarily trivial: it affects how others treat us, which in turn, affects our self-image.
Dad’s Sherry Trifle
“I have learned, painfully, over the years that the things I regret in my life are not errors of judgement but failures of feeling.”
Her father was “a celebratory war baby they soon forgot to celebrate”, rather as Mrs Winterson rapidly lost any joy in the daughter she so hopefully adopted.
Winterson’s last Christmas with her father didn't rewire the past, but it it “rewrote our ending”.
The Second Best Bed
“Are there things that cannot be explained? And if there are, how do we explain them?”
Nothing to do with Shakespeare’s will, but an apparently formulaic ghost story - until the grand reveal, which was a total surprise, though perhaps shouldn’t have been, as it touches on issues Winterson cares about.
Shakespeare And Company’s Chinese Dumplings
Winterson has been to the famous place many times. In 2007, it literally saved her life.
Christmas Cracker
There is something of Willy Wonka’s winners here, except I found this rather stupid. Talking dogs don’t do it for me, except in picture books.
My Mulled Wine
“Mulled wine is more of a spell than a recipe.”
A Ghost Story
“When I am climbing I understand that gravity exists to protect us from our lightness of being, in the same way that time is what shields us from eternity… It’s not death that’s to be feared. It’s eternity.”
More ghosts, this time in a ski resort, with thoughts of empire and how the British made downhill skiing a competitive sport, “rather than just the fastest way to get to the bottom of the hill”.
“People feel light-headed on mountains.”
Kamila Shamsie’s Turkey Biryani
A nice variant on Boxing Day turkey curry.
The Silver Frog
Christmas at an orphanage that is not as pleasant as benefactors believe. Echoes of Dahl, again, making humour from the grim.
My New Year’s Eve Cheese Crispies
I hate the taste and texture of cooked cheese, but Winterson’s attitude to the change of year is inspirational.
“What would I prefer not to repeat?”
“You can heal the past. It may be fixed as fact… but it isn’t fixed in the ongoing story of our lives.”
“Even if there was precious little, that little is precious.”
The Lion, The Unicorn And Me
“The deep black sky had the new moon cut in it and the fields beyond the town were visible under that moon, but as a dream is visible to one who sleeps.”
Unlike the dog in an earlier story, the narrating animal in this retelling of the nativity worked for me. Jesus’ birth was a beginning and an ending:
“Time past and future roaring around us like a wind, and eternity about us, like angels, like a star.”
My New Year’s Day Steak Sandwich
Resolve to do things differently, not necessarily better. Then make steak sandwiches and “cut in half with a lethal knife”!
The Glow-Heart
Learning to live after bereavement is not a betrayal of the loved one lost, but a fulfilment of what they would wish for you.
My Twelfth Night Fish Cakes
Epiphany is about opposites and reversal: Lord of Misrule, pantomime, and the birth of a child heralding the death of the existing order. Oh, and capitalism is bad.
Christmas Greetings from the Author
“Memory, as a creative act, allows us to reawaken the dead, or sometime to lay them to rest.”
Winterson shares her final thoughts on the personal and historical baggage of Christmas, miracles, and memories.
Religious festivals are “time outside of time” and teach us to look out for miracles, which are unexpected and often inconvenient intrusions in space-time, seasoned with fate and chance.
Other Quotes
• Dickens’ Christmas Carol is “a story so powerful it can survive The Muppets” - though in fairness to those gaudy characters, their version is pretty accurate in terms of plot.
• For Mrs Winterson, “Life was a pre-death experience”.
• “Time is a boomerang not an arrow.”
• “My mother returned, in what seemed to be a hailstorm, though maybe that was her personal weather. She carried a goose, half-in, half-out of her shopping bag, its slack head hung sideways like a dream nobody can remember.”
Image source:
http://www.falmouthpubliclibrary.org/...
Stories, Religion, Orphans, Making Families, Rituals, and Time
The more Winterson I read, the more I realise the importance of knowing her life story and how that relates to her recurring themes.
Here, she mentions key aspects as she goes, but it helps to know more. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit was a fictionalised account that brought her to fame (my brief review HERE). Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal? is her more recent autobiography that brings her story up-to-date, and explains more deeply, the importance of literature and storytelling, especially in relation to abandonment (my review HERE).
Christmas-Tide (introduction)
Winterson writes about the power of imagery, especially in pre-literate times, the cult of Mary, and other things we treat as sacred, even those of us who are broadly secular. She may not believe in the Christian faith she was raised in, but she values aspects of it. She loves the traditions of Christmas and dislikes its commercialisation, though acknowledges wryly that the story starts with a demand for money (tax) and ends with gifts (a child, then gold, frankincense, and myrrh).
She moves from the profundity and beauty of "An angel, fast as thought and bright as hope, turning eternity into time" to satirical regret that cooking has become like cycling (requiring unnecessary and expensive equipment, and being too competitive), rather than being appreciated as "an everyday ordinary miracle". That sort of segue is typical of this book.
Spirit of Christmas
"It was the night before Christmas and all over the house nothing was stirring because even the mouse was exhausted."
But it’s the spirit of Dickens that chimes in this poignant contemporary story of a ghostly abandoned child who claims to be The Spirit of Christmas.
Mrs Winterson’s Mince Pies
There is delightful period detail (a Spong, greasing tins with the butter wrapper), and the abusive Mrs Winterson seems almost benign in the festive glow. Nevertheless, “If you want the full 1960s experience… turn off your heating the night before and wear two jumpers under your pinny.”
The recipes here are to be read for the writing more than to be followed. In poignant terms, she explores poverty, loss, and the meaning of giving, instructs you to “Make pleasing circles of pastry.” and drily suggests filling mince pies "generously, but not idiotically". “Store them in an old tin you have no use for but can't bear to throw out.” Delightful.
The SnowMama
“Love is a mystery that makes things happen…. Love always comes back.”
A story of childlike faith in magic, and hope for better things, coupled with practical action. There’s a bit of playing with gender expectations (male and female snowpeople, and human children whose names leave you unsure at first) and puns on “snow” that soften the deprivation of one of the main characters.
Ruth Rendell’s Red Cabbage
The (nearly) lost alchemy of pickling.
Dark Christmas
“We are lucky, even the worst of us, because daylight comes.”
She is quoting herself a decade ago, in Lighthousekeeping (my review HERE).
Friends plan to meet up at a remote cottage for Christmas. A traditional spooky-house story, clichés and all, but with many echoes of madonna and child, and lost children.
“There are seconds that hold a lifetime. Who you were, what you will become. Turn the key!
Kathy Acker’s New York Custard
This book is peppered with intriguing history of Christmas and its traditions. I didn’t know that Bird’s instant custard was invented by a man whose wife was allergic to eggs. Far more surprisingly, apparently Dylan Thomas invented “Night Custard”, intended for eating, hair creme, and vaginal lubricant! Just as well I read that only after making my custard, which is very similar to Acker’s.
Christmas in New York
“Snow’s just rain that’s been left out in the cold.”
The narrator lives alone in a sombre apartment, which he bought furnished and has never added to. He dislikes Christmas because as a boy, he was barely allowed to celebrate it. When he left for college, his mother returned a gift he’d once given her. “She never could receive. She never could give… I kept it like poison I had already swallowed.”
He keeps bumping into a colleague who tries to encourage him to admit a little festive cheer into his life, and to follow his dreams. There is an air of enchantment, but things are not always what they seem.
“It was a day of winter sun that sparkled the city into diamonds and pearls… The windows of the big department stores like magic mirrors into another world.”
My Christmas Eve Smoked Salmon and Champagne
The prelude to the “recipe” is the heart of the book, confirming what all the rest says.
• “We make our own traditions.”
• “A sense of continuity - religion is good at that. And a sense of belonging to something more necessary than shopping and party-going. This is a spiritual experience, whether or not you believe in God.”
