A Father Christmas Story
Publisher: Cheshire Henbury
Published: September 1, 2007
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 104
ISBN-13: 9781901864090
Subjects: Christmas books; Fantasy
First sentence: There was an age, long distant now, when there was no Father Christmas! With respect to this there is no doubt for it is a historical fact. Imagine that, no Father Christmas! Then it all began, one Yuletide Eve, long, long ago in a far away place, deep inside the frozen lands of the north, close to where the vast coniferous forests that are the habitat of the wild brown bear, gives way to the treeless domain of the great white bear. There, in a time before time, before the world was full of clocks that measure the slipping away of every fleeting second, before there were any calendars to reckon the passing of the days, when there was no need for such things, and the passage of time was noted by the turning of the seasons, extraordinary events did unfold. There, in this now distant and long forgotten world, Father Christmas made his first appearance and the magic of Christmas began.
Description: Ever wondered where the fable of Father Christmas came from? Well, here is an imaginative answer. Set in the forests of the cold north one Yuletide Eve long ago, A Father Christmas Story tells of strange encounters and mysterious events. The tale provides an account, in keeping with the spirit of the festive period, of the first appearance of Father Christmas. It is the story of one man's appointment with destiny and a meeting that
changed the world forever.

In telling this tale the author has addressed two coexisting aspects of Christmas, represented on the one side by cheerfulness, kindness and optimism, and on the other by a harsh, miserable and cynical view of life. In making this contrast the author not only skilfully manages to highlight the true meaning of Christmas, but also shows how
individual perspectives of Christmas are always matters of personal choice, something that applies to life in general, not just to Christmas.

This unusual and engaging book is full of familiar Christmas images. It is a must read for the Christmas season.
The story is primarily aimed at adults, but it can be read aloud to younger children. The book would make an ideal gift item for a friend or loved one.
Notes: A Father Christmas Story belongs to the same genre as Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol. Like Dicken's short novel, A Father Christmas Story tells a story for and of the Christmas period. A Father Christmas Story, also like A Christmas Carol, operates on two levels, for beyond the festive tales, both novels address deeper issues. In the case of A Christmas Carol it is the redemption of a single individual. A Father Christmas Story deals not with the redemption of an individual (Scrooge), but with that of humanity. 
  
Buried within A Christmas Carol one also sees Dicken's social concerns at play, particularly at the departure of the Ghost of Christmas Present, when Scrooge encounters the two children of Man, Ignorance and Want. Within A Father Christmas Story one also finds reference to similar social concerns, particularly at the point where the Earth Spirit reveals to Nicholas, through the medium of his fire, visions of how the Earth Spirit would have the world. 
  
A Christmas Carol was written against a backcloth of a declining interest in Christmas and its extinction as a festivity. In contrast to Dicken's time, Christmas is now well and truly established and celebrated, but has perhaps moved to the opposite extreme, where the true meaning of the festivity has been lost. So, unlike A Christmas Carol, which makes no reference to the nativity, A Father Christmas Story integrates this into the story, providing the explanation of how Father Christmas came to be. Hence the sub-title of the book, "Being a tale of How Father Christmas Came to Be".
Table of contents: title: Preface; title: Chapter One: Journey into the Forest; title: Chapter Two: The Earth Spirit; title: Chapter Three: The White Angel; title: Chapter Four: Father Christmas