Holiday Short Stories - The Discussion

[vicki]

Happy December, everyone! We have four great holiday stories to discuss this month, as well as an optional fourth selection for your consideration. Since we're discussing several picks at once, it may often be helpful to designate which story a post or section of a post is focused on, so as to keep things clear

Two of the three stories are available for free online, as is the optional fourth selection:

"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" by Arthur Conan Doyle
"Silent Night" by Marcia Muller
"The Power of Light" by Issac Bashevis Singer (from Singer's <i>The Power of Light</i> collection)

Optional selection: The Book of Judith

And with no further ado, here is some excellent introductory material from Pat Floyd:

This year Hanukkah or Chanukah begins on December 20 and lasts for eight days. Lenore has prepared an excellent introduction including ways her family has celebrated. Nobel prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer liked to write for children. His The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah has stories that appeal to people of all ages, many set in his native Poland. We will focus on two: "Menache and Rachel," who at ages 9 and 8 are blind children in the poor house in Lubin. Theirs is a tale of love and faith and wonderful stories told one Hanukkah evening. "The Power of Light" tells how the light of a Hanukkah candle gave two young people hiding in the ruins of the Warsaw ghetto during World War II courage to escape to freedom. The Power of Light is beautifully illustrated. I couldn't resist reading all the stories.

If anyone is interested in reading and discussing the Book of Judith from the Apocrypha, often associated with Hanukkah, please say so and we'll set up an introduction and a thread for it.

Leslie Klinger's introduction to "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," in The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, page 197, says: ". . . some readers favour the story--the only tale in the Canon set in the holiday season--over such traditional fare as Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol.' Like Frank Capra's brilliant film 'It's a Wonderful Life,' the tale of the stolen gem commemorates the triumph of compassion over justice. There are gems within the story. . . What draws us back each year; however, is the evident warmth of the friendship between Holmes and Watson, as Watson travels from his married household to visit his bachelor friend and wish him 'compliments of the season.' Sherlock Holmes, too, appears more human, less 'the perfect reasoner,' again taking the law into his own hands. After all, he concludes magnanimously, 'It's the season of forgiveness.'"

In Marcia Muller's "Silent Night" Sharon McCone is called away from a Christmas party to hunt for her fourteen-year-old nephew, Mike Savage, in sleazy sections of San Francisco. She gets help from a transvestite named Norma, the desk clerk at a fleabag hotel, the compassionate owner of a "greasy spoon" restaurant, a runaway girl who has decided to go home, and a homeless family celebrating Christmas in a vacant lot. The story ends at Mission Dolores. Sharon's range of feelings and new insights about many things can be a rich source for reflection.

And this is the lovely introduction from Lenore that Pat mentioned:

Chanukah (or Hanukkah – there is no “correct” spelling, as it's the transliteration of the Hebrew word for “dedication”) is a minor Jewish holiday of which most non-Jews would never have heard – ever heard of Lag b’Omer or Purim or Tu b’Shvat? – except for the fact that it begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew (lunar) month of Kislev, which always falls in December, not too far from December 25, Christmas. Notwithstanding this coincidence, it is not a “Jewish Christmas,” nor does it have anything to do with Christmas, except for the probability that both festivals have roots in pagan festivals of light designed to drive away the dark in the short days of what is, in the northern hemisphere, the deep midwinter.

There are lots of good articles on the Internet, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah; http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm; http://www.history.com/topics/hanukkah. Briefly, however, the holiday commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 164 B.C.E after a rebellion against the Seleucid Greek tyrant, Antiochus IV (or Antiochus Epiphanes), who departed from the Greek tradition of allowing subject peoples to adhere to their own religions. Instead, he intervened in a civil war between Hellenizing Jews (those who wanted to adopt the ways of their Greek overlords) and those who wished to retain traditional Judaism. Antiochus outlawed the observance of Judaism, had a statue of Zeus placed in the Temple, and commanded sacrifices of swine (an unclean animal according to Jewish law, fit neither for sacrifice nor human consumption). A rebellion sparked in the town of Modi’in, led by a priest named Mattathias and his sons, including Judah, nicknamed Maccabee (“Hammer”), and the rebels became known as the Maccabees. After three years, the rebels succeeded in driving out the Greeks from Jerusalem (although the war continued at some level), and the Temple was cleansed and rededicated.

It is said that, when the rededication took place, the Jews found a container of purified olive oil (used for the Temple's lights) sufficient for only one day, but that, miraculously, the oil lasted eight days, until more pure oil could be obtained. In fact, it is likely that the reason that we celebrate eight days is because, having been deprived during the war of the opportunity to celebrate the eight-day festival of Sukkot (see Leviticus 23:34) in the Temple, and in imitation of King Solomon, who dedicated the original Temple on Sukkot, the rededication lasted eight days. Accordingly, the primary ritual of Chanukah is the lighting of an eight-branched oil lamp or candelabra (the “chanukiah” or “Chanukah menorah” – a “menorah” is an oil lamp or candelabra, from “or,” the Hebrew for “light”) for eight days, beginning with only one light on the evening preceding the first day and adding one each evening, accompanied by short prayers. They are lit using a ninth, called the “shamash” (servant or beadle), which is set apart from the others. The menorah is placed in the doorway or before a window to “publicize the miracle.” There are also special readings included in the daily morning service during Chanukah.

While the candles are lit, it is customary to play with a “draydel” (sometimes spelled “dreidel”), in a gambling game that utilizes the four letters on the sides of the draydel, which stand for the words in a Hebrew sentence: “A great miracle happened there.” (In Israel, the letters spell out “A great miracle happened here.”) Supposedly, Jews forbidden by Antiochus to study the Torah would pretend to be gambling when discovered by his soldiers.

Traditionally, the only gift-giving on Chanukah was small coins and/or nuts given to children so that they would have something with which to play draydel. In North America, however, due to the proximity of a highly commercialized Christmas and the desire of Jewish parents not to have their children feel left out at a gift-giving season, it has become common to give gifts on Chanukah. We did this ourselves when our children lived at home, although we always explained that we were doing it not because it is customary at Chanukah, but because it has become an American tradition due to the influence of Christmas. Because it isn't a Chanukah custom, families vary widely in whether they give gifts on one night, or eight nights, or some other pattern, or not at all. And although there is as much conspicuous consumption in the Jewish community as in American society at large, my experience is that Chanukah gifts are rarely lavish. They tend toward the practical, or are shared gifts for the family.

One sometimes hears Jewish holidays described as “They tried to kill us, but we won, so let's eat.” Chanukah is like that. In memory of the miracle of the oil, we eat foods fried in oil, usually potato pancakes (“latkes”) or jelly doughnuts (“sufganiyot”). It is also customary to eat cheese, which in a strange way brings us to Mary Russell.

In BEEK, Russell tells Holmes the story of Judith, who insinuated herself into the tent of Holofernes, a general besieging a town astride the road to Jerusalem, and, after getting him drunk, cut off his head. His Army then fled, leading to Jewish victory. Although the Book of Judith identifies Holