The following is a navigational list of notable literary works which are set at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

time, or contain Christmas amongst the central themes.

Novels and novellas

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

, ''

Hercule Poirot's Christmas ''Hercule Poirot's Christmas'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 19 December 1938 (although the first edition is copyright dated 1939). It retailed at seve ...

'' *

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

, ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' *Charles Dickens, ''

The Chimes ''The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In'', commonly referred to as ''The Chimes'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in 1844, one year after ''A Christmas Carol''. It is the second ...

'' *Charles Dickens, ''

The Cricket on the Hearth ''The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home'' is a novella by Charles Dickens, published by Bradbury and Evans, and released 20 December 1845 with illustrations by Daniel Maclise, John Leech, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield and Edwin ...

'' *Charles Dickens, '' The Battle of Life'' *Charles Dickens, ''

The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain ''The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain: A Fancy for Christmas-Time'' is a novella by Charles Dickens first published in 1848. It is the last of Dickens's five Christmas novellas, following ''A Christmas Carol'' (1843), ''The Chimes'' (1844), ...

'' *

Janet Evanovich Janet Evanovich (née Schneider; April 22, 1943) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stepha ...

, '' Visions of Sugar Plums'' *

Frederick Forsyth Frederick McCarthy Forsyth ( ; 25 August 1938 – 9 June 2025) was an English novelist and journalist. He was best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', ''The Fourth Protocol'', ''The Dogs of War (novel), ...

, '' The Shepherd'' *

Jostein Gaarder Jostein Gaarder (; born 8 August 1952) is a Norwegian intellectual and author of several novels, short stories, and children's books. Gaarder often writes from the perspective of children, exploring their sense of wonder about the world. He often ...

, '' The Christmas Mystery'' *

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955) is an American novelist, lawyer, and former politician, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the Academy of Achievement, American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 ...

, ''

Skipping Christmas ''Skipping Christmas'' is a comedic novel by John Grisham. It was published by Doubleday on November 6, 2001, and reached #1 on ''The New York Times'' Best-Seller List on December 9 that year. It was also released as a four-CD audiobook, narra ...

'' *

Maureen Johnson Maureen Johnson (born February 16, 1973) is an American author of young adult fiction. Her published novels include series leading titles such as ''13 Little Blue Envelopes'', ''The Name of the Star'', '' Truly Devious,'' and ''Suite Scarlett''. ...

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author and YouTuber. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is one of the List of best-selling books#Bet ...

and

Lauren Myracle Lauren Myracle (born May 15, 1969) is an American writer of young adult fiction. She has written many novels, including the three best-selling "IM" books, ''ttyl (novel), ttyl'', ''ttfn (novel), ttfn'' and ''l8r, g8r''. Her book ''Thirteen Plus O ...

, ''

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heatwave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. ...

'' *

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

, ''

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a portal fantasy novel written by British author C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956 ...

'' * Stephen V. Masse, '' Christmas Ransom'' formerly '' A Jolly Good Fellow'' * Christopher Moore, '' The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror'' *

Kate Douglas Wiggin Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856August 24, 1923) was an American educator, author and composer. She wrote children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,'' and composed collections of children's ...

, ''

The Birds' Christmas Carol ''The Birds' Christmas Carol'' is a novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin printed privately in 1886 and published in 1888 with illustrations by Katharine R. Wireman. Wiggin published the book to help fund the Silver Street Free Kindergarten in San Franc ...

Short stories

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

, " The Fir-Tree" *

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

, "

A Christmas Memory "A Christmas Memory" is a short story by Truman Capote. Originally published in '' Mademoiselle'' magazine in December 1956, it was reprinted in ''The Selected Writings of Truman Capote'' in 1963. It was issued in a stand-alone hardcover edition ...

" (published in '' Mademoiselle'') *

John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs ...

, " Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor" *

, '' The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding'' *

, '' A Christmas Tragedy'' *

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

, " A Christmas Tree and a Wedding" *Fyodor Dostoevsky, " The Beggar Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree" () (from ''

A Writer's Diary ''A Writer's Diary'' (; ''Dnevnik pisatelya'') is a collection of non-fiction and fictional writings by Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded ...

)'' *

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

, "

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" is one of 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the seventh story of twelve in the collection ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''The Strand Ma ...

" *

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

, "

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

" (from ''

Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka ''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'' () is a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, written in 1829–1832. They appeared in various magazines and were published in book form when Gogol was twenty-two. The collection's frame story takes pl ...

'') *

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the Ma ...

, ''

The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by American writer O. Henry, first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little mone ...

'' * E. T. A. Hoffmann, "

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" () is a fairy tale written in 1816 by Prussian author E. T. A. Hoffmann, in which a young girl's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker doll, Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in ...

" (''Nussknacker und Mausekönig'') *

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

, " Papa Panov's Special Christmas" (translation of Saillens) *

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

, ''

A Child's Christmas in Wales ''A Child's Christmas in Wales'' is a piece of prose by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas recorded by Thomas in 1952. Emerging from an earlier piece he wrote for BBC Radio, the work is an anecdotal reminiscence of a Christmas from the viewpoint of a ...

'' * Philip Van Doren Stern, '' The Greatest Gift'' *

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

, '' While Mortals Sleep'' (book of short stories)

Children's

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

, ''

Kringle Kringle (, ) is a Northern European pastry, a variety of pretzel. Pretzels were introduced by Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century in Denmark, and from there they spread throughout Scandinavia and evolved into several kinds of sweet, salty o ...

'' *

Janet and Allan Ahlberg Janet Ahlberg (21 October 1944 – 15 November 1994; née Hall) and Allan Ahlberg (born 5 June 1938) were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" li ...

, ''

The Jolly Christmas Postman ''The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters'' is an interactive children's picture book by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. The innovative project required five years to complete, and much discussion with both the publisher Heinemann and the printer ...

'' *

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

, ''Amazing Peace'' *

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...

, ''

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus ''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' is a 1902 children's book, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark. Setting The story takes place in the Forest of Burzee and nearby lands. Baum pictures the forest as a mighty a ...

'' * Raymond Briggs ,

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...

Julia Donaldson Julia Catherine Donaldson (; born 16 September 1948) is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, ...

and Axel Scheffler, ''

Stick Man ''Stick Man'', written by former Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is a children's story about an anthropomorphic wooden stick who becomes separated from his family home and his ''Odyssey''-like adventure ...

'' *

Richard Paul Evans Richard Paul Evans (born October 11, 1962) is an American author, best known for writing '' The Christmas Box'' and, more recently, the Michael Vey series. Biography Evans graduated from Cottonwood High School in Murray City, Utah. He graduat ...

, '' The Christmas Box'', ''The Light of Christmas'' *

Cornelia Funke Cornelia Maria Funke (; born 10 December 1958) is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a Book illustration, book illustrator. She began writing no ...

, '' When Santa Fell to Earth'' *

Matt Haig Matt Haig (born 3 July 1975) is an English author and journalist. He has written both fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, often in the speculative fiction genre. Early life Haig was born on 3 July 1975 in Sheffield. He grew ...

, '' A Boy Called Christmas'' *

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel ( ;"Seuss"
'' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a children's Christmas book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a green cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the pu ...

'' *

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Emil of Lönneberga, ...

, '' Brenda Brave Helps Grandmother'' (''Kajsa Kavat hjälper mormor'') *

, ''

A Calf for Christmas ''A Calf for Christmas'' (original title: ''När Bäckhultarn for till stan'') is a children's book by Astrid Lindgren. Plot Johann is sad because Embla, the cow of his family, has died. It was the only cow that the family had. Soon it will be ...

'' (''När Bäckhultarn for till stan'') *

, '' Christmas in the Stable'' (''Jul i stallet'') *

, '' The Runaway Sleigh Ride'' (''Titta Madicken, det snöar!'') *

, '' The Tomten'' (''Tomte är vaken'') *

, '' The Tomten and the Fox'' (''Räven och Tomten'') *

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967, during which time he lived at Burcot, Oxfordshire, near Abingdon ...