• “The point of ritual is that the sameness of it concentrates and then clears the mind… Ritual is a way of altering time… of pausing the endless intrusions of busy life.”
• “Ritual has an anticipatory relevance: making your own raft of time. Your own doorway into Christmas.”
The Mistletoe Bride
“The long icicle of our journey… The tongue of the drawbridge… Words hanging in mid-air like my dictionary of frost.”
Set long ago, in an unknown place, a young girl travels to marry an older man she barely knows on Christmas Eve, as is the tradition in those parts. Others are darker. Hide and seek can have unexpected consequences.
“Mistletoe; mysterious, poisonous, white as death, green as hope.”
Susie’s Christmas Eve Gravlax
“Love affairs are discoveries of new worlds.”
“I need non-linear time to imagine and to write.”
And then there’s something about fish.
O’Brien’s First Christmas
“She had done nothing that caught in the sieve of the world’s esteem.”
A seasonal transformation. Changing outward appearance isn’t necessarily trivial: it affects how others treat us, which in turn, affects our self-image.
Dad’s Sherry Trifle
“I have learned, painfully, over the years that the things I regret in my life are not errors of judgement but failures of feeling.”
Her father was “a celebratory war baby they soon forgot to celebrate”, rather as Mrs Winterson rapidly lost any joy in the daughter she so hopefully adopted.
Winterson’s last Christmas with her father didn't rewire the past, but it it “rewrote our ending”.
The Second Best Bed
“Are there things that cannot be explained? And if there are, how do we explain them?”
Nothing to do with Shakespeare’s will, but an apparently formulaic ghost story - until the grand reveal, which was a total surprise, though perhaps shouldn’t have been, as it touches on issues Winterson cares about.
Shakespeare And Company’s Chinese Dumplings
Winterson has been to the famous place many times. In 2007, it literally saved her life.
Christmas Cracker
There is something of Willy Wonka’s winners here, except I found this rather stupid. Talking dogs don’t do it for me, except in picture books.
My Mulled Wine
“Mulled wine is more of a spell than a recipe.”
A Ghost Story
“When I am climbing I understand that gravity exists to protect us from our lightness of being, in the same way that time is what shields us from eternity… It’s not death that’s to be feared. It’s eternity.”
More ghosts, this time in a ski resort, with thoughts of empire and how the British made downhill skiing a competitive sport, “rather than just the fastest way to get to the bottom of the hill”.
“People feel light-headed on mountains.”
Kamila Shamsie’s Turkey Biryani
A nice variant on Boxing Day turkey curry.
The Silver Frog
Christmas at an orphanage that is not as pleasant as benefactors believe. Echoes of Dahl, again, making humour from the grim.
My New Year’s Eve Cheese Crispies
I hate the taste and texture of cooked cheese, but Winterson’s attitude to the change of year is inspirational.
“What would I prefer not to repeat?”
“You can heal the past. It may be fixed as fact… but it isn’t fixed in the ongoing story of our lives.”
“Even if there was precious little, that little is precious.”
The Lion, The Unicorn And Me
“The deep black sky had the new moon cut in it and the fields beyond the town were visible under that moon, but as a dream is visible to one who sleeps.”
Unlike the dog in an earlier story, the narrating animal in this retelling of the nativity worked for me. Jesus’ birth was a beginning and an ending:
“Time past and future roaring around us like a wind, and eternity about us, like angels, like a star.”
My New Year’s Day Steak Sandwich
Resolve to do things differently, not necessarily better. Then make steak sandwiches and “cut in half with a lethal knife”!
The Glow-Heart
Learning to live after bereavement is not a betrayal of the loved one lost, but a fulfilment of what they would wish for you.
My Twelfth Night Fish Cakes
Epiphany is about opposites and reversal: Lord of Misrule, pantomime, and the birth of a child heralding the death of the existing order. Oh, and capitalism is bad.
Christmas Greetings from the Author
“Memory, as a creative act, allows us to reawaken the dead, or sometime to lay them to rest.”
Winterson shares her final thoughts on the personal and historical baggage of Christmas, miracles, and memories.
Religious festivals are “time outside of time” and teach us to look out for miracles, which are unexpected and often inconvenient intrusions in space-time, seasoned with fate and chance.
Other Quotes
• Dickens’ Christmas Carol is “a story so powerful it can survive The Muppets” - though in fairness to those gaudy characters, their version is pretty accurate in terms of plot.
• For Mrs Winterson, “Life was a pre-death experience”.
• “Time is a boomerang not an arrow.”
• “My mother returned, in what seemed to be a hailstorm, though maybe that was her personal weather. She carried a goose, half-in, half-out of her shopping bag, its slack head hung sideways like a dream nobody can remember.”
Image source:
http://www.falmouthpubliclibrary.org/...
January 5, 2021
Gran libro navideño repleto de cuentos muy variados, desde los más tiernos a los más fantasmales. Me gustaron especialmente estos últimos. Como suele ocurrir en estas antologías algunos me gustaron más y otros menos, pero yo diría que mis relatos preferidos fueron 'Navidades en Nueva York' (muy tierno), 'La novia de muérdago' (un rollo muy Angela Carter) y 'Navidad siniestra' (¡Me dio escalofríos!).
Pero si tengo que destacar algo son los pequeños textos que acompañan las recetas en las que la autora nos presenta a amigos íntimos o familiares con los que compartió comidas, navidades y momentos felices (o no tanto). Me parece que convierten este libro en algo muy especial y realmente me descubrí disfrutándolos aún más que los cuentos.
Pero si tengo que destacar algo son los pequeños textos que acompañan las recetas en las que la autora nos presenta a amigos íntimos o familiares con los que compartió comidas, navidades y momentos felices (o no tanto). Me parece que convierten este libro en algo muy especial y realmente me descubrí disfrutándolos aún más que los cuentos.
January 2, 2024
3.5 stars
My first Jeanette Winterson read, I finished Christmas Days less than a week ago, and I can’t recall much about any of the short stories. Two do come to mind, though – The Mistletoe Bride and The Glow-Heart – the former being an eerie, gothic tale of a new bride married on Christmas Eve and the latter an emotional tale of a man mourning his dead partner at Christmastime. Both struck a chord with me.
But the rest of the stories – not so much. Better than her stories, however, are the essays sandwiched between them. In some she writes of the history of Christmas and her religious beliefs, while in others she tells entertaining anecdotes about her mother and close friends, including writers Ruth Rendell and Kathy Acker. The essays are entertaining and smart, insightful and moving, and there are personal recipes at the end of each piece, adding a nice touch.
I’ve always wanted to try Winterson, but I feel like Christmas Days may not have been the best place to start. I’ll reach for Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit or The Passion next.
My first Jeanette Winterson read, I finished Christmas Days less than a week ago, and I can’t recall much about any of the short stories. Two do come to mind, though – The Mistletoe Bride and The Glow-Heart – the former being an eerie, gothic tale of a new bride married on Christmas Eve and the latter an emotional tale of a man mourning his dead partner at Christmastime. Both struck a chord with me.
But the rest of the stories – not so much. Better than her stories, however, are the essays sandwiched between them. In some she writes of the history of Christmas and her religious beliefs, while in others she tells entertaining anecdotes about her mother and close friends, including writers Ruth Rendell and Kathy Acker. The essays are entertaining and smart, insightful and moving, and there are personal recipes at the end of each piece, adding a nice touch.
I’ve always wanted to try Winterson, but I feel like Christmas Days may not have been the best place to start. I’ll reach for Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit or The Passion next.
January 1, 2018
This was a Traveling Sister read with Norma, Berit, Dana, Nikki,and Holly. The Traveling Sister review of this book and others can be found on their blog at: https://twogirlslostinacouleereading....
I have mixed feelings about this book. As is often the case with short stories, I enjoyed a few but others weren't to my taste. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone looking for a sweet, heartwarming Christmas collection. A few were actually creepy/scary and seemed to be more fitting for Halloween than Christmas.
