Merry Christmas: A reading of holiday classics by Monitor staff (audio)

We hope you’ve been enjoying our special holiday issues of The Christian Science Monitor Daily the past two days. Our series of interviews will resume tomorrow. 

Today, for Christmas Day, we’re doing something a little different. 

Last year, we invited several members of staff to read something that spoke to them of the Christmas spirit. This year, we’re offering it again as a Christmas treat. To those who have never heard it, it’s a Monitor carol to you on this precious day. For those who remember it from last year, we hope it brings back warm memories and is worth unwrapping a second time. 

Managing Editor Amelia Newcomb reads from “A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote. Scott Armstrong, our cover story editor, reads from “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas. Daily Editor Yvonne Zipp reads from “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. And I read the Nativity story from the book of Luke in the King James Version of the Bible. 

Amid the Christmas carols and holiday songs that make this time of year so warm and bright, we offer these four stories in the hopes we can make your day a bit brighter.  

Note: This audio story was designed to be heard. We strongly encourage you to experience it with your ears, but we understand that is not an option for everybody. You can find the audio player above. For those who are unable to listen, we have provided a transcript of the story below.

SAMANTHA LAINE PERFAS: This Christmas Day, we’d like to bring back an old favorite: four Monitor editors reading excerpts from their favorite holiday stories. You’ll hear a bit of Truman Capote, Dylan Thomas, Louisa May Alcott, and an excerpt from the original Nativity story. This the Monitor staff's Christmas gift to you, given with great appreciation for your being part of the Monitor family. We hope you'll enjoy it.  

[MUSIC]

AMELIA NEWCOMB: I’m Amelia Newcomb, the Monitor’s managing editor. When I first read “A Christmas Memory,” by Truman Capote, many years ago, I