Little Christmas stories. Cautionary tale "Christmas Eve"

“There are holidays that have their own smell. At Easter, Trinity and Christmas there is something special in the air. Even non-believers love these holidays. My brother, for example, interprets that there is no God, but on Easter he is the first to run to matins” (A.P. Chekhov, story “On the Way”).

Orthodox Christmas is just around the corner! Many interesting traditions are associated with the celebration of this bright day (and even several Christmastides). In Rus', it was customary to devote this period to serving one’s neighbor and deeds of mercy. Everyone knows the tradition of caroling - singing songs in honor of the born Christ. The winter holidays have inspired many writers to create magical Christmas stories.

There is even a special genre of Christmas story. The plots in it are very close to each other: often the heroes of Christmas works find themselves in a state of spiritual or material crisis, the resolution of which requires a miracle. Christmas stories are imbued with light and hope, and only a few of them have a sad ending. Especially often, Christmas stories are dedicated to the triumph of mercy, compassion and love.

Especially for you, dear readers, we have prepared a selection of the best Christmas stories from both Russian and foreign writers. Read and enjoy, may the festive mood last longer!

"The Gift of the Magi", O. Henry

A well-known story about sacrificial love, which will give everything for the happiness of its neighbor. A story about tremulous feelings that cannot but surprise and delight. In the finale, the author ironically remarks: “And here I told you an unremarkable story about two stupid children from an eight-dollar apartment who, in the most unwise way, sacrificed their greatest treasures for each other.” But the author does not make excuses, he only confirms that the gifts of his heroes were more important than the gifts of the Magi: “But let it be said for the edification of the sages of our days that of all the givers these two were the wisest. Of all those who offer and receive gifts, only those like them are truly wise. Everywhere and everywhere. They are the Magi." As Joseph Brodsky said, “at Christmas everyone is a little wise man.”

“Nikolka”, Evgeniy Poselyanin

The plot of this Christmas story is very simple. At Christmas time, the stepmother acted very meanly to her stepson; he should have died. At the Christmas service, a woman experiences belated repentance. But on a bright holiday night a miracle happens...

By the way, Evgeny Poselyanin has wonderful memories of his childhood experience of Christmas - “Yule Days”. You read and are immersed in the pre-revolutionary atmosphere of noble estates, childhood and joy.

"A Christmas Carol", Charles Dickens

Dickens's work is the story of a person's true spiritual rebirth. The main character, Scrooge, was a miser, became a merciful benefactor, and turned from a lone wolf into a sociable and friendly person. And this change was helped by the spirits who flew to him and showed him his possible future. Observing different situations from his past and future, the hero felt remorse for his wrong life.

“The Boy at Christ’s Christmas Tree”, F. M. Dostoevsky

A touching story with a sad (and joyful at the same time) ending. I doubt whether it is worth reading to children, especially sensitive ones. But for adults, it’s probably worth it. For what? I would answer with the words of Chekhov: “It is necessary that behind the door of every contented, happy person there should be someone with a hammer and constantly remind him by knocking that there are unfortunate people, that, no matter how happy he is, life will sooner or later show him its claws , trouble will strike - illness, poverty, loss, and no one will see or hear him, just as now he does not see or hear others.”

Dostoevsky included it in the “Diary of a Writer” and he himself was surprised how this story came out of his pen. And the author’s writer’s intuition tells him that this could very well happen in reality. The main sad storyteller of all times, H. H. Andersen, has a similar tragic story - “The Little Match Girl”.

"Gifts of the Christ Child" by George MacDonald

The story of a young family going through difficult times in their relationships, difficulties with a nanny, and alienation from their daughter. The last one is the sensitive, lonely girl Sophie (or Fosi). It was through her that joy and light returned to the house. The story emphasizes: the main gifts of Christ are not gifts under the tree, but love, peace and mutual understanding.

“Christmas Letter”, Ivan Ilyin

I would call this short work, composed of two letters from a mother and son, a real hymn of love. It is she, unconditional love, that runs like a red thread through the entire work and is its main theme. It is this state that resists loneliness and defeats it.

“Whoever loves, his heart blooms and smells fragrant; and he gives his love just like a flower gives its scent. But then he is not alone, because his heart is with the one he loves: he thinks about him, cares about him, rejoices in his joy and suffers from his suffering. He doesn't have time to feel lonely or wonder whether he is lonely or not. In love a person forgets himself; he lives with others, he lives in others. And this is happiness.”

Christmas is a holiday of overcoming loneliness and alienation, it is the day of the manifestation of Love...

"God in the Cave", Gilbert Chesterton

We are accustomed to perceive Chesterton primarily as the author of detective stories about Father Brown. But he wrote in different genres: he penned several hundred poems, 200 short stories, 4,000 essays, a number of plays, the novels “The Man Who Was Thursday,” “The Ball and the Cross,” “The Migratory Tavern” and much more. Chesterton was also an excellent publicist and deep thinker. In particular, his essay “God in the Cave” is an attempt to comprehend the events of two thousand years ago. I recommend it to people with a philosophical mindset.

“Silver Blizzard”, Vasily Nikiforov-Volgin

Nikiforov-Volgin in his work surprisingly subtly shows the world of children's faith. His stories are permeated with a festive atmosphere. So, in the story “Silver Blizzard”, with trepidation and love, he shows the boy with his zeal for piety, on the one hand, and with mischief and pranks, on the other. Consider one apt phrase from the story: “These days I don’t want anything earthly, especially school!”

Holy Night, Selma Lagerlöf

Selma Lagerlöf's story continues the theme of childhood.

Grandmother tells her granddaughter an interesting legend about Christmas. It is not canonical in the strict sense, but it reflects the spontaneity of the people's faith. This is an amazing story about mercy and how “a pure heart opens the eyes with which a person can enjoy seeing the beauty of heaven.”

“Christ visiting a man”, “Unchangeable ruble”, “At Christmas they offended”, Nikolai Leskov

These three stories struck me to the core, so it was difficult to choose the best one. I discovered Leskov from some unexpected side. These works by the author have common features. This is both a fascinating plot and general ideas of mercy, forgiveness and doing good deeds. Examples of heroes from these works surprise, evoke admiration and a desire to imitate.

"Reader! be kind: intervene in our history too, remember what today’s Newborn taught you: to punish or have mercy? To the One who gave you the “verbs of eternal life”... Think! This is very worth your thought, and the choice is not difficult for you... Do not be afraid to seem funny and stupid if you act according to the rule of the One who said to you: “Forgive the offender and gain yourself a brother in him” (N. S. Leskov, “Under Christmas was offended."

Many novels have chapters dedicated to Christmas, for example, “The Unquenchable Lamp” by B. Shiryaev, “Conduit and Schwambrania” by L. Kassil, “In the First Circle” by A. Solzhenitsyn, “The Summer of the Lord” by I. S. Shmelev.

The Christmas story, for all its apparent naivety, fabulousness and unusualness, has always been loved by adults. Maybe because Christmas stories are primarily about goodness, about faith in miracles and the possibility of human spiritual rebirth?

Christmas is truly a holiday of children's faith in miracles... Many Christmas stories are devoted to describing this pure joy of childhood. I will quote wonderful words from one of them: “The great holiday of Christmas, surrounded by spiritual poetry, is especially understandable and close to a child... The Divine Child was born, and to Him be praise, glory and honor of the world. Everyone rejoiced and rejoiced. And in memory of the Holy Child, on these days of bright memories, all children should have fun and rejoice. This is their day, a holiday of innocent, pure childhood...” (Klavdiya Lukashevich, “Christmas Holiday”).

P.S. When preparing this collection, I read a lot of Christmas stories, but, of course, not all of them in the world. I chose according to my taste those that seemed the most fascinating and artistically expressive. Preference was given to little-known works, which is why, for example, the list does not include N. Gogol’s “The Night Before Christmas” or Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker.”

What are your favorite Christmas works, dear matrons?