While I didn't enjoy all of the stories, I did enjoy the information on the historical context of Christmas and the traditions that surround the holiday. However, she does seem to contradict herself regarding her religious beliefs, suggesting the stories were written during different times in her life. Not that it matters what her beliefs are, I'm just noting that I found it confusing.
As an added bonus, there are recipes included in between each chapter. I enjoyed the commentary and history that went along with them. There's very few I'd actually make, but they were fun to read.
The writing was beautiful. Even in a story I didn't particularly enjoy, I highlighted many quotes that spoke to me, really beautiful thoughts that gave me pause. Here are a few:
"Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had?"
"Why are the real things, the important things, so easily mislaid underneath the things that hardly matter at all?"
"I have learned, painfully, over the years that the things I regret in my life are not errors in judgment but failures of feeling."
"the loneliness that so many people experience now at Christmas is a consequence of our loss of community..."
I'm paraphrasing here but I was touched when she wrote how grateful she was for the last Christmas with her dad, not because it re-wrote their past, but because it re-wrote their ending. Their story, for all it's pain, ends with forgiveness.
"Sometimes the thing we long for, the thing we need, the miracle we want, is right there in front of us, and we can't see it, or we run the other way, or saddest of all, we just don't know what to do with it. Think how many people get the success they want, the partner they want, the money they want, et cetera, and turn it into dust and ashes - like the fairy gold no one can spend."
I loved how the book ended on a positive note, lighting a candle to:
-miracles
- the living, friendship, and family
- to the future, that it not be swallowed up by darkness.
- And lastly, light a candle to love.
Amen to that.
I have mixed feelings about this book. As is often the case with short stories, I enjoyed a few but others weren't to my taste. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone looking for a sweet, heartwarming Christmas collection. A few were actually creepy/scary and seemed to be more fitting for Halloween than Christmas.
While I didn't enjoy all of the stories, I did enjoy the information on the historical context of Christmas and the traditions that surround the holiday. However, she does seem to contradict herself regarding her religious beliefs, suggesting the stories were written during different times in her life. Not that it matters what her beliefs are, I'm just noting that I found it confusing.
As an added bonus, there are recipes included in between each chapter. I enjoyed the commentary and history that went along with them. There's very few I'd actually make, but they were fun to read.
The writing was beautiful. Even in a story I didn't particularly enjoy, I highlighted many quotes that spoke to me, really beautiful thoughts that gave me pause. Here are a few:
"Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had?"
"Why are the real things, the important things, so easily mislaid underneath the things that hardly matter at all?"
"I have learned, painfully, over the years that the things I regret in my life are not errors in judgment but failures of feeling."
"the loneliness that so many people experience now at Christmas is a consequence of our loss of community..."
I'm paraphrasing here but I was touched when she wrote how grateful she was for the last Christmas with her dad, not because it re-wrote their past, but because it re-wrote their ending. Their story, for all it's pain, ends with forgiveness.
"Sometimes the thing we long for, the thing we need, the miracle we want, is right there in front of us, and we can't see it, or we run the other way, or saddest of all, we just don't know what to do with it. Think how many people get the success they want, the partner they want, the money they want, et cetera, and turn it into dust and ashes - like the fairy gold no one can spend."
I loved how the book ended on a positive note, lighting a candle to:
-miracles
- the living, friendship, and family
- to the future, that it not be swallowed up by darkness.
- And lastly, light a candle to love.
Amen to that.
December 24, 2023
"Dark Christmas" is a spooky tale and a well-written super short story ~ 5 minutes read. I will have to check out this collection next year.
An atmospheric and eerie backdrop of Highfallen House where a group of friends plan to spend Christmas. They borrowed the house from a friend none of them seem to know...
Illustration: Daniela Terrazzini
An atmospheric and eerie backdrop of Highfallen House where a group of friends plan to spend Christmas. They borrowed the house from a friend none of them seem to know...
Illustration: Daniela Terrazzini
December 18, 2016
I am not generally a Christmas book reader, or Christmas special watcher, mainly because I find the majority of these are a little too sappy for my tastes. But I saw a couple of nice reviews of this one, I've heard a lot of good things about Winterson's writing, and my library had it on the shelf, so the fates decreed I give it a try.
I'm really glad I did, because all of these stories are magnificent. Not a sappy, sweet minute in this collection; all of these tales are one-of-a-kind, original, and surprising. Three or four of them were true ghost stories that gave me goosebumps. The rest have a fairy tale quality that pulls you in. My favorites were "Snowmama" and "The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me", a fable about why the ass got the job of taking Mary into Bethlehem.
Each story is followed with a recipe and a true story to go along with it.
Now it's time for me to get a little sappy. Each one of these stories opened up my heart a little. I am a Jeanette Winterson fan for sure, and will be reading more of her books in the coming year.
I'm really glad I did, because all of these stories are magnificent. Not a sappy, sweet minute in this collection; all of these tales are one-of-a-kind, original, and surprising. Three or four of them were true ghost stories that gave me goosebumps. The rest have a fairy tale quality that pulls you in. My favorites were "Snowmama" and "The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me", a fable about why the ass got the job of taking Mary into Bethlehem.
Each story is followed with a recipe and a true story to go along with it.
Now it's time for me to get a little sappy. Each one of these stories opened up my heart a little. I am a Jeanette Winterson fan for sure, and will be reading more of her books in the coming year.
November 29, 2021
What a wonderful treat for the Holiday's! 🎄 This novel is a combination of fictional stories as well as personal stories from the author. Winterson also includes recipes to bake for the season. The audiobook version is narrated by Imogen Church as well as Jeanette Winterson. My favorite fictional story is, "Mistletoe Bride"..my favorite personal story is the one told by the author about her childhood turkey named, "Ah-Ha!". This book is comforting, funny, and very reflective. A life lesson that I took away from this book is to always be true to yourself and never let others define who you are.
A quote from the novel that sums up the gist:
"Life is beautiful and brief. Don't waste it."
A quote from the novel that sums up the gist:
"Life is beautiful and brief. Don't waste it."
December 26, 2017
This book has a little bit of everything and was the perfect read for the calm afternoon of Christmas. Jeanette Winterson is completely herself in this book, and I do wonder how it would come across if you were not already familiar with her writing. For me, I am a huge fan, so it worked. Each of the 12 sections include one story and one narrative recipe of some kind. The "story" ranges from memoir to ghost story to love story. The "recipe" ranges from a method loosely described to a specific recipe with measurements. Some come from her family, some from friends, but all have a very traditional feel (even Kamila Shamsie's "turkey biryani.")
Available in Hoopla if your library uses this service!
Available in Hoopla if your library uses this service!
December 28, 2019
"Zile de Crăciun" , cuprinde douăsprezece scrieri ce conțin teme despre familie, dar si povești cu stafii, cu un aer gotic amestecat cu crâmpeie din viața de zi cu zi. Un melanj eclectic de amintiri, închipuiri, chiar și rețete pentru sărbători. Pagini și rânduri pe care imaginația le transformă în glasul lui Moș Crăciun.
December 27, 2018
'Christmas Days' by Jeanette Winterson has been one of the most delightful and enjoyable aspects of this holiday season. I don't usually read Christmas books, but now I know what I've been missing. I don't usually read short stories either, so to find myself enjoying Christmas short stories was a novelty, a lush little dessert, my own Christmas custard, so to speak. Within these pages, Winterson includes a recipe for 'Kathy Acker's New York Custard.' In fact, interspersed between the short stories are Winterson's recipes and short vignettes relating to Winterson's personal life and thoughts. What an extraordinary life! I was so mesmerized by these tidbits of information, especially the fact that she was raised by Pentecostal parents (so was I) that I immediately began reading another book by this author Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.
