For over one hundred years, the writings of Henry Van Dyke have been lovingly passed down from generation to generation. His Christmas stories, especially, are as resonant today as when the Presbyterian minister first read them to his New York City congregation in the late 1890s. In this volume of Christmas stories and prayers, we read of courage, generosity, and the triumph of light over darkness from The First Christmas Tree, a magical tale of the Thunder Oak and the false god Thor, to the lyrical story of The Christmas Angel in the Country Beyond the Stars. Destined to become a Christmas classic for the whole family, The First Christmas Tree and Other Stories will inspire us all, in the words of Henry Van Dyke, "to live Christmas not just Christmas day."
Author
Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) was an American Presbyterian clergyman, educator, and author. He graduated from Princeton in 1873, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1874. He was pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City (1883-99), professor of English literature at Princeton (1899-1923), and U.S. minister to the Netherlands (1913-16). Among his popular inspirational writings is the Christmas story The Other Wise Man (1896). As President Wilson's ambassador to the Netherlands from 1913, Van Dyke was a first-hand witness to the outbreak of World War I and its progress, and was a key player in the President's diplomatic efforts to keep the U.S. out of the conflict. Not to be confused with his father, Henry J. Van Dyke (1822-1891). For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/van-dyke...