Since childhood, all children adore the New Year and Christmas holidays - a special cozy period when you can dream and believe in miracles, and a fabulous atmosphere reigns around. If the onset of the New Year is always interesting and understandable, then the story of Christmas for children is often quite confusing. Therefore, it is very important to correctly tell children what we celebrate on this day, and what mysterious event happened on the first Christmas. Child psychologists and early childhood educators have proven that the best way to present information to children is a fairy tale. So try reading to your kids an interesting and educational story of a good Christmas angel.

The story before Christmas: what the Christmas angel told us

Christmas was approaching. Small fluffy snowflakes were circling outside the windows, the delicious aroma of kuti and dumplings was felt in the house, mother was completing the last preparations in the kitchen, and little Vanya was reading The Night Before Christmas. The story about the stingy Scrooge had already been read and put aside by that time, and the famous “Christmas Box” was still waiting for its turn. As you can see, this year Vanya decided to properly prepare for Christmas, planning to read as many books about this holiday as possible, as well as watch a lot of themed films. He really wanted to know what exactly we were celebrating on this day, but the holiday was approaching, and the mystery remained unsolved. The boy became sad and put the book aside. Suddenly his gaze stopped on a small Christmas tree decoration - it was a beautiful angel holding a star in his hands.
“That’s who knows exactly the real story of the Nativity of Christ!” “It is important for children to believe in miracles, so Vanya said these words almost in all seriousness, although later he himself laughed out of his naivety.
Imagine his surprise when the little toy angel answered him:
- Of course I know! After all, it was I who lit the bright Christmas star, which told the world about the birth of the Savior!
- About whose birth? - asked the surprised boy. He tried his best to convince himself that everything that was happening was just a dream. After all, since when have Christmas tree decorations been able to talk? But his good and tender heart told him to listen to the words of the little angel and believe in the fairy tale. After all, Christmas is just around the corner.
“If you are interested,” the angel continued, “I will share this fascinating story with you.”
- Certainly! “I so dreamed of finding out what happened the night before Christmas, why this holiday is so special,” said Vanya, completely forgetting that just a moment ago he doubted the reality of what was happening.
“Then sit back and listen.”

Christmas: the history of the holiday for children

This was many years ago. More than 2000! Life was difficult for people in those days, so they believed that one day a Savior would come to earth who could change their lives for the better and free them from captivity. And now this day has come. Then I was still a very little angel and understood little, but I remembered that significant night well.
All the angels living in heaven were very worried and were preparing for something grandiose. And I was only tasked with lighting the star. At first I was sad, because there was nothing interesting in this - I lit stars every night: big and small. But then the elder angel explained that it would be an unusual star - it was the one that should announce to the world the birth of the Messiah.
After a star shone in the sky with extreme clarity, an angelic choir descended to earth and began to sing songs that praised the born Savior of the world. With irresistible interest, I made my way forward to also see this brave hero who was about to save the whole world. Imagine my surprise when what appeared before my eyes was not a majestic palace and a knight on a white horse, but a small manger with a small child. I felt sad again, but the elder angels explained to me that that night not just a child was born, but the hope of all humanity. Hope for a better life, justice and the victory of good!
Vanya was very happy. Now he knew what was celebrated every Christmas.

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Christmas is one of the most important holidays for every Christian. It is celebrated by the whole family and children take an active part in the celebration. Curious kids will probably be interested in knowing what this event is, why it is celebrated and what Christmas traditions mean. For a child to understand how important this day is, he should tell the story of the Nativity of Christ for children. It is important to convey to your child the history of this great day in a form that will be close and understandable to him. It is the adapted version of the Christmas story that will help the child understand the essence of the holiday, because the traditional adult version described in the Bible may be too difficult for him to understand.

You can accompany your story with illustrations from the children's Bible if the child does not yet know how to read.

It’s better to start the story with a story about the main character of the holiday.

Jesus is the son of God. God sent him to earth to save us all. For this, Jesus had to die, but this was planned - his torment was atonement for the sins of our ancestors. Jesus lived a long time ago, more than two thousand years ago, but we still remember him and the fact that he sacrificed himself so that we could live now.

What is Christmas?

Like any person, Jesus had his birthday. It is January 7 that is considered to be the birthday of our savior, although no one knows the exact date of his birth. In many countries, including Europe and the USA, Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, according to the old style. Christmas is a holiday in honor of the birth of Jesus, and we still celebrate it today in memory of the son of God.

The Story of the Birth of Jesus

Well, now let's talk in more detail about the day when Jesus was born, but let's start our story with his parents - Mary and Joseph. In fact, Jesus' father is the Lord, but Joseph was entrusted with an important mission - to raise and raise the son of God.

Just before the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were forced to send
went to the city of Bethlehem, as the king ordered a census of the population. There were a lot of people in Bethlehem and all the houses and hotels were occupied by those who arrived for the census, so Mary and Joseph had to spend the night in a cave along with the cattle. It was on this night that little Jesus was born. Since there was no crib in the cave, the baby had to be placed directly in the manger. A manger is a box from which animals eat and is usually filled with hay. It was on this soft hay that Mary laid her newborn baby.

In honor of these nurseries, they named the nursery in the kindergarten, where children under the age of three go.

But let's get back to our story. That same night, shepherds with their flock passed nearby and saw a bright light and an angel who announced the birth of a savior who came to earth to save everyone from sins. The angel also ordered the shepherds to go to the baby and said that he was lying in a manger.

Also that night, a bright star appeared in the sky - the Bethlehem star, which showed the wise men the way to the newborn baby. They guessed that the light of the star announced the birth of the Savior and went to him with gifts. The Magi knew that Jesus was destined to become the King of Heaven on earth.

King Herod, who was ruling at that time, also heard the news of the birth of the king and was afraid that Jesus might replace him on the throne, so he ordered to kill all the babies in the city. The Son of God miraculously managed to survive.

Fasting before Christmas

Forty days before Christmas, it is customary to fast, that is, not eat meat, eggs, milk, only occasionally fish and vegetable oil are allowed. Such fasting is needed to cleanse the body, but this is not the main purpose of fasting; it is needed to cleanse the soul. During the period of fasting, you cannot be angry, offended, quarrel, or think about bad things. It is in order for everyone to become at least a little kinder that fasting is needed.

Christmas Eve

The last day of Lent and before Christmas Day is usually called Christmas Eve. To be more precise, this is the evening before the holiday. Christmas Eve occurs not only before Christmas, but Christmas Eve is the most revered day by Christians. On this day we were intensively preparing for the celebration of Christmas.

The name of Christmas Eve comes from the name of the dish - sochivo. Sochivo is made from grains - barley, rice, wheat. Cereals are boiled and soaked with poppy seeds, nuts, and fruits. No butter was added on Christmas Eve, because it was still a day of fasting, and to make the dish more tasty and satisfying, they put a little honey in it.

They also put other dishes on the table on Christmas Eve. There should have been 12 of them - as many as Jesus had apostles. In addition, all dishes for Christmas Eve should be lean, because the Nativity Fast is still ongoing.

Christmas traditions

This day is famous for its traditions, which have become a little forgotten, but now everyone is trying to remember them and observe them, because these traditions unite families, make them friendlier, and make Christmas itself long-awaited, bright and unforgettable.

In fact, there are a lot of such traditions and they differ in each region, but there are several basic ones that are observed by many people.

Christmas tree

Decorating a tree is not such a long-standing tradition. It appeared a long time ago, but was finally established a little more than a hundred years ago. Now many people associate the Christmas tree with the New Year, but originally the tree was decorated for Christmas. The first Christmas trees were decorated not with balls, but with apples, gingerbread cookies, bells, and small candles. Each of the decorations had its own meaning and purpose. And the main decoration of the tree - the star at the top symbolizes the very star of Bethlehem that announced the birth of Jesus.

Carols

Mostly children and young people sang carols; they went from house to house and sang carols, and the owners had to thank them. It was believed that the more carolers who came to the house, the better and happier the whole next year would be.

