Christmas Classics — Part 1

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Christmas Classics — Part 1 The premiere of KacheliTV's Christmas Classics season: five Christmas treasures, read by the Christmas Company. Clement Clarke Moore's poem that gave Santa Claus his reindeer; Mark Twain's letter from Santa Claus himself, written for his little daughter; the most famous newspaper editorial ever printed, answering a child's question in The New York Sun of 1897; O. Henry's tale of two foolish, wise gifts; and Raymond MacDonald Alden's story of the chimes that would not ring for a king's gold but rang for a child's smallest coin. Sung carols open and close the episode; while a story is being read, no music plays — only the telling. Disclosure: this performance is narrated by AI-generated voices. In this episode: 00:00 Opening carol — "O Come, All Ye Faithful" 00:40 Introduction 00:52 A Visit from St. Nicholas — Clement Clarke Moore, read by Candlewick Carol 04:11 A Letter from Santa Claus — Mark Twain, read by Tinsel Fox 07:15 Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus — Francis Pharcellus Church, read by Ember Herald 10:41 The Gift of the Magi — O. Henry, read by Merry Hearth 23:20 Why the Chimes Rang — Raymond MacDonald Alden, read by Sugarplum Lark 33:53 Closing carol — "Silent Night" A note on "Yes, Virginia": it is not a story but an editorial — The New York Sun's unsigned answer, written by Francis Pharcellus Church and printed on 21 September 1897, to eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon's letter asking whether Santa Claus is real. It is read here whole, her letter first, as it was printed. Read by the Christmas Company: Merry Hearth (host, and "The Gift of the Magi"), Candlewick Carol, Tinsel Fox, Ember Herald, and Sugarplum Lark. Carols from the KacheliTV Christmas pool: "O Come, All Ye Faithful" to open and "Silent Night" to close, sung; no music plays under the readings. Sources, all public domain: Moore, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (1823; text of Poems, 1844) — Wikisource. Twain, "A Letter from Santa Claus" (1875) — Wikisource. Church, "Is There a Santa Claus?" (The New York Sun, 1897) — Wikisource. O. Henry, "The Gift of the Magi" (1905), from The Four Million — Project Gutenberg #2776. Alden, "Why the Chimes Rang" (1906), from Why the Chimes Rang and Other Stories (1924) — Internet Archive. KacheliTV — World Classics, Read Aloud.