A Christmas Story for the Old South

Canada Free Press ^ | 12/08/14 | Gail Jarvis

[Sean_Anthony]

The Golden Christmas

Much to the annoyance of multiculturists, Christmas is still America’s most celebrated holiday, and in the weeks preceding this festive time, traditional Christmas stories will appear on television screens. We can expect to see numerous versions of Charles Dickens renowned tale, A Christmas Carol, O.Henry’s The Gift of the Magi, and Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts like myself look forward to adaptations of Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.

As much as I enjoy these holiday offerings, my Christmas season would not be complete without a reading of William Gilmore Simms’ novel The Golden Christmas. Simm’s sensitive portrayals of his old South and its people make for enjoyable reading. Unfortunately, because Simms portrays aspects of the antebellum South in a favorable light, we shouldn’t expect to see television or movie depictions of The Golden Christmas any time soon--the entertainment industry’s principles have been radically compromised by political trends in the decades since Gone With the Wind was filling movie theaters. But the absence of filmed adaptations of Simms’ stories is of no concern, because reading the originals always yields more to the imagination than any re-scripted cinematic version can.

[Eddie01]

I toured the “Christmas Story” house in Cleveland last Saturday.

Awesome.

[ifinnegan]

Thanks for posting this. Sounds like an interesting writer.