This tradition is still observed today, although not on such a scale as before. But preserving traditions brings families together and helps preserve the connection between generations, so it is necessary to tell children about the holiday of the Nativity of Christ; the story for children about this holiday should be heard in every home.

Dinner with family and godparents

Christmas is a family holiday and on this day the whole family gathers at one table. Children also bring treats to their godparents. This tradition differs in different regions, but the godparents always take dinner after dinner with their parents. And the godparents, in turn, give the godchildren sweets, money, and gifts.

Kutya

Sweet, made from wheat, rice or other grains - this is a real treat for children. For Christmas Eve they prepare hungry, Lenten kutya or, as it is also called, sochivo. This kutia is liquid, without butter and milk. At Christmas, it is customary to prepare rich kutya with milk and butter.

Dried fruits and chocolate are also added to kutya.

Miracle of Christmas

It is believed that at Christmas the heavens open and you can ask them for anything. The main thing is that the desire is sincere and bright.

On the night before Christmas and on Christmas day, miracles happen: people are healed of illnesses, their innermost dreams come true. But in order for a miracle to happen, you must believe in it. It is important for children to instill this faith in miracles, with which it is easier to go through life and overcome difficulties. Therefore, you need to tell your kids about Christmas, the story of the holiday for children should sound like a fairy tale, a good, kind fairy tale that the child will believe in and his soul will become a little warmer and brighter)))

Christmas miracle

Fairy tales for children

"Christmas for Sunny"

Yulia Smal

Christmas for Sunny

One Sunday afternoon, among the foliage, a little ladybug named Sunny was bitterly grieving... This is such a tiny bug with beautiful red wings with black specks - how many specks on the wings, how old the bug is. We also call it bedrik or zozulka. The sun was very little, his first speck had just appeared, and so the other day the whole family celebrated his birthday. The kid was very proud of his speck! After all, his other brothers and sisters did not yet have a single spot on their wings.

But why did little Sunshine become sad? No one knew this, since no matter who asked, it only sighed heavily and remained silent.

Suddenly, on the path near the tree on which the saddened Sun was sitting, two children appeared - brother and sister Oles and Olesya. These were kind children: they never offended any insects or little animals, did not touch the flowers in the yard, and never even kicked the old fly agaric with a red cap on its head.

Olesya and Olesya walked along the path, smiled at the trees and birds, rejoiced at the bright sun, until they met the sad, very sad Sun.

-What's wrong, buddy? - Oles asked. He remembered how they had just recently cheerfully celebrated Sunny’s birthday, and didn’t understand how you could grieve when you had so many gifts.

- Why are you so sad, little guy? - Olesya asked next

- Oh, my friends, what can I tell you? - Sunny sank even more. - You see, I’ve been living in the world for a whole year, I’ve already seen two summers, but I’ve never seen winter before! After all, we bugs sleep in winter!

- So what? - the children were surprised.

- Like what? I have never seen and most likely never will see snow, an ice skating rink and, most annoyingly, the Christmas holidays. You talked about them so wonderfully that I, too, would like to take a peek at it,” and Sunny sighed.

- Why can’t you see winter? - Olesya couldn’t understand it at all.

- You see, it’s cold in winter. We hide in small houses and, covered with a warm blanket of snow, fall asleep. And if someone wants to get out of their hiding place even for a moment, they will freeze and die. All insects sleep in winter because we are small and we need a lot of strength.

- ABOUT! — came up with Olesya. - You can
winter on the leaf of my violet! It's cozy, warm and soft, you'll sleep well.
And when the time comes, I will carefully wake you up,
so you can see what winter and Christmas are like.

Summer flashed by in merry fun, and the foliage on the trees had already turned yellow. It was getting colder
At night, it rained more often. It's time for the sun to go to bed. Olesya didn’t forget
about your invitation. One day cold
on an autumn day she took her friend home
and placed it on a beautiful leaf
purple violet. There was
warm and soft, delicate aroma
Bedrik lulled the flower, he
seemed to just doze off
for one minute.

Suddenly:
- Sun,
wake up!
Christmas is coming!

- What already? — the bug rubbed its sleepy eyes.

“Yes, it’s time to start,” Olesya gestured around the room with her hand. There was chaos all around: scraps of paper, some glitter, bottles, brushes and pencils were scattered on the table, beads rolled on the floor.

-What's going on here? - Sunny asked the children.

- We are the ones gluing the Christmas star!

- What for?

- You do not know? Listen! Once upon a time, long ago, Jesus, the Son of God, was born in distant lands in the small town of Bethlehem. The Lord sent Him to earth to save people from their sins. At this time, a bright Star shone in the sky to show the way to the three wise men. Following her ray, they reached the sheep shed in which little Jesus was born, congratulated Him with generous gifts and worshiped Him. In memory of this event, we will make a big shiny star and go with it to sing holiday carols.

- Here it is, ready! — Oles raised the star high up.

- Now let's go decorate the Christmas tree and put up a didukh! - my sister shouted. - Sunny, sit on my shoulder to see everything. Mom and dad have already taken out our beauty.

“Somehow she seems to be real,
but it doesn’t smell,” thought the Sun.
- Why doesn’t this tree smell? - asked
bug. - Because we don’t have time for the holiday -
a standing tree, but a toy one. Imagine what happened
If only we could put up a live Christmas tree every year!
There wouldn't be a single tree left around!

There was a didukh in the corner... - And this is a sheaf of wheat,
its poured ears are a symbol of a good harvest
and prosperity in the house!

The children took out colorful glass balls from the box, brought candies and nuts and decorated the Christmas tree with them. Toys and garlands were hung throughout the house.

Having finished, Olesya began to clean up.
“Today is the day when angels fly into people’s homes to sing carols together with people, rejoicing at the birth of Jesus Christ, so the house should be very clean.

Soon the house was sparkling clean, and from the kitchen came the unimaginable aroma of honey, grated poppy seeds, fried mushrooms and something else... It will be delicious on Christmas Eve, the Holy Supper!

“When the first star rises, then the Holy Evening will come.” We will look out to be the first to notice her. In the meantime, we need to get ready for church,” said Olesya.

The whole family dressed warmly, and the Sun buried itself in the fluffy collar of Olesya’s fur coat. The snow was silvery outside. Small snowflakes, like tiny bugs, flew in the air. The sun was so fascinated by them that he even forgot how much he wanted to sleep.

Peace and celebration reigned in the church. People were praying. And then the Sun saw next to him a tall young man in white clothes, his snow-white wings were as beautiful as those snowflakes.

“Hello, God’s creation,” the stranger smiled. - Why don’t you sleep in winter?

“I wanted to see Christmas so much that my friends, human children, figured out how I could do it,” Sunny was embarrassed.

- What great fellows! Well, Zozulka, Christ was born! - the winged young man said quietly and disappeared into the air.

And then it rang loudly from all sides:

« Rejoice, rejoice, earth, the Son of God has been born into the world!»

There, high under the dome of the temple, a whole choir of amazing winged creatures sang along with the people standing below, in fur coats and jackets...

"How beautiful!" — Sunny thought in amazement.

“These are angels!” - whispered the children, who also saw the heavenly guests.

« Christ is born! We praise Him", people congratulated each other.

The first star illuminated the earth with a bright ray, clearing the path from the church to the house.

- Christ was born! Now I know what kind of holiday this is - Christmas! - whispered the Sun, peacefully falling asleep in the evening on a violet leaf - until spring...

Natalka Maletich

Gift from Jesus

Holy Evening. Christmas Eve. Gannusya (in Russia they would call her Annusya, Anechka) looks out the window at the white flakes of snow. He has covered up the lantern so much that it seems that soon the light behind it will no longer be visible. The little girl is sad: somewhere under the neighboring house a carol is playing, and the girl really wanted to go caroling with her friends. But this is completely impossible... She was preparing to be the nativity scene Angel bringing the Good News! The wonderful wings that dad made for her and the white dress sewn by mom will be worn by her best friend Tanya - now she will be an Angel instead of Gannusi.

And here's what happened. On St. Nicholas Day, Gannusya broke her leg. The skating rink that day was noisy and fun. On wonderful new skates, given to her by Saint Nicholas, the girl rushed like a whirlwind across the ice. And then, out of nowhere, the clumsy boy, accelerating, ran into her so that the two of them tumbled head over heels. At that very moment, the girl felt a terrible pain in her leg, even her eyes darkened... She came to her senses in the ambulance that was taking her to the hospital. They were released home just before the New Year. All she had to do was lie in bed with her leg in a cast, on a high pillow, read books and play with bunnies, of which she had about a dozen, all different.

The girl loved these toy animals very much, but her favorite was Snowflake, white and fluffy, like the first snow. Gannusya, with her mother’s help, sewed a dress for her, knitted a hat and scarf...

And today, on the eve of Christmas, she dressed Snowflake in a small embroidered shirt (a shirt embroidered with colored threads), a spare skirt and a vest. The mother made the festive clothes for the bunny, repeating Gannusi’s outfit in miniature.

Gannusya presses Snowflake to her cheek and looks at the flickering lights of the Christmas tree, which was put up in her room this year to make lying down more fun and festive. She can hear her mother and father quietly singing carols in the kitchen, washing and putting away the dishes after the Holy Supper (Christmas dinner).

You can hear the vanilla-yeast aroma of holiday donuts in the room. Today dad carried her to the table in his arms, and after dinner (the most delicious, of course, were kutya and uzvar - a compote of dried apples and pears) the three of them sang several carols. And Gannusya promised that next year she would definitely help her mother prepare the Holy Supper. Her parents kissed her goodnight, and now her daughter was back in her room, in the twilight filled with the flickering glow of garlands.

Gannusya thinks about the book that Saint Nicholas brought. She has already re-read it all. There are so many Christmas stories in which all sorts of magical things happen. I wonder what little Jesus was like when he was born? The same as he is depicted on icons? Similar to other little kids? Similar to her cousin Lesik, who is only a few weeks old? (Gannusya has only seen him in photographs, but as soon as she can walk, she will definitely meet the baby). “If a long time ago, two thousand years ago, there were cameras, you could see what little Jesus was like, you could even film it! Then, for sure, there would be no people left who say that biblical stories are fiction,” the girl thought.

Jesus always helps Gannusa - she tells Him about her friends, asks for help on a test if she is afraid that she will get excited and forget everything. She believes in Jesus, even though she has never seen Him, and asks for a speedy recovery so that she can play snowballs with friends this winter and build a big snow woman. But she would still really like to see little Jesus and play with Him...

“Get up quickly,” someone’s voice suddenly sounded from the semi-darkness. “Otherwise we won’t make it in time for Christmas.”

In the flickering glow of the Christmas tree, the girl saw Snowflake, so beautiful in an embroidered vest. The bunny tickles her neck with a plump, warm paw, pulls her pajama sleeve somewhere, and Gannusya never ceases to be amazed that Snowflake has come to life and is talking to her.

- Do you know how to talk, Snowflake? — the girl asks quietly, groping for her clothes.

“Not only to talk, but also to fly, but only on Holy Night,” the little bunny answers, settling down on the windowsill. - And you can too!

Gannusya quickly dresses, she is very surprised, because there is no cast on her leg. Taking Snowflake by the paw, the girl fearlessly opens the window. By the light of a lantern, she sees that the snow has stopped falling, the sky is dotted with stars, one of which is the brightest. The girl guesses that this is the Star of Bethlehem. Both Gannusi and Snowflake suddenly grow wings, like angels, and they push off and fly over the snow-covered city at night.

They are very high, and Gannusa is a little afraid, but the dream of seeing the newborn Jesus with her own eyes gives her courage. The girl also likes having real angel wings - they are much lighter than the ones her dad made for her.

“Look at the Star of Bethlehem,” Snowflake tells her, “then you won’t be afraid.”

The girl looks, and suddenly there is so much light that she even closes her eyes. She remembers and hums her mother’s favorite carol to herself:

The night is quiet, the night is holy, A star is burning in the sky...

With a jolt, Gannusia opens her eyes and immediately sees the Baby Jesus in swaddling clothes in the manger and the Mother of God and Saint Joseph bending over Him. The Holy Family is enveloped in an amazing radiance, little shepherds with lambs look in, not daring to cross the threshold.

Maria smiles, nods her head, allowing the girl to come closer. Gannusya takes the Baby’s tiny hand in a blaze of light and whispers:

- Happy birthday, Jesus! - and then kisses the little fingers and pours a handful of sweets into the manger, which, out of nowhere, ended up in the pocket of her fur coat.

Snowflake also strokes Jesus with her fluffy paw and puts her gift - an orange carrot.

And then even the shepherdesses dare
come in and quietly begin a carol:

Heaven and earth, heaven and earth are now triumphant...

The girl and the bunny pick up:

Angels, people, Angels, people rejoice merrily. Christ was born, God became incarnate, Angels sing, they give glory. The shepherds play, they meet the shepherd, they proclaim a miracle, a miracle.

The carol sounds solemnly, and little angels in white shirts dance above. Everyone becomes very happy, and Baby Jesus closes his eyes and falls asleep, lulled by the singing.

“Come on, it’s time for Jesus to sleep,” Snowflake whispers to Gannusa. They find themselves again
in the air and flying, flying...

Suddenly, such a snowstorm arises that Gannusya cannot see anything around. She is worried because she has let go of her pet’s chubby paw.

- Snowflake! Snowflake! - the girl calls with all her might. Now she’s really scared and feels like she’s starting to fall...

- Christ was born! — she suddenly hears a festive greeting and opens her eyes. The winter sun peeks into the room, the frosty flowers painted on the window shine in its rays, dad and mom smile at her.

- We praise him! — the girl answers joyfully and cannot understand in any way whether everything that happened to her is true, or whether it was a dream.

So Snowflake lies on the pillow, doesn’t move at all, doesn’t talk or carol. But everything was so real! She still feels the touch of Jesus' fingers on her palm. Only at night she didn’t have a cast. And now there is... But it was a Holy Night!..

-What are you thinking about, daughter? - asks mom.

Gannusya is silent and smiles because she notices a feather from an angel’s wing on Snowflake’s vest - it is special, not like a bird’s, but rather like the lightest wing of a butterfly...

Then the girl smiles again, because her dad has an Easter basket in his hands.

— Why is there an Easter basket for Christmas? - asks Gannusya, sitting up slightly and leaning on the pillow.

Dad sits on the edge of the bed and turns away the towel covering the basket. The girl looks in and sees... a live bunny!!! White, like her Snowflake, and just as fluffy, only his paw is bandaged. Gannusya doesn’t take her eyes off the bunny, lightly touching its ear, as if she wants to make sure it’s real.

-Where did he come from? — the girl asks enchanted. She takes the little bunny in her arms and then lets her lie down on the blanket - the little bunny is limping.

“My veterinarian friend treated him a little because some hunter accidentally shot a hare in the forest. And now he gave it to us so that both the bunny and you get well soon,” explains dad.

But Gannusia knows: in fact, this is a gift from Jesus...

Galina Maniv

How Dzinka and Manyunya made peace

Once upon a time there was a cat. Her name was Manyunya. She loved to sit on the windowsill and watch the yellow leaves fly from the maples. But one day all the leaves fell off. And Tanya, the cat’s owner, hung a feeder outside the window, pouring sunflower seeds into it.

Soon the titmouse Dzinka flew to the feeder, hooked her paws on the lid and just like that - upside down - she began to peck the seeds. For some reason, these titmice like to hang upside down. Who knows, maybe it’s easier for them to think this way.

And Manyunya, seeing the bird, immediately set out to catch it. And she began to quietly creep closer, hiding behind the window frame. And then how he jumps! But Jinka - at least that’s something for you. If only she could move a wing. No. Know yourself to be biting tasty seeds. Because she is already an adult (not like Manyunya) and knows: people insert such transparent things into window frames that do not let anything through except light and sunbeams. That’s why the robber cat won’t even get to Jinka.