, ''

The Box of Delights ''The Box of Delights'' is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield. It is a sequel to '' The Midnight Folk'', and was first published in 1935. It is also known as ''When The Wolves Were Running''. Plot Kay Harker is returning from boar ...

'' * Stephen V. Masse, '' The Taste of Snow'' * Robert L. May, ''

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on C ...

'' *

Mary Pope Osborne Mary Pope Osborne (born May 20, 1949) is an American author of children's books and audiobook narrator. She is best known as the author of the ''Magic Tree House'' series, which sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Os ...

and

Ned Bittinger Edmund Stuart Bittinger (born July 4, 1951), better known by Ned Bittinger, is an American Portrait painting, portrait painter and illustrator who is known for his paintings of prominent American figures. His notable works include the congression ...

, ''

Rocking Horse Christmas ''Rocking Horse Christmas'' is a 1997 children's fiction Christmas picture book by Mary Pope Osborne and illustrated by Ned Bittinger. It was originally published in 1997, by Scholastic. Synopsis The story is about a boy who finds a rocking ...

'' *

Chris Van Allsburg Chris Van Allsburg (born June 18, 1949) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for ''Jumanji'' (1981) and '' The Polar Express'' (1985), both of which he al ...

, ''

The Polar Express ''The Polar Express'' is a 1985 fantasy children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. It was praised for its detaile ...

'' *

Martin Waddell Martin Waddell (born 10 April 1941) is a writer of children's books from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He may be known best for his picture book texts featuring anthropomorphic animals, especially the ''Little Bear'' series illustrated by Barbara ...

, ''Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale''

Poetry

Old Santeclaus with Much Delight "Old Santeclaus with Much Delight" is an anonymous illustrated children's poem published in New York in 1821, predating by two years the first publication of " A Visit from St. Nicholas" ("Twas the Night before Christmas"). It is the first publi ...

" *

Clement Clarke Moore Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an American writer, scholar and real estate developer. He is best known as author of the Christmas poem " A Visit from St. Nicholas", which first named each of Santa Claus's reindeer. M ...

, "

A Visit from St. Nicholas "A Visit from St. Nicholas", routinely referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. A ...

" (also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") *

George Robert Sims George Robert Sims (2 September 1847 – 4 September 1922) was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and ''bon vivant''. Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for ''Fun'' magazine and '' The Referee'', but he was soon ...

, ''

Christmas Day in the Workhouse "In the Workhouse: Christmas Day", better known as "Christmas Day in the Workhouse", is a dramatic monologue written as a ballad by campaigning journalist George Robert Sims and first published in '' The Referee'' for the Christmas of 1877. It a ...

'' *

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

, "

Journey of the Magi "Journey of the Magi" is a 43-line poem written in 1927 by T. S. Eliot (1888–1965). It is one of five poems that Eliot contributed for a series of 38 pamphlets by several authors collectively titled the Ariel Poems and released by the Brit ...

" *

Viktor Rydberg Abraham Viktor Rydberg (; 18 December 182821 September 1895) was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877–1895. "Primarily a classical idealist", Viktor Rydberg has been described as "Sweden's last Romantic" and by 1859 wa ...

, '' Tomten''

Collections

Bettye Collier-Thomas Bettye Collier-Thomas (born Bettye Marie Collier, February 18, 1941) is a scholar of African-American women's history. Early life and education Collier-Thomas was born the second of three children of Joseph Thomas Collier, a business executive an ...

, ''A Treasury of African American Christmas Stories'' *

David Sedaris David Raymond Sedaris ( ; born December 26, 1956) is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay " Santaland Diaries". He published his first col ...

, '' Holidays on Ice'' *

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

, '' Letters from Father Christmas'' *

Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English author. Her first book, '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', was a semi-autobiographical novel about a lesbian growing up in an English Pentecostal community. Other novels explore gender ...

, ''Christmas Days''

Nonfiction

* Francis Pharcellus Church, "

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is a line from an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church. Written in response to a letter by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon asking whether Santa Claus was real, the editorial was first published in t ...

" (1897 newspaper editorial)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas-themed literature

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...