''The Christmas Box'' () is an American novel written by

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 ...

and self-published in 1993. A

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

story purportedly written for his children, the book was advertised locally by Evans, who was working at the time as an advertising executive. He placed the book in Utah stores and it became a local best-seller. This got the attention of major publishers who bid against each other, resulting in Evans receiving several million dollars for the publishing rights. Released in

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or o ...

in 1995 by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

, ''The Christmas Box'' became the first book to simultaneously reach the No.1 position on ''The New York Times'' bestseller list for both the paperback and hardcover editions.

Television movie

That same year, the book was made into a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

of the same title starring

Richard Thomas Richard Thomas or Dick Thomas may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Dick Thomas (singer) (1915–2003), American singing cowboy and actor * Richard Thomas (actor) (born 1951), American actor * Richard Thomas (author) (born 1967), American ...

and

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for pl ...

. As of 2009, the movie was being shown in the 25 Days of Christmas programming block on

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

, but was not part of the block in 2010.

''Angel of Hope''

In ''The Christmas Box'' a woman mourns the loss of her child at the base of an angel monument. The book gives a description of the monument, which is of a childlike angel with upturned palms and outstretched wings. The word "hope" appears on the angel's right wing. When reports surfaced that grieving parents were seeking the statue, Evans commissioned the construction of an angel statue matching the description in ''The Christmas Box''. In 1994, it was placed in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...

on land donated by the city. As of June 2014, over 120 Christmas Box Angels have been erected, mostly in the United States.Steele, Brian
10th anniversary ceremony planned for Easthampton's Christmas Box Angel, monument to deceased children MassLive.com
/ref>

References

External links

* * * 1995 television films 1995 films 1990s Christmas drama films 1993 American novels American Christmas drama films American novels adapted into films CBS network films Christmas television films Mormon fiction American novels adapted into television shows Self-published books Trilogies 1990s American films {{US-novel-stub

Television movie

''Angel of Hope''

See also

References

External links