And the titmouse began to mock Manyunya:

- What a stupid cat you are! Try it, jingle me! Dzin-dzili-lin (translated from the blue tongue it is approximately like our “be-be-be”).

And Manyuni’s eyes even sparkled with anger and frustration. She throws herself at the glass and meows angrily:

- Meow, stupid! Meow, talk to the young lady first!

- Oh, look, ding, is that you the young lady?! — from laughing, Jinka even fell from the roof of the feeder and had to do a somersault in the air in order to return to the window and quarrel with Manyunya. “Yes, I saw with my own eyes how the kind little girl picked you up on the garbage heap.”

- Wrong-meow-yes! Wrong-meow-yes! Meow-nya, the noble parents have lost! Here I go meow!!! - and Manyunya jumped onto the glass again.

And Dzinka has his own: “Dzin-dzili-lin!”

This is how the titmouse and the cat would probably have been arguing for a long time, but only an angel flew past them on his business and said reproachfully:

- Oh, you! Quarrel, but today is such a day! - and only flashed, flying away further.

And the cat and the titmouse immediately remembered that today, when evening comes and the first star shines, everyone - people, animals, and birds - will celebrate the birth of God's Child, Jesus. Christmas Eve will come - the Holy evening on the eve of Christmas.

Who knows how the little animals know this, but even such a small cat as Manyunya senses the approaching holiday. I just forgot today. And Manyuna felt ashamed and annoyed that she was quarreling on such a day! This is the first Christmas in her life!

And Jinka felt ashamed and annoyed - even more than the cat. Because she, Dzinka, is already an adult, it seems she should remember herself and set an example for Manyuna...

- Kitsyunya, stop quarreling, let's make peace! - said Dzinka.

- Are werrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl? “With pleasure,” the cat happily agreed.

- Merry Christmas! — Jinka fluttered up onto the slightly open window and reached out with her beak towards the cat.

- Have a bright and purrrrrrrr Christmas! — Manyunya stood on her hind legs and stretched her muzzle towards the bird.

“Mom,” Tanya whispered, “come here quickly!” Look, Manyunya and the titmouse are kissing!!!

Oksana Lushchevskaya

Mitten

In the fall, when the first frosts began to pinch noses, blush cheeks and chill hands, Auntie knitted a hat, scarf and mittens for Nadiyka (in Russian, Nadiyka is Nadyushka). Beautiful, comfortable and warm.

The girl liked both the hat and the scarf. And the mittens... These are mittens! Amazing! A whole fairy tale is knitted on them with multi-colored threads: a little mouse, a frog, and a runaway bunny...

- Who lives in a mitten? — the girl kept looking into her left and right mitten to see if the mouse or frog would respond. Or maybe a bunny?..

Nadiyka even deliberately lost her mittens, in the hope that she would later find one of the forest guests there: either a little fox-sister, or a gray top-top... Even a fanged boar and a club-toed bear would be welcome guests. However, while waiting for them, the girl was still a little worried, because she clearly remembered how the fairy mitten almost burst from being too tight.

All the animals were asking for that fabulous mitten. Surely none of them will look into Nadiykina?

Oh, how many times, returning from kindergarten or a walk, the girl pretended not to notice how her mitten was falling into the snow! And after a few steps she had to pretend that she didn’t know where and when she lost it. I had to go back and search.

- Who lives in a mitten? - she asked hopefully when dad or mom found what was missing.

But no matter how hard I tried, it was all in vain. Not a sound came from the mitten.

Nadia picked up a bright mitten, slowly pulled it over her hand and looked reproachfully at the big-eyed frog, then at the little gray mouse, knitted from soft woolen yarn.

Over time, the girl accepted that she could not wait for forest guests, and began to wear mittens, like all people, in order to warm her hands in the prickly winter cold.

This is how December passed - snowy and snowy. We celebrated the New Year. Christmas is about to ring with merry carols...

“Your mittens are good,” the friends said. - Fabulous!

But Nadiyka, listening to the praise, only nodded her head and looked with annoyance at the sharp-nosed mouse: they say, they look fabulous to me too!..

“Ordinary woolen mittens—my aunt knitted them for me,” the girl answered with slight sadness. But once…

Nadiya and her friends were skating at the skating rink near their house. It was getting dark. A light snow was falling... But the frost bit with all its might. Children wrapped themselves in scarves, pulled their hats down to their eyes and blew into their hands. Nadya’s friend, Svetlanka, lost her gloves and was completely frozen - even though you could run home, but then they wouldn’t let you out into the street, they would say: “It’s too late!” So Nadiyka lent her hers for a few minutes to keep her warm. It’s always like this in winter: I want to play longer, because the days are short, it gets dark early... If only it weren’t so cold!..

The children skated to their heart's content, played snowballs, and made a snow woman, until Nadiyka's mother called her to dinner, and other mothers responded:

- Svetlanka, go home!

- Seryozha, it’s time!

- Andryusha, stop walking - dinner is on the table!

The girl said goodbye to her friends, took the mittens from Svetlana, put them in her pocket and rushed headlong towards the house.

And in the morning, getting ready for kindergarten, Nadiyka did not find one mitten. “I probably forgot it at Svetlanka’s,” the girl thought.

But in kindergarten it turned out that my friend didn’t have mittens either.

“I lost it! How annoying...” Nadiyka sighed. - Although my mittens are not fabulous, they are still warm and warm. And beautiful. And it’s also my aunt’s gift!” Now the girl was very sorry that she had so recklessly lost her knitted friends. She fell in love with the big-eyed frog, the sharp-nosed mouse, and the little eared bunny...

Two days have passed. The holiday is about to knock on the door. The houses smelled of tangerines, pine needles and hot cakes. Oh, I wish I could wait for that Star of Bethlehem! And Christmas miracles and gifts!

On a sunny and snowy pre-holiday morning, running out into the street, Nadiyka suddenly heard something rustling in the entrance. She carefully went down the stairs - mitten! Whoops! Her mitten! The girl no longer hoped to find her loss - was it really a Christmas miracle?

But as soon as Nadiyka bent down and extended her hand to her, she instantly ran away.

- What's happened? — the girl froze in indecision, stood for a minute and again leaned towards the mitten. She ran to the very doors and froze.

Did the baby look around? Maybe some neighbor boy is playing a joke? But if there had been someone in the entrance, she would have heard someone's steps or, at least, someone's breathing. Silence! Nobody...

The girl went up to the mitten again, carefully sat down next to it, and looked inside. And she uttered the magic words from a fairy tale:

- Who lives in a mitten?

A small black nose appeared from the mitten, beady eyes sparkled and, finally, a fluffy muzzle peeked out.

- Hamster! What a miracle! “Nadiya gently touched the animal and took it in her arms. - Whose are you? How did you get here?

The hamster was silent. He was spinning on his palm, looking for some food.

- This is my mitten! - the girl said as she carried the find home. - It really is fabulous!

Mom and Dad asked all the neighbors if anyone had accidentally lost their hamster. They even hung a notice in the entrance.

People set the festive table, gathered for church, but no one contacted us about the loss.

To tell the truth, Nadiyka didn’t want her newly found red-haired friend to leave their house. He’s not simple - he’s from a fairy tale! I came to her, to Nadiyka, knocked on her mitten... how could I give it to someone?

A week or two passed, and no one showed up for the Christmas guest.

True, the hamster now lived not in a mitten, but in a toy box. I feasted on apples and nuts to my fill. And only sometimes, walking around the apartment, he would hide in Nadiyka’s fairy-tale mitten, expecting that the hostess would come up at any moment, find him and treat him to a piece of snow-white, fragile sugar.

And the girl never lost her mittens again.

Valentina Vzdulskaya

Naughty Christmas

Once upon a time there lived in a certain forest the fox Vertikhvost, a sorcerer.

To be evil, no, just very mischievous.