I love the broad strokes and vivid imagery that Winterson creates. At once immediate and universal, poetic and mythological, Winterson engaged me in an absolutely gorgeous journey across a Christmas landscape. My favorite stories were the 'Spirit of Christmas,' 'Snowmamma,' 'The Mistletoe Bride,' and 'The Glow Heart.' I was not however, disappointed in even one story. How exquisite to revel in the Christmas holiday as Winterson readily does; it made my own holiday much more special this year as I began to think that there was magic nearby. And when we had our own holiday drama (what family does not?) I began to see the humor in it, and that surely was a gift to me from Jeanette Winterson.
I listened to the audio version, which was immensely delightful. The recipe chapters were read by Jeanette Winterson, who has a very nice, rich voice. I could listen to her endlessly. The short stories were read by Imogen Church, who changes voice with her characters, and created an audible paradise, where I was happy to linger.
I love the broad strokes and vivid imagery that Winterson creates. At once immediate and universal, poetic and mythological, Winterson engaged me in an absolutely gorgeous journey across a Christmas landscape. My favorite stories were the 'Spirit of Christmas,' 'Snowmamma,' 'The Mistletoe Bride,' and 'The Glow Heart.' I was not however, disappointed in even one story. How exquisite to revel in the Christmas holiday as Winterson readily does; it made my own holiday much more special this year as I began to think that there was magic nearby. And when we had our own holiday drama (what family does not?) I began to see the humor in it, and that surely was a gift to me from Jeanette Winterson.
I listened to the audio version, which was immensely delightful. The recipe chapters were read by Jeanette Winterson, who has a very nice, rich voice. I could listen to her endlessly. The short stories were read by Imogen Church, who changes voice with her characters, and created an audible paradise, where I was happy to linger.
December 28, 2019
This is a beautifully formatted book, and probably perfect for anyone who loves both Christmas and Winterson. But, for me, most of the stories are just okay; and the musings preceding the recipes are too meandering and sometimes repetitive, hence the three stars.
The first story, “Spirit of Christmas,” seems a mixture of Dickens and Ali Smith (I love both). “The SnowMama” is sweet. “Dark Christmas” is chilling and I’m not one to usually get spooked by words on a page. I also enjoyed “The Mistletoe Bride,” which is almost a Bluebeard-retelling. The latter is not for children; I can think of only two, maybe three, stories that are. All are magical in one way or another, and Winterson is appealing to the wonder and reflection that she hopes is inside us all.
I timed this to finish Christmas night, not knowing that the story I would read Christmas Eve, the penultimate one, is told from the point-of-view of the donkey that carried Mary into Bethlehem: perfect timing.
The first story, “Spirit of Christmas,” seems a mixture of Dickens and Ali Smith (I love both). “The SnowMama” is sweet. “Dark Christmas” is chilling and I’m not one to usually get spooked by words on a page. I also enjoyed “The Mistletoe Bride,” which is almost a Bluebeard-retelling. The latter is not for children; I can think of only two, maybe three, stories that are. All are magical in one way or another, and Winterson is appealing to the wonder and reflection that she hopes is inside us all.
I timed this to finish Christmas night, not knowing that the story I would read Christmas Eve, the penultimate one, is told from the point-of-view of the donkey that carried Mary into Bethlehem: perfect timing.
December 16, 2019
I wanted to try reading something involving Christmas this year. I expected something fluffy and lame to be honest, but this was totally different than what I was expecting. It wasn't at all like that - some of the stories were even a bit spooky. Also, each of the stories are interwoven with holiday recipes (which I didn't care about). As with other short story collections I've read, there are some that I like a lot, some I didn't like at all, and some were just Meh...
My favorites were "Snowmama" and "Christmas in New York".
My favorites were "Snowmama" and "Christmas in New York".
December 19, 2021
🎄🎅❄️☃️
After an excellent and highly enjoyable introduction, I was disappointed to find the first two stories rather lacklustre. They weren't bad as such, but I just barely liked them. At that point the thought of ten more stories was not exactly thrilling but I am glad I stuck with it because from the third story onwards I had a great time with this book. I did prefer the spookier stories, but I liked the more cheerful ones too!
The recipes were wonderful too-- I'd been uncertain about how it would be to listen to a recipe, but most of the recipe chapters were focused on the stories behind the food, with the actual instructions to the point and never dull.
I would like a physical copy of this book eventually - - I'm not sure it's one I'd read every Christmas, but I could see myself reading it regularly - - - and it'll be much easier to attempt a recipe by reading from a page rather than listening, pausing, rewinding slightly etc.
Because of the shaky beginning I almost went with four stars, but there were a couple of stories that I loved so much they they easily made up for it. I also really liked the final chapter, a sort of Christmas message from the author.
After an excellent and highly enjoyable introduction, I was disappointed to find the first two stories rather lacklustre. They weren't bad as such, but I just barely liked them. At that point the thought of ten more stories was not exactly thrilling but I am glad I stuck with it because from the third story onwards I had a great time with this book. I did prefer the spookier stories, but I liked the more cheerful ones too!
The recipes were wonderful too-- I'd been uncertain about how it would be to listen to a recipe, but most of the recipe chapters were focused on the stories behind the food, with the actual instructions to the point and never dull.
I would like a physical copy of this book eventually - - I'm not sure it's one I'd read every Christmas, but I could see myself reading it regularly - - - and it'll be much easier to attempt a recipe by reading from a page rather than listening, pausing, rewinding slightly etc.
Because of the shaky beginning I almost went with four stars, but there were a couple of stories that I loved so much they they easily made up for it. I also really liked the final chapter, a sort of Christmas message from the author.
December 20, 2017
”Suntem oameni, nu mașini. Avem și noi zile proaste. Suntem inspirați, și totuși dăm greș. Nu suntem unidimensionali. Avem inimi ce se frâng și suflete cu care nu știm ce să facem. Ucidem și distrugem, dar și construim și facem lucruri posibile. Am fost pe lună și am inventat computerele. Am delegat majoritatea lucrurilor, dar tot trebuie să trăim cu noi înșine. Suntem niște pesimiști care cred că este prea târziu, așa că ce mai contează? Suntem puștii care-au revenit în ring, care adoră să primească o nouă șansă. Și fiecare Nou An e o altă șansă.”
January 2, 2024
I think I'm able to say that I'm definitely not a stranger to Winterson's magic, especially having read fifteen of her uniquely wonderful works in the past two or three years. She always manages to enter my head (and sometimes my heart) in such a way where she leaves her Winterson stamp. It's a gorgeous feeling.
'Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days' was a book I chose to read mainly due to the timing of Christmas, and, it's one of her works that I hadn't managed to read yet. I will say before I continue that while I feel some of these stories lacked the charm of my favourite Winterson books, I still took away some insight into her life, in which some was fascinating, and, I loved the recipes that were included.
Some of the short stories has a paranormal feel to them, which I personally didn't care for too much, but as usual, Winterson's wonderful writing style still made it rather a pleasure to read. My favourite parts of the book were her personal essays. I liked hearing about her Christmas traditions, her past friends and homecooked delicious food. I had no idea Winterson was so close to Ruth Rendall! I must tell my Mother a little later on!
Mrs Winterson's mince pies was an interesting chapter. Even if you're not a fan of them, I still found it fascinating, but it's fine for me, as I make them all year round, not just at Christmas!
Overall, this was an interesting delve into Jeanette Winterson's life, and even though I didn't love it all, I've left feeling content having read it.
'Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days' was a book I chose to read mainly due to the timing of Christmas, and, it's one of her works that I hadn't managed to read yet. I will say before I continue that while I feel some of these stories lacked the charm of my favourite Winterson books, I still took away some insight into her life, in which some was fascinating, and, I loved the recipes that were included.
Some of the short stories has a paranormal feel to them, which I personally didn't care for too much, but as usual, Winterson's wonderful writing style still made it rather a pleasure to read. My favourite parts of the book were her personal essays. I liked hearing about her Christmas traditions, her past friends and homecooked delicious food. I had no idea Winterson was so close to Ruth Rendall! I must tell my Mother a little later on!
