Christmas in literature

The following is a list of notable literary works which are set at Christmastime, or contain Christmas amongst the central themes.

Novels and novellas[]

Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot's Christmas
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens, The Chimes
Charles Dickens, The Cricket on the Hearth
Charles Dickens, The Battle of Life
Charles Dickens, The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain
Janet Evanovich, Visions of Sugar Plums
Frederick Forsyth, The Shepherd
Jostein Gaarder, The Christmas Mystery
John Grisham, Skipping Christmas
Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle, Let It Snow
C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Christopher Moore, The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

Hans Christian Andersen, "The Fir-Tree"
Truman Capote, "A Christmas Memory" (published in Mademoiselle)
John Cheever, "Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor"
Agatha Christie, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
Agatha Christie, A Christmas Tragedy
Fyodor Dostoevsky, "A Christmas Tree and a Wedding"
Fyodor Dostoevsky, "The Beggar Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree" (Mal'chik u Khrista na yolke) (from A Writer's Diary)
Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle"
Nikolai Gogol, "Christmas Eve" (from Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka)^[1]
O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi
E. T. A. Hoffmann, "Nussknacker und Mausekönig" (The Nutcracker and the Mouse King)
Leo Tolstoy, "Papa Panov's Special Christmas" (translation of Saillens)
Dylan Thomas, A Child's Christmas in Wales
Philip Van Doren Stern, The Greatest Gift
Kurt Vonnegut, While Mortals Sleep (book of short stories)

Janet and Allan Ahlberg, The Jolly Christmas Postman^[2]
Maya Angelou, Amazing Peace^[2]^[3]
L. Frank Baum, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
Julia Donaldson, and Axel Scheffler, Stick Man^[2]
Richard Paul Evans, The Christmas Box, The Light of Christmas^[2]^[4]
Cornelia Funke, When Santa Fell to Earth
Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Astrid Lindgren, Brenda Brave Helps Grandmother (Kajsa Kavat hjälper mormor)
Astrid Lindgren, A Calf for Christmas (När Bäckhultarn for till stan)
Astrid Lindgren, Christmas in the Stable (Jul i stallet)
Astrid Lindgren, The Runaway Sleigh Ride (Titta Madicken, det snöar!)
Astrid Lindgren, The Tomten (Tomte är vaken)
Astrid Lindgren, The Tomten and the Fox (Räven och Tomten)
Martin Waddell, Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale^[2]^[5]

"Old Santeclaus with Much Delight"
Clement Clarke Moore, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (originally published as "A Visit from St. Nick")
George Robert Sims, Christmas Day in the Workhouse
T. S. Eliot, "Journey of the Magi"
Viktor Rydberg, Tomten

Bettye Collier-Thomas, A Treasury of African American Christmas Stories^[1]^[6]
David Sedaris, Holidays on Ice^[1]
J. R. R. Tolkien, Letters from Father Christmas^[1]
Jeanette Winterson, Christmas Days^[1]^[7]

Francis Pharcellus Church, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" (newspaper editorial)

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Adrienne Westenfeld (14 December 2021). "The 10 Best Christmas Books to Read During the Holidays". Esquire. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Megan Christensen (15 December 2021). "10 cozy Christmas books to introduce to your kids this month". ksl.com. Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
^ "Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem". kcls.bibliocommons.com. King County Library System. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
^ "The Light of Christmas". kcls.bibliocommons.com. King County Library System. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
^ "Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale". kcls.bibliocommons.com. King County Library System. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
^ "A Treasury of African-American Christmas Stories". wccls.bibliocommons.com. Washington County Cooperative Library Services. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
^ "Christmas Days". kcls.bibliocommons.com. King County Library System. Retrieved 1 January 2022.