There was a lot of snow that winter - it was impossible to walk or drive through. The young fox sees that he cannot get out of the hole. Then he took chamomile tea, poured it into a saucer, blew on it to cool, and dipped the tip of his red, black-haired tail into it. Once again, he drew on the table with his tail, like a brush, the silhouette of the brown bear, Riding Hood.

In three moments, the bear Shapochka was already standing near the fox hole, yawning sleepily.

“What am I doing again under this little scoundrel’s house when I should be sleeping in a den?” - He only had time to think when he fell asleep again - standing up. Meanwhile, the fox opened the door of the hole and, placing a shovel in the bear’s paws, ordered:

- Dig! - And indicated the direction.

Little Cap Bear slept sweetly, and he dreamed of small white daisies flying from the sky to the ground, covering everything around them. And without knowing it, in a dream he was building a snow tunnel for the fox - a long, long passage from a hole in the forest all the way to the town itself, where Twitchtail later staged a nasty Christmas.

And it was like that.

Early in the morning on the eve of the holiday, the Twirly Tail Sorcerer looked out of the hole to look at the town and even squeaked in surprise. Right in front of him, on the side of the forest road, a guy dressed in a casing was hiding a lush, beautiful Christmas tree stolen from the forest in a truck. He tied her with a thick rope in three places and covered her with a tarp on top.

- Ay-oh, darling, you're caught! —
thought Twitchtail and smiled at
mustache. While the guy got behind the wheel and started
car, the fox quickly drew his tail on
snow of the Gray goat. At the same moment next to the blue
a dumbfounded Gray appeared on the back of the truck
goat. Twitchytail quickly jumped onto the goat, and from the goat
onto the truck and hid under the saddened tree. Co-
the evil one wanted to bleat something angrily, but melted into
air. The car rumbled and drove off. Driver
drove along, looking to see if they had inadvertently hidden somewhere...
some policemen guarding the Christmas trees before the holidays
nicknames Suddenly something rustled, then knocked,
and then it seemed like there was a groan from behind. Isn't it a beast?
which one jumped into the car? The guy stopped and walked
look. And in the back under the tarpaulin everything is moving
walked. “A squirrel, and not just one,” he thought and
went to check. But the squirrel had nothing to do with it.

In the back, arching and rushing from the side
to the side, madly escaping from the bonds
animated Christmas tree.

- Oh-oh-oh-oh, mom! - the driver shouted, and the tree finally broke the rope, straightened its branches, shook itself and moved towards him. - Spa-a-site! - the guy yelled and rushed into the cabin.

The disheveled and angry tree jumped off the back and rushed after him. But the driver had already stepped on the gas.

The truck roared, rushed along the road towards the city and could not stop for a long time. Soon the police appeared out of nowhere. The siren howled, blue lights flashed - law enforcement officers rushed to catch the speeding offender.

And the tree trudged along the road for some time, moving through its branches, and then sighed sadly, turned around and wandered off into the forest. From its thickest branch a red tail with a black tip hung to the ground, and giggling could be heard from the thicket of the branches.

Christmas Eve has arrived.

The tied Christmas tree stood near the fox hole, and Vertikhvost himself warmed himself inside near the stove, sipping his favorite chamomile tea.

“Isn’t it time to start some new mischief?” - thought the fox. And then I realized that I had come to my senses just in time. After all, tomorrow is Christmas, and there will be no way to be naughty, but tonight there is still some time left for a good trick.

He tightly closed the door of the hole, untied the bored tree from the threshold, and after a moment he was already riding on horseback, shouting “Whoa-oh-oh!”, towards the town.

And night fell on the city.

The houses, covered with snow, did not glow yellowishly, there were no carolers walking under the windows, no singing was heard, and in general there was not a soul on the streets. Only here and there a lone candle glowed in the window.

- Wow! — the fox even whistled. - Whoa! - he commanded the tree, slipped between the branches to the ground and drew Tamara the magpie with his tail on the snowdrift.

- Oh, you scoundrel! - a magpie in a green apron attacked the Twisted Tail. - Yes, I have kutya on the stove! Tell me quickly what you need!

The fox asked her why they don’t celebrate Christmas in the town.

-Are you still asking, little rascal? - Tamara the magpie chirped. - Who let the Christmas tree wander around the world today? The poor driver ran away from this tree so much that he hit a pole with wires with his car, and the light went out in the whole city. And on the way, the stage with the nativity scene was destroyed, and now the children cannot be shown a Christmas performance. And they prepared him so wonderfully! And that guy is now sitting in a house for the insane, because he tells everyone how a mad Christmas tree was chasing him.

And indeed, there was a terrible mess in the square in front of the church. A long pole with broken wires blocked the road, a broken truck stood nearby, and the ground was covered with fragments of a wooden platform. Broken figurines of the Magi, the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus lay right in the snow.

- What have I done! - Vertikhvost whispered in despair. The adventure with the Christmas tree no longer amused him, but seemed stupid and cruel. And he really, really didn’t want to commit any prank again. The fox turned around and, drooping, wandered towards the forest. The tree trotted along timidly.

A breeze blew, driving away the clouds from the sky, and a majestic Star shone over the city, over the forest, over all the white light. One ray sneaked unnoticed into the fox's fur, red, with black strands. The fox stopped. I thought. He shot his eyes. Slyly he grinned into his mustache. And he said:

- Hey, Christmas tree! Am I a sorcerer or not?

One after another, following the drawings in the snow, the bear Shapochka with his family, the Gray Goat with two sons and a daughter, the wolf Mamai with seven godfathers and three nephews, magpies and crows, a woodpecker and two roe deer, hares and little hares, a grandfather appeared next to Vertikhvost. - a beaver with his grandchildren, a whole troop of wild boars and all the numerous Vertikhvostov relatives. Oh, they were angry with the fox, but he sincerely apologized and told what was the matter.

All night in the town something was scurrying back and forth, quietly squeaking, clattering, rattling, quacking and grunting. From the forest itself to the square, the snow was covered with a pattern of paw and paw prints. Only before morning everything calmed down.

Christmas bells rang and festively dressed people headed to the church. But as soon as the townspeople entered the square, they froze in surprise...

A whole crowd had already gathered in front of the temple - people were talking,
They groaned and marveled. In the end, without waiting for the flock, they entered the square
The priest came out - and he himself froze, his mouth open in surprise.

In the middle of the square there was a huge platform made of twigs, so bizarre, as if it had been built by beavers. On the platform, someone built a high cave, covered it with moss and covered it with pine branches, so that it resembled a bear’s den. In the cave there stood a lush, beautiful Christmas tree, and next to it were intact figurines of the Virgin Mary and Child, Joseph and the Magi. The whole nativity scene shimmered with colored lights, because no one knew who lifted the pole from the ground, connected the broken wires, and now there was electricity in the city again. A little further away, a truck with a blue body, just like new, quietly purred its engine, and in the warm cabin the same guy who was running away from the Christmas tree was snoring at the top of his lungs. Only for some reason he was wearing striped hospital pajamas.

The first to come to their senses, of course, were the children. They were very happy because they could now show their Christmas performance. The children ran up to the nativity scene to see everything.

- Oh, look! - shouted the boy with a teddy bear on a blue cap
and pointed to the bag under the tree. And there it was full of nuts, a bag of dried
berries, a bunch of mushrooms, and also a full barrel of honey stood nearby.

- What a miracle! - the crowd was buzzing. - Who fixed it? Who brought us
present? This must be some kind of sorcerer! A real Christmas miracle!

- What a beautiful tree! I’ve never seen such a magnificent one in my life,” he said.
priest kumu.

-Your truth, father. It’s just... She seemed to have just been standing on the left, and now she’s standing on the right. It probably seemed...

Nadia Gerbish

Orange gift

The little gray mouse was tired of playing with his short gray tail. On the table in a cozy hole lay three golden grains. He sniffed them, stroked them, tossed them, juggled them, and put them back in place. It was quiet and calm in the mink, but there was so much color missing! Everything is gray, gray, gray... And only three fragrant grains! They smelled so captivatingly of fresh, delicious golden color that the little gray mouse just really wanted to feel what other colors smell like. So he pulled a small gray cap over his head, wrapped a gray scarf around his neck and slipped out of the hole into the tunnel leading to the yard...

