Description
James Kirke Paulding, like his famous contemporary, Washington Irving, was known for his colorful tales of the
Dutch tradition and customs in the Hudson Valley. Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, Paulding wrote a number of Christmas tales, the best of which are brought together in this collection and which predate Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
Paulding presents his stories as they have been translated from the original Dutch by a fictitious author. In them Saint Nicholas—a sixteenth-century Dutch Protestant baker—miraculously befriends chose who uphold Dutch traditions and sets straight chose who are either mean or given to “newfangled notions.”
Younger children will greatly enjoy “The Origins of the Baker’s Dozen,” “Claas Schlaschenschlinger,” and, for the most pare, “The Ride of St. Nicholas on Newyear’s Eve.” Stories of St. Nicholas will appeal to general readers and especially those interested in the New York Dutch customs and traditions.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Frank Bergmann
Author's Advertisement
The Legend of Saint Nicholas
Claas Schlaschenschlinger
The Revenge of Saint Nicholas
The Origin of the Baker's Dozen
The Ride of Saint Nicholas on Newyear's Eve
About the Author
James Kirke Paulding, a distinguished member of the Knickerbocker School, is best known as Washington Irving's close friend and collaborator. He is the author of several works including Salmagundi (with Washington Irving), The Lay of the Scottish Fiddle, and A Gift from Fairy Land.
October 1995