Mrs Winterson's mince pies was an interesting chapter. Even if you're not a fan of them, I still found it fascinating, but it's fine for me, as I make them all year round, not just at Christmas!
Overall, this was an interesting delve into Jeanette Winterson's life, and even though I didn't love it all, I've left feeling content having read it.
December 30, 2022
'The future is not fixed unless we allow it to be so.'
'Bittersweet' is how I would describe most stories in this collection, and 'sentimental'. They carry positive messages, they even have happy endings, but they made me terribly tearful and they often left me feeling sad. Maybe it's just me being pessimistic, but I couldn't help thinking that in real life those nice characters would have had fewer chances of succeeding.
To counteract this tendency, each story is followed by a recipe embedded in a down-to-earth and often funny memoiristic piece. Some of these are sadder than others, but generally they were a relief after the intense emotionality of the 'fiction' stories.
'Drink with a slightly chilled Gamay whatever the time of day, including breakfast. This is New Year's Day and millions of people will be detoxing, dieting and proclaiming Dry January. Take a stand.'
This is an easy-to-follow, logical instruction, isn't it?
Some of these stories, though, are ghost stories, and that's another case altogether! I enjoyed these thoroughly. They have old rooms and creepy happenings and are in the best traditions of M. R. James & co, but at the same time, I liked it that they're modern and not pretending to be otherwise.
'Christmas Greetings from the Author' is a particularly poignant (very small) piece of autobiography which made me come back to some of the stories. It's like the stories are cheerful and lovely, but underneath there's this layer of sadness and grief. Although maybe writing this helped the author work through her sadness, and crying over these stories might have helped me with mine.
That said, I can see that other reviewers have found this 'soothing', 'heartwarming', so maybe it's just me, maybe I exaggerate the underlying sadness (I'm sure I'm not imagining it altogether, though). The book itself and the artwork are certainly very festive! And I'm sure it's a most appropriate seasonal read.
And I really enjoyed 'Christmas-tide', a kind of intro, Jeanette Winterson's take on the evolution of the winter holidays. It is a subject often touched upon in neo-pagan literature, and it was a pleasure to read such a cheerfully well-informed account.
'And light a candle to the future; that it may happen...'
'Bittersweet' is how I would describe most stories in this collection, and 'sentimental'. They carry positive messages, they even have happy endings, but they made me terribly tearful and they often left me feeling sad. Maybe it's just me being pessimistic, but I couldn't help thinking that in real life those nice characters would have had fewer chances of succeeding.
To counteract this tendency, each story is followed by a recipe embedded in a down-to-earth and often funny memoiristic piece. Some of these are sadder than others, but generally they were a relief after the intense emotionality of the 'fiction' stories.
'Drink with a slightly chilled Gamay whatever the time of day, including breakfast. This is New Year's Day and millions of people will be detoxing, dieting and proclaiming Dry January. Take a stand.'
This is an easy-to-follow, logical instruction, isn't it?
Some of these stories, though, are ghost stories, and that's another case altogether! I enjoyed these thoroughly. They have old rooms and creepy happenings and are in the best traditions of M. R. James & co, but at the same time, I liked it that they're modern and not pretending to be otherwise.
'Christmas Greetings from the Author' is a particularly poignant (very small) piece of autobiography which made me come back to some of the stories. It's like the stories are cheerful and lovely, but underneath there's this layer of sadness and grief. Although maybe writing this helped the author work through her sadness, and crying over these stories might have helped me with mine.
That said, I can see that other reviewers have found this 'soothing', 'heartwarming', so maybe it's just me, maybe I exaggerate the underlying sadness (I'm sure I'm not imagining it altogether, though). The book itself and the artwork are certainly very festive! And I'm sure it's a most appropriate seasonal read.
And I really enjoyed 'Christmas-tide', a kind of intro, Jeanette Winterson's take on the evolution of the winter holidays. It is a subject often touched upon in neo-pagan literature, and it was a pleasure to read such a cheerfully well-informed account.
'And light a candle to the future; that it may happen...'
December 8, 2017
Christmas Day: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days is just about the most perfect read for this time of year. To Jeanette Winterson, “Christmas has a special delight - as though the season is cheering you on.” Her enjoyment of Christmas is communicated through 12 recipes, each of which held special memories of times spent with good friends, and 12 exquisite stories that fire the imagination, celebrate the magical in ordinary events, and leave the heart snugly warm. In it too are her thoughts about memories (the “old present”) and the beauty of friendship, family, and love.
Here are my favorite stories and recipes.
The SnowMama
This is an enchanting story about a snowman that made Christmas warmer and more hopeful for a teenage girl (Jerry) and her overworked single mother. Jerry’s father left them a year ago and home was never the same again. Little did Jerry expect that a huge SnowMama to which she had given bright green jewels for eyes would come alive! It was lovely for Jerry and for me as well to be immersed for a few magical moments in the mystery of the SnowPeople. Snowmen become real when children love them. Every winter, the SnowPeople return because according to the SnowMama, “Love always comes back.”
Mrs Winterson’s Mince Pies
In this recipe, Winterson let on that mince pies go all the way back to the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). I have often wondered why mince pies had fruit in them. It seems that “fruit and spices were used to disguise the inevitable ‘off’ flavour of meat without refrigeration.” Interesting fact.
Christmas in New York
This is a wonderful story about a mysterious Christmas-Tree Fairy. The narrator loathed Christmas. It meant sadness to him. As a child, he never had a Christmas gift. He lived alone in a furnished apartment. Returning home from a party, he found a Christmas tree in his apartment. What did he do? He called the police. The next night, the tree was lit when he returned home. He was as unhappy as Scrooge. But this fairy did not just bring gifts, she offered a perspective that made this Christmas more joyful than any the narrator had ever known.
My Christmas Eve Smoked Salmon and Champagne
I love reading how Winterson typically spent Christmas Eve and the rituals she observes. I especially like what she said about rituals: “The point of ritual is that the sameness of it concentrates and then clears the mind... Ritual is a way of altering time. By which I mean a way of pausing the endless intrusion of busy life.” Winterson suggested making a small meal for yourself “because ritual has an anticipatory relevance - we prepare for it, practically and psychologically; that’s part of the benefit. It’s about making your own raft of time. Your doorway into Christmas.”
The Lion, Unicorn and Me
Of this story, Winterson said, “I wrote it straight through one night, too unhappy to sleep. Its hero is a runty little donkey who gets a golden nose. I am the donkey.” She was in a bad state in the summer of 2007 reeling from the loss of a partner who left her suddenly. She coped by writing. Out of her pain came an ethereal re-telling of the story of the baby born in a manger. The donkey told this story and it was wholly wondrous.
The tone of this collection of stories and recipes is sincere, authentic, and sensible. There is lived wisdom in some of her observations. I particularly like this one: “I think we can all reclaim the spirit of Christmas - less shopping, more giving, less spending, more time for friends, including the joyfulness of cooking and eating together, and sharing what we have with others.”
Have a very merry Christmas, my dear GR friends.
Here are my favorite stories and recipes.
The SnowMama
This is an enchanting story about a snowman that made Christmas warmer and more hopeful for a teenage girl (Jerry) and her overworked single mother. Jerry’s father left them a year ago and home was never the same again. Little did Jerry expect that a huge SnowMama to which she had given bright green jewels for eyes would come alive! It was lovely for Jerry and for me as well to be immersed for a few magical moments in the mystery of the SnowPeople. Snowmen become real when children love them. Every winter, the SnowPeople return because according to the SnowMama, “Love always comes back.”
Mrs Winterson’s Mince Pies
In this recipe, Winterson let on that mince pies go all the way back to the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). I have often wondered why mince pies had fruit in them. It seems that “fruit and spices were used to disguise the inevitable ‘off’ flavour of meat without refrigeration.” Interesting fact.
Christmas in New York
This is a wonderful story about a mysterious Christmas-Tree Fairy. The narrator loathed Christmas. It meant sadness to him. As a child, he never had a Christmas gift. He lived alone in a furnished apartment. Returning home from a party, he found a Christmas tree in his apartment. What did he do? He called the police. The next night, the tree was lit when he returned home. He was as unhappy as Scrooge. But this fairy did not just bring gifts, she offered a perspective that made this Christmas more joyful than any the narrator had ever known.
My Christmas Eve Smoked Salmon and Champagne
I love reading how Winterson typically spent Christmas Eve and the rituals she observes. I especially like what she said about rituals: “The point of ritual is that the sameness of it concentrates and then clears the mind... Ritual is a way of altering time. By which I mean a way of pausing the endless intrusion of busy life.” Winterson suggested making a small meal for yourself “because ritual has an anticipatory relevance - we prepare for it, practically and psychologically; that’s part of the benefit. It’s about making your own raft of time. Your doorway into Christmas.”
The Lion, Unicorn and Me
Of this story, Winterson said, “I wrote it straight through one night, too unhappy to sleep. Its hero is a runty little donkey who gets a golden nose. I am the donkey.” She was in a bad state in the summer of 2007 reeling from the loss of a partner who left her suddenly. She coped by writing. Out of her pain came an ethereal re-telling of the story of the baby born in a manger. The donkey told this story and it was wholly wondrous.
The tone of this collection of stories and recipes is sincere, authentic, and sensible. There is lived wisdom in some of her observations. I particularly like this one: “I think we can all reclaim the spirit of Christmas - less shopping, more giving, less spending, more time for friends, including the joyfulness of cooking and eating together, and sharing what we have with others.”
Have a very merry Christmas, my dear GR friends.
December 28, 2018
(4.5) I’d come across two of Winterson’s holiday stories before, one in an Ecco anthology and one in the Times some years back. I treated myself to this new paperback edition with part of my birthday book token and it was a perfect read for the week leading up to Christmas. Each story has a black-and-white illustration; there are gold foil accents on the cover and Christmas pudding endpapers; and I love the use of both red and black ink on most pages (red for the story title in the header and page number in the footer).
“The Silver Frog” is like a cross between Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman, while “A Ghost Story” is reminiscent of Michelle Paver’s Thin Air. The stories are often fable-like, some spooky and some funny. Most have fantastical elements and meaningful rhetorical questions. My favorite was probably “Spirit of Christmas,” in which a little girl who embodies the Christmas spirit reminds the narrator not to take love for granted and to appreciate the gifts of time. “Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had? … Why are the real things, the important things, so easily mislaid underneath the things that hardly matter at all?”
Winterson takes the theology of Christmas seriously even if she isn’t your typical Christian, and she adds in a lot of interesting historical footnotes about the pagan origins of our holiday traditions. In between the stories are recipes – personal favorites, or hand-me-downs from family and friends – for everything from mince pies to turkey curry. The preambles to these are an opportunity for some autobiographical reflections on her parents’ death and being married to a Jew. I love her thoughts on ritual and family:
A gorgeous book I’ll return to year after year.
“The Silver Frog” is like a cross between Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman, while “A Ghost Story” is reminiscent of Michelle Paver’s Thin Air. The stories are often fable-like, some spooky and some funny. Most have fantastical elements and meaningful rhetorical questions. My favorite was probably “Spirit of Christmas,” in which a little girl who embodies the Christmas spirit reminds the narrator not to take love for granted and to appreciate the gifts of time. “Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had? … Why are the real things, the important things, so easily mislaid underneath the things that hardly matter at all?”
Winterson takes the theology of Christmas seriously even if she isn’t your typical Christian, and she adds in a lot of interesting historical footnotes about the pagan origins of our holiday traditions. In between the stories are recipes – personal favorites, or hand-me-downs from family and friends – for everything from mince pies to turkey curry. The preambles to these are an opportunity for some autobiographical reflections on her parents’ death and being married to a Jew. I love her thoughts on ritual and family:
“The point of ritual is that the sameness of it concentrates and then clears the mind. … ritual has an anticipatory relevance – we prepare for it, practically and psychologically; that’s part of its benefit.”
“I have learned, painfully, over the years that the things I regret in my life are not errors of judgement but failures of feeling.”
A gorgeous book I’ll return to year after year.
December 27, 2023
The quote, "I mean I do have friends, but not a Christmas" resonates a bit hard for me. When Christmas-time rolls around, the majority of my friends go out of state for a week or two and That means Christmas is really just two weeks where game nights, discord calls, pubs, and discovering new foods gets put on hold while I wait for everyone to return home from their festive Christmas's with tons of cheer while I'm just... here. This added a bit of charm to my Christmas and made me feel more festive than I have in years, the best time to read it is either the 12 days leading up to Christmas or, if you're festive enough to keep the Christmas cheer going for the full Twelve Days of Christmas, I recommend reading it starting on December 26. Christmas Days is an absolute joy of a collection that encapsulates the Christmas spirit perfectly. I haven't been able to make any of the recipes yet, but am definitely planning on doing at least a few.
Spirit of Christmas & Mrs. Winterson's Mince Pies
"Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had?"
Spirit of Christmas was a great start for this collection. It's a sweet story that focuses on how all of the "fluff" around Christmas can get in the way of the real meaning of Christmas. This one also gets bonus points for being in second person point of view aka the best pov.
The essay today focused mainly on the recipe, mince pies, and, while I've never really felt an urge to have mince pie before, I am not very interested in figuring out a (celiac safe) version of this recipe.
The Snowmama & Ruth Rendell's Red Cabbage
"Love is a mystery and that love is the mystery that makes things happen.
The Snowmama is an especially charming story that really encapsulates the Spirit of Christmas quite well. Two young girls, Nicky and Jerry, build a SnowWoman and at night, when Jerry sees it by herself, the Snowmama comes to life. A very heartwarming adventure ensues. This really encapsulates the perfect vibe for Christmas and shows that sometimes all you need is a little bit of help to get back on your feet. I think this one is my favorite.
I really liked this essay too. It was a really sweet story in remembrance of her friend Ruth and it made me smile.
Dark Christmas & Kathy Acker's New York Custard
"We are lucky, even the worst of us, because daylight comes."
The first of a few ghosty stories and its a classic haunted house vibe. I think this one was definitely the creepiest of the ghost stories, as our main character is stuck in an unfamiliar house waiting for her friends to come. It really was a classic ghost story, perfect for the Christmas season.
This essay is another beautiful and fun tribute to a late friend, Kathy Acker and I cannot wait to make the custard.
Christmas in New York & My Christmas Eve Smoked Salmon and Champagne
"The thing about time is that it's always there."
Another really heartwarming story. In this one, our protagonist really hates Christmas but has a mysterious Christmas angel who is attempting to bring some Christmas cheer to his life. It's a cute story that reminds the reader that it really is never too late to change or do something new.
The Mistletoe Bride & Susie's Christmas Eve Gravlax
"The future is not fixed unless we allow it to be so."
Probably the least Christmasy story in this collection, we follow a young bride as she is married on Christmas Day to her husband, who calls her his mistletoe bride. We follow her through a game of hide and seek in the castle, a tradition in his family. I really enjoyed this story and how it subverted some classic tropes.
This essay was sweet and short, about loving people despite (and because of) our differences.
O'Brien's First Christmas & Dad's Sherry Trifle
"If you had some, all, any of these things you could feel especially pleased with yourself over the twelve days of feasting and family. If you didn't have some, all, any of these things you felt the lack more keenly. You felt like an outsider."
This is a cute little love story with a very fun Christmas fairy who grants a woman who is not looking forwards to Christmas a pretty material wish, which changes her life just enough to make it better. It's one of those that wasn't really for me, but it was still fun.
This essay and recipe gives a sweet insight into Winterson's relationship with her father, which is much more heartwarming than her mother. It's sweet and short, and again makes me really want to get to the recipe.
The Second-Best Bed & Shakespeare and Company's Chinese Dumplings
"I have lived as a man; should I not love as a man?"