The mouse played in it from time to time. However, he always came across old Uncle Mole, who was heading into his hole, got scared and hastily ran home. He had never gone further than the tunnel before. But that day the mouse realized that it was time to see the world. Quickly moving his paws, he recalled his mother's stories about crispy green grass, about juicy red strawberries, about the fragrant and sweet blue sky, about various unattainable red hills on the horizon, from which the wind brought mysterious aromas...

However, before the mouse had time to get out into the white light, he immediately squeaked and closed his eyes. There were no colors in the world, except for one - the white light turned out to be really white-white and even blinding...

“But... mom always tells the truth,” he thought. - So, the colors are somewhere, you just need to look for them...

So the little gray mouse set off on a journey - in search of colorful smells.

The mouse trotted across the white-white snow, the white-white field, and the white-white sky hung above him. And suddenly he felt what this white color smelled like.

He smelled like a fairy tale! Crunch-crunch - little paws gradually fell into rhythm, and the white fluffy sparkling snow began to play a fragrant melody, reminiscent of the ringing of silver bells.

The smell of white snow gave anticipation
shenim of the holiday. And the mouse already felt
that he is about to meet other flowers...

But suddenly a house appeared from behind the hill. Neat, brick, with large windows.
Next to him stood a luxuriously decorated Christmas tree. The mouse hurried to meet her, and so sweet
a fresh aroma enveloped him that for a moment he
I even sat down in surprise. Now the mouse knew that green was the color of the meeting, and from him
it smelled of discovery and new life...

The mouse sniffed this wonderful aroma to his heart's content and moved on -
inspect the house.

It was much larger than a mouse hole and seemed very warm. Someone opened the window, and the mouse heard the wonderful smells of baked goods, as golden as those three grains that inspired him on these journeys, and apples with cinnamon, and hot tea, and sincere hugs, and ringing laughter... All this the mixture of aromas was different from the smells of his mink, but still the smell emanated from this house, the same as from the mink - the smell of home...

But suddenly someone’s hand dropped in front of him, holding a large orange ball. The mouse raised his head and saw a girl with two red pigtails and very kind green eyes, who held out this amazing ball to him and smiled.

- Take the tangerine, little mouse! Merry Christmas to you!!!

He carefully took the gift, politely thanked the girl, and she quickly ran somewhere, laughing cheerfully.

The mouse sniffed the orange fragrant skin again and decided that such a warm and bright color smelled like... a gift!

Stories about Christmas by L. Charskaya, E. Ivanovskaya.

Interesting and educational Christmas stories for children of primary and secondary school age.

The Legend of the First Christmas Tree

When little Christ was born, and the Virgin Mary, having swaddled Him, laid Him in a simple manger on the hay, Angels flew from heaven to look at Him. Seeing how simple and wretched the cave and manger were, they quietly whispered to each other:

- Does he sleep in a cave in a simple manger? No, you can't do that! It is necessary to decorate the cave: let it be as beautiful and elegant as possible - after all, Christ Himself sleeps in it!

And so one Angel flew to the south to look for something to decorate the cave with. It's always warm in the south, and beautiful flowers are always blooming. And so the Angel picked a lot of roses as red as the dawn; lilies, white as snow; cheerful colorful hyacinths, azaleas; picked tender mimosas, magnolias, camellias; He also picked several large yellow lotuses... And he brought all these flowers to the cave.

Another Angel flew north. But it was winter there at that time. The fields and forests are covered with a heavy blanket of snow. And the Angel, not finding any flowers, wanted to fly back. Suddenly he saw a sad green tree among the snow, thought and whispered:

“Perhaps it’s okay that this tree is so simple.” Let it, the only one of all the plants of the north, look at little Christ.

And he took with him a modest northern Christmas tree. How beautiful and elegant it became in the cave when the walls, floor and manger were decorated with flowers! The flowers looked curiously into the manger where Christ slept and whispered to each other:

- Shh!.. Hush! He fell asleep!

The little Christmas tree saw such beautiful flowers for the first time and was saddened.

“Oh,” she said sadly, “why am I so ugly and simple?” How happy all these wonderful flowers must be! But I have nothing to wear myself on such a holiday, nothing to decorate the cave with...

And she cried bitterly.

When the Virgin Mary saw this, She felt sorry for the tree. And She thought: “Everyone should be happy on this day, this Christmas tree shouldn’t be sad.”

She smiled and made a sign with her hand. And then a miracle happened: a bright star quietly descended from the sky and adorned the top of the tree. And others followed her and decorated the remaining branches. How suddenly it became light and cheerful in the cave! Little Christ, who was sleeping in the manger, woke up from the bright light and, smiling, reached out to the Christmas tree sparkling with lights.

And the flowers looked at her in surprise and whispered to each other:

- Oh, how pretty she has become! Isn't it true that she is more beautiful than all of us?

And the Christmas tree felt quite happy. Since then, people decorate Christmas trees for little children every year in memory of the first tree - the one that was decorated with real stars from the sky.

In a dense forest stands a beautiful, lush, young Christmas tree... Neighboring friends look at it with envy: “Who was such a beauty born into?..” The friends do not notice that a disgusting, ugly branch has grown at the very root of the Christmas tree, which is very spoiling elegant young Christmas tree. But the Christmas tree itself knows about this branch, moreover, it hates it and grieves and complains about fate in every possible way: why did it reward it with such an ugly branch - a slender, pretty, young Christmas tree?

Christmas Eve has arrived. In the morning, Santa Claus decorated the Christmas trees with a lush snowy veil, covered them with frost - and they stand decorated like brides, standing and waiting... After all, today is a great day for Christmas trees... Today people will come to the forest to pick them up. They will cut down the Christmas trees, take them to the big city to the market... And there they will start buying Christmas trees as gifts for children.

And the beautiful Christmas tree is waiting for her fate... She can’t wait, is there something waiting for her?

The runners creaked and heavy peasant sleighs appeared. A man in a warm sheepskin coat came out of them, with an ax tucked into his belt, walked up to the Christmas tree and hit its slender trunk with all his might with the ax.

The Christmas tree sighed quietly and sank heavily to the ground, rustling its green branches.

- Wonderful tree! - said the old footman Ignat, looking from all sides at the beautiful Christmas tree that he had just bought at the market on behalf of the owner, a rich prince, for the little princess.

- Noble Christmas tree! - he said.

And suddenly his eyes stopped on a gnarled twig, sticking out quite inappropriately at the side of our beauty.

- We need to level the tree! - said Ignat, and in one minute he swung away a gnarled branch with an ax and threw it to the side.

The beautiful Christmas tree sighed with relief.

Thank God, she was freed from the ugly branch that so spoiled her fabulous beauty, now she is quite pleased with herself...

Lackey Ignat once again carefully examined the Christmas tree from all sides and carried it upstairs - to the huge and luxuriously furnished princely apartment.

In the elegant living room, the Christmas tree was surrounded on all sides, and within an hour it was transformed. Countless candles shone on its branches... Expensive bonbonnieres*, golden stars, multi-colored balls, elegant trinkets and sweets decorated it from top to bottom.

When the last decoration—silver and golden rain—streamed along the green needles of the Christmas tree, the doors of the hall swung open and a lovely girl ran into the room.

The Christmas tree expected that the little princess would clasp her hands at the sight of such a beauty, and would jump and gallop in delight at the sight of a lush tree.

But the pretty princess only glanced briefly at the tree and said, pouting her lips slightly:

-Where is the doll? I asked dad so much that he give me a talking doll, like Cousin Lily’s. Only the Christmas tree is boring... you can’t play with it, but I have enough sweets and toys without it!..

Suddenly the pretty princess's gaze fell on an expensive doll sitting under the Christmas tree...

- Ah! - the girl cried joyfully, - this is wonderful! Dear dad! He thought about me. What a lovely doll. My darling!

And the little princess kissed the doll, completely forgetting about the Christmas tree.

The beautiful Christmas tree was perplexed.

After all, the ugly branch that had so disgraced her was chopped off. Why didn’t she - a lush, green-haired beauty - cause delight in the little princess?

And the gnarled branch lay in the yard until a thin, poor woman, exhausted from everyday hard work, approached him...

- God! No branch from the Christmas tree! - she cried, quickly bending over the gnarled branch.

She carefully picked it up from the ground, as if it were not a gnarled twig, but some kind of precious thing, and, carefully covering it with a scarf, she carried it to the basement, where she rented a tiny closet.

In the closet, on a shabby bed, covered with an old cotton blanket, lay a sick child. He was in oblivion and did not hear his mother enter with a Christmas tree branch in her hands.

The poor woman found a bottle in the corner and stuck a gnarled Christmas tree branch into it. Then she took out the wax cinders kept in her shrine, which she had brought from the church at different times, carefully attached them to a thorny branch and lit them.

The Christmas tree lit up with welcoming lights, spreading the pleasant smell of pine needles around it.

The child suddenly opened his eyes... Joy shone in the depths of his pure, childish gaze... He stretched out his emaciated little hands to the tree and whispered, all beaming with happiness:

- She's so sweet! What a nice Christmas tree! Thank you, my dear mother, for her... I somehow felt better when I saw the cute lit tree.

And he stretched out his little hands to the gnarled twig, and the gnarled twig blinked and smiled at him with all its joyful lights. The gnarled bitch didn’t know that he brought so much joy to the poor patient on a bright Christmas Eve.

* Bonbonniere - a box for sweets. (Ed.)

- Give me alms, for Christ's sake! Give alms, for Christ's sake!..

No one heard these plaintive words, no one paid attention to the tears that sounded in the words of a poorly dressed woman standing alone on the corner of a busy city street.

- Give me some alms!

Passers-by hurriedly walked past her, carriages rushed noisily along the snowy road. Laughter and animated conversation could be heard all around.

The holy, great night of the Nativity of Christ fell to earth. It shone like stars and shrouded the city in a mysterious haze.

“I’m asking for alms not for myself, but for my children...” The woman’s voice suddenly broke off, and she began to cry quietly. Trembling under her rags, she wiped away her tears with numb fingers, but they again flowed down her emaciated cheeks. Nobody cared about her...

Yes, she didn’t even think about herself, that she was completely cold, that she hadn’t eaten a crumb since the morning. Her whole thought belonged to the children, her heart ached for them.

They sit, poor things, there, in a cold, dark kennel, hungry, frozen, and wait for her. What will she bring or what will she say? Tomorrow is a great holiday, all the children have fun, but her poor children are hungry and unhappy.

What should she do? What to do? Lately she had been working as hard as she could, straining her last strength. Then she fell ill and lost her last job. The holiday approached, she had nowhere to get a piece of bread.

For the sake of the children, she decided, for the first time in her life, to beg. The hand did not rise, the tongue did not turn. But the thought that her children were hungry, that they would celebrate the holiday hungry and unhappy - this thought tormented her. She was ready for anything. And in a few hours she managed to collect a few kopecks.

“Give alms, good people! Give it to me, for Christ’s sake!”

And as if in response to her despair, the bell for the all-night vigil was heard nearby. Yes, we need to go pray. Perhaps prayer will ease her soul. She will pray earnestly for them, for the children. With unsteady steps she made her way to the church.

The temple is illuminated, filled with lights. There are a lot of people everywhere, everyone has cheerful, happy faces. Hiding in a corner, she fell to her knees and froze. All the boundless, maternal love, all her grief for the children poured out in fervent prayer, in dull, mournful sobs. "God help me! Help! - she cries. And who, if not the Lord, Patron and Protector of the weak and unfortunate, should pour out all his grief, all his mental pain to her? She prayed quietly in the corner, and tears streamed down her pale face.

She did not notice how the all-night vigil ended, did not see how anyone approached her.

-What are you crying about? - a gentle voice came from behind her.

She woke up, raised her eyes and saw in front of her a small, richly dressed girl. Clear children's eyes looked at her with sweet sympathy. Behind the girl stood an old nanny.

-Are you in trouble? Yes? Poor you, poor you! “These words, spoken in a gentle, childish voice, deeply touched her.

- Woe! My kids are hungry; they haven’t eaten since morning. Tomorrow is such a great holiday...

- Didn’t you eat? Are you hungry? — Horror showed on the girl’s face. - Nanny, what is this? The children didn't eat anything! And tomorrow they will be hungry! Nanny! How is this possible?

A small child's hand slid into the muff.

- Here, take it, there is money here... how much, I don’t know... feed the children... for God’s sake... Oh, nanny, this is terrible! They didn't eat anything! Is this possible, nanny?

Large tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.

- Well, Manechka, let’s do it! They are poor! And they sit, poor people, in hunger and cold. They are waiting to see if the Lord will help them!

- Oh, nanny, I feel sorry for them! Where do you live, how many children do you have?

- My husband died - it will be about six months. There are three guys left. I couldn’t work, I was sick all the time. So I had to walk around the world with my hand. We live not far away, right here, in the basement, on the corner, in the large stone house of the merchant Osipov.

- Nanny, almost next to us, but I didn’t even know! Let's go quickly, now I know what to do!

The girl quickly left the church, accompanied by the old woman.

The poor woman mechanically followed them. In the wallet she was holding, there was a five-ruble note. Forgetting everything except that she could now warm and feed her children, she went into the store, bought provisions, bread, tea, sugar and ran home. There are still enough wood chips left to heat the stove.

She ran home as fast as she could.

Here is the dark kennel. Three childish figures rushed towards her.

- Mama! I'm hungry! Did you bring it? Dear!

She hugged all three of them.

- The Lord sent! Nadya, light the stove, Petyusha, put on the samovar! Let's warm up, let's eat, for the sake of the great holiday!

In the kennel, damp and gloomy, a holiday began. The children were cheerful, warm and chatting. The mother rejoiced at their animation and their chatter. Only occasionally did a sad thought come to mind - what next? What's next?

- Well, the Lord will not leave! - she said to herself, placing all her hope in God.

Little Nadya quietly approached her mother, pressed herself close to her and spoke.

- Tell me, mom, is it true that on Christmas night the Christmas Angel flies from the sky and brings gifts to poor children? Tell me, mom!

The boys also approached their mother. And, wanting to console the children, she began to tell them that the Lord takes care of poor children and sends them His Angel on the great Christmas night, and this Angel brings them gifts and gifts!

- And a Christmas tree, mom?

- And a Christmas tree, children, a good, shiny Christmas tree! Someone knocked on the basement door. The children rushed to open the door. A man appeared with a small green tree in his hands. Behind him was a pretty blond girl with a basket, accompanied by a nanny who was carrying various bundles and packages behind her. The children timidly clung to their mother.

- Is this an Angel, mom, is this an Angel? - they whispered quietly, looking reverently at the pretty, smart girl.

The tree had been on the floor for a long time. The old nanny untied the bags, pulled out delicious buns, pretzels, cheese, butter, eggs, and decorated the tree with candles and gifts. The children still could not come to their senses. They admired the "Angel". And they were silent, not moving from their place.

- Here you go, have a merry Christmas! - a child's voice sounded. - Happy holiday!

The girl put the basket on the table and disappeared before the children and mother came to their senses.

The “Christmas Angel” flew in, brought the children a Christmas tree, gifts, joy, and disappeared like a radiant vision.

At home, Manya’s mother was waiting, warmly hugged her and pressed her to her.

- My good girl! - she said, kissing her daughter’s happy face. “You yourself gave up the Christmas tree, the gifts and gave everything to the poor children!” You have a heart of gold! God will reward you.

Manya was left without a Christmas tree or gifts, but she was all beaming with happiness. She really looked like a Christmas Angel.