Our second ghost story is a bit more focused on the life of the living, as we follow a woman invited to Christmas with her best friend and her husband (who doesn't particularly like our main character) and their brothers, during the trip some weird stuff starts happening as she discovers a long dead couple that needs to be put to rest. This one has some interesting notes on queerness in history and in the present, with a tragic ghost story and a bit of a homoerotic friendship.
This one is pretty easily the best essay (which is high praise as I really love these essays), discussing the history of Shakespeare and Company - specifically their Christmas dinners. This recipe is another one that I'm definitely prioritizing a celiac safe version for.
Christmas Cracker & My Mulled Wine
"And it must be said that for all our planning and plotting, and deliberating and deciding, the moment that changes everything comes when it will, and cannot be coaxed, or invoked, and should not be missed."
This was a sweet little story about a stray dog getting stuck in a Christmas cracker and sent off to a rich kids' charity dinner. This one didn't resonate as much with me, but it's a cute, simple story about little miracles coming when you least expect it.
The essay gave a little more insight of the significance of the Twelve Days of Christmas, especially for families a long long time ago. The Mulled Wine also sounds incredible and I will be making it either when my friends return home or another year, we'll see.
A Ghost Story & Kamila Shamsie's Turkey Biryani
"Like everyone else I douse my spirit in materiality, weight my ankles like a deep-sea diver. Refuse the call, because to answer it would be to live in the see-through air, to step off the mountain, to go and not come back. The overwhelming fires of existence."
Our third ghost story takes place in Mürren , a ski resort in Switzerland, on the New Year. This one was definitely a favorite for me. As a kid I had a weird fixation with mountaineers (I blame Peak) and the story of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were at the forefront of this ghost story. I really loved the ghost in this story and found the whole thing to be really cosy.
The Silver Frog & My New Year's Eve Cheese Crisps
"They were lost. They were neglected. They were broken-hearted. They were dirty. They were thin. They were tired. They wore tatty clothes and odd shoes and their hair was either not cut or all cut off. They were children."
A bunch of orphans, an evil caretaker, and a kinda silly disruption that ends up in a happy endings for the orphans. It's reminiscent of some classic children's stories, but for whatever reason it didn't really work for me.
I think I like the New Year's essays more than the Christmas ones, and this essay is the start of that with New Year's Eve. This essay focuses on memories and honoring them. It's reflective and a bit bittersweet.
The Lion, The Unicorn and Me & My New Year's Day Steak Sandwich
Typed the title, noticed the lack of an oxford comma, died a little inside. Anyways.
"And I bray and I bray, for memory, for celebration, for warning, for chance, for everything that is here below and all that is hidden elsewhere. Hay and dung and another world."
A short & sweet little nativity story from the point of view of the donkey.
This day's essay really focuses on traditions and how the New Year is a second chance. Winterson discusses how life isn't linear and how these resolutions should be focused on doing things that aren't working differently instead of better. I'm not one for resolutions, especially on the New Year, but this little essay did have me start thinking about the New Year as a beautiful opportunity for second chances, which is a comforting thought. I really loved this one.
The Glow Heart & My Twelfth Night Fishcakes
"Life is beautiful and brief. Don't waste it."
This last story was the perfect close to the collection. This one is a story of grief and loss, but it's also a story of finding a light in that tunnel and motivation to keep moving forward. It's about how you can grieve the dead while still living your life, and it really is heart wrenching.
This essay was a favorite. If you start this collection on the first day of Christmas (which I did not), you end on Twelfth Night, where the book closes with a bit of a lesson on Twelfth Night and gives us motivation to start (or continue) our own personal journeys.
The Christmas-Tide/Christmas Greetings From the Author (beginning and end)
The intro to our stories is a nice little history of Christmas as a whole. From the puritans, to nonreligious contributions to Christmas lore, to touching on the rampant consumerism of Christmas (a constant theme of the stories, even though I didn't touch on it much).
"Miracles detonate the existing situation - and the blow-up and the back-blast mean some people get hurt."
The end note really focuses on miracles in a beautiful and mundane way. Winterson discusses how miracles are often incredibly disruptive events that you have to choose to take a chance on. It's a beautiful ending, reminding the readers that sometimes events that upturn your life are blessings in disguise.
Spirit of Christmas & Mrs. Winterson's Mince Pies
"Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had?"
Spirit of Christmas was a great start for this collection. It's a sweet story that focuses on how all of the "fluff" around Christmas can get in the way of the real meaning of Christmas. This one also gets bonus points for being in second person point of view aka the best pov.
The essay today focused mainly on the recipe, mince pies, and, while I've never really felt an urge to have mince pie before, I am not very interested in figuring out a (celiac safe) version of this recipe.
The Snowmama & Ruth Rendell's Red Cabbage
"Love is a mystery and that love is the mystery that makes things happen.
The Snowmama is an especially charming story that really encapsulates the Spirit of Christmas quite well. Two young girls, Nicky and Jerry, build a SnowWoman and at night, when Jerry sees it by herself, the Snowmama comes to life. A very heartwarming adventure ensues. This really encapsulates the perfect vibe for Christmas and shows that sometimes all you need is a little bit of help to get back on your feet. I think this one is my favorite.
I really liked this essay too. It was a really sweet story in remembrance of her friend Ruth and it made me smile.
Dark Christmas & Kathy Acker's New York Custard
"We are lucky, even the worst of us, because daylight comes."
The first of a few ghosty stories and its a classic haunted house vibe. I think this one was definitely the creepiest of the ghost stories, as our main character is stuck in an unfamiliar house waiting for her friends to come. It really was a classic ghost story, perfect for the Christmas season.
This essay is another beautiful and fun tribute to a late friend, Kathy Acker and I cannot wait to make the custard.
Christmas in New York & My Christmas Eve Smoked Salmon and Champagne
"The thing about time is that it's always there."
Another really heartwarming story. In this one, our protagonist really hates Christmas but has a mysterious Christmas angel who is attempting to bring some Christmas cheer to his life. It's a cute story that reminds the reader that it really is never too late to change or do something new.
The Mistletoe Bride & Susie's Christmas Eve Gravlax
"The future is not fixed unless we allow it to be so."
Probably the least Christmasy story in this collection, we follow a young bride as she is married on Christmas Day to her husband, who calls her his mistletoe bride. We follow her through a game of hide and seek in the castle, a tradition in his family. I really enjoyed this story and how it subverted some classic tropes.
This essay was sweet and short, about loving people despite (and because of) our differences.
O'Brien's First Christmas & Dad's Sherry Trifle
"If you had some, all, any of these things you could feel especially pleased with yourself over the twelve days of feasting and family. If you didn't have some, all, any of these things you felt the lack more keenly. You felt like an outsider."
This is a cute little love story with a very fun Christmas fairy who grants a woman who is not looking forwards to Christmas a pretty material wish, which changes her life just enough to make it better. It's one of those that wasn't really for me, but it was still fun.
This essay and recipe gives a sweet insight into Winterson's relationship with her father, which is much more heartwarming than her mother. It's sweet and short, and again makes me really want to get to the recipe.
The Second-Best Bed & Shakespeare and Company's Chinese Dumplings
"I have lived as a man; should I not love as a man?"
Our second ghost story is a bit more focused on the life of the living, as we follow a woman invited to Christmas with her best friend and her husband (who doesn't particularly like our main character) and their brothers, during the trip some weird stuff starts happening as she discovers a long dead couple that needs to be put to rest. This one has some interesting notes on queerness in history and in the present, with a tragic ghost story and a bit of a homoerotic friendship.
This one is pretty easily the best essay (which is high praise as I really love these essays), discussing the history of Shakespeare and Company - specifically their Christmas dinners. This recipe is another one that I'm definitely prioritizing a celiac safe version for.
Christmas Cracker & My Mulled Wine
"And it must be said that for all our planning and plotting, and deliberating and deciding, the moment that changes everything comes when it will, and cannot be coaxed, or invoked, and should not be missed."
This was a sweet little story about a stray dog getting stuck in a Christmas cracker and sent off to a rich kids' charity dinner. This one didn't resonate as much with me, but it's a cute, simple story about little miracles coming when you least expect it.
The essay gave a little more insight of the significance of the Twelve Days of Christmas, especially for families a long long time ago. The Mulled Wine also sounds incredible and I will be making it either when my friends return home or another year, we'll see.
A Ghost Story & Kamila Shamsie's Turkey Biryani
"Like everyone else I douse my spirit in materiality, weight my ankles like a deep-sea diver. Refuse the call, because to answer it would be to live in the see-through air, to step off the mountain, to go and not come back. The overwhelming fires of existence."
Our third ghost story takes place in Mürren , a ski resort in Switzerland, on the New Year. This one was definitely a favorite for me. As a kid I had a weird fixation with mountaineers (I blame Peak) and the story of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were at the forefront of this ghost story. I really loved the ghost in this story and found the whole thing to be really cosy.
The Silver Frog & My New Year's Eve Cheese Crisps
"They were lost. They were neglected. They were broken-hearted. They were dirty. They were thin. They were tired. They wore tatty clothes and odd shoes and their hair was either not cut or all cut off. They were children."
A bunch of orphans, an evil caretaker, and a kinda silly disruption that ends up in a happy endings for the orphans. It's reminiscent of some classic children's stories, but for whatever reason it didn't really work for me.
I think I like the New Year's essays more than the Christmas ones, and this essay is the start of that with New Year's Eve. This essay focuses on memories and honoring them. It's reflective and a bit bittersweet.
The Lion, The Unicorn and Me & My New Year's Day Steak Sandwich
Typed the title, noticed the lack of an oxford comma, died a little inside. Anyways.
"And I bray and I bray, for memory, for celebration, for warning, for chance, for everything that is here below and all that is hidden elsewhere. Hay and dung and another world."
A short & sweet little nativity story from the point of view of the donkey.
This day's essay really focuses on traditions and how the New Year is a second chance. Winterson discusses how life isn't linear and how these resolutions should be focused on doing things that aren't working differently instead of better. I'm not one for resolutions, especially on the New Year, but this little essay did have me start thinking about the New Year as a beautiful opportunity for second chances, which is a comforting thought. I really loved this one.
The Glow Heart & My Twelfth Night Fishcakes
"Life is beautiful and brief. Don't waste it."
This last story was the perfect close to the collection. This one is a story of grief and loss, but it's also a story of finding a light in that tunnel and motivation to keep moving forward. It's about how you can grieve the dead while still living your life, and it really is heart wrenching.
This essay was a favorite. If you start this collection on the first day of Christmas (which I did not), you end on Twelfth Night, where the book closes with a bit of a lesson on Twelfth Night and gives us motivation to start (or continue) our own personal journeys.
The Christmas-Tide/Christmas Greetings From the Author (beginning and end)
The intro to our stories is a nice little history of Christmas as a whole. From the puritans, to nonreligious contributions to Christmas lore, to touching on the rampant consumerism of Christmas (a constant theme of the stories, even though I didn't touch on it much).
"Miracles detonate the existing situation - and the blow-up and the back-blast mean some people get hurt."
The end note really focuses on miracles in a beautiful and mundane way. Winterson discusses how miracles are often incredibly disruptive events that you have to choose to take a chance on. It's a beautiful ending, reminding the readers that sometimes events that upturn your life are blessings in disguise.
December 31, 2016
This collection of original short stories, memories, personal rituals, recipes, musings, and informational bits about cultural and religious tradition are mixed up like a rich Christmas pudding. You can gorge yourself on it, or consume just a bit at a time - either way, it makes for the perfect seasonal reading. Both stories and personal reminiscences are relayed in simple, down-to-earth language, but Winterson has the trick of being both humorous and unexpectedly profound. An admitted Christmas lover, who relishes her own traditions, Winterson definitely will connect even the most Scrooge-like to the deeper meaning behind the consumer-driven fuss of Christmas. Highly recommended: this is a Christmas book you will want to revisit year after year.
Personal note: I saw Jeanette Winterson and Nigella Lawson at the Islington Assembly Halls on December 10, 2016. JW read aloud the story "Spirit of Christmas."
Personal note: I saw Jeanette Winterson and Nigella Lawson at the Islington Assembly Halls on December 10, 2016. JW read aloud the story "Spirit of Christmas."
January 20, 2018
I knew from the very beginning that this book was going to delight me. I love Janet's writing. She is incisive and elegant, and goes deep into the heart of the matter. Regarding Christmas, she writes:
"I know Christmas has become a cynical retail hijack but it is up to us all, individually and collectively, to object to that. Christmas is celebrated across the world by people of all religions and none, It is a joining together, a putting aside of differences" (p. 9).
I loved the stories, the history, the quiet reflections, and the creating of rituals to mark the passing of time and as a remembrance. Time and again I made a new discovery, which was just delightful. I hadn't realized that Janet was friends with another favorite writer, Ruth Rendell. I thoroughly enjoyed reading how they celebrated Christmas together. Truly, this is a book I will treasure and revisit/re-read each Christmas.
"I know Christmas has become a cynical retail hijack but it is up to us all, individually and collectively, to object to that. Christmas is celebrated across the world by people of all religions and none, It is a joining together, a putting aside of differences" (p. 9).
I loved the stories, the history, the quiet reflections, and the creating of rituals to mark the passing of time and as a remembrance. Time and again I made a new discovery, which was just delightful. I hadn't realized that Janet was friends with another favorite writer, Ruth Rendell. I thoroughly enjoyed reading how they celebrated Christmas together. Truly, this is a book I will treasure and revisit/re-read each Christmas.
January 2, 2019
E întotdeauna o încântare să citesc ceva scris de Jeanette Winterson. Iar acum, că a fost vorba de povești cu tematică de Crăciun, încântarea a fost dublă. ^_^ Povești fantastice amestecate cu povești desprinse din viața de zi cu zi, povești înduioșătoare îmbinate cu povești cu stafii, Jeanette le-a imprimat tuturor textelor din acest volum semnătura ei autentică. O proză meditativă, cu multiple semnificații, și un mesaj clar transmis cititorilor: bunătate, dragoste, acceptare și iertare. Lectura perfectă pentru un Crăciun de vis!
December 27, 2020
Această carte a fost o lectură perfectă în timpul săptămânii dintre Crăciun și Anul Nou. Am aflat câteva fapte noi și interesante despre Crăciun și m-am bucurat cu adevărat de gama largă de povești de Crăciun, atât cele drăgălașe, cât și cele destul de înfricoșătoare pentru mine.
November 18, 2021
Do you know the scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" when George is in Martini's Bar during the timeline where he doesn't exist? The beloved characters are all there- Martini, Mr. Gower, etc- but the scene is all wrong. All the people are angry and unkind. That is how this book made me feel as I read it. The stories SEEMED Christmasy, but they were edgy and wrong. Then I reached The Mistletoe Bride and it's pornographic scene and I decided that was all I could stand from this particular book.
December 22, 2023
An enjoyable book of stories that take place, you guessed it, around Christmas. I found them to be imaginative and different than the usual Christmas fare.
Of course, there are the usual messages that make it a Christmas read.
“ Why had we learned to hurry through everyday when everyday was all we had?”
Wishing all my GR friends a very happy Christmas.
Published: 2016
Of course, there are the usual messages that make it a Christmas read.
“ Why had we learned to hurry through everyday when everyday was all we had?”
Wishing all my GR friends a very happy Christmas.
Published: 2016
December 21, 2023
I really enjoyed these heartwarming tales, and also the few gothic style Christmas ghost stories thrown in for good measure. The stories are interspersed with reminiscences from the author's life, and delicious recipes too. A lovely book to dip in and out of on a cold winter's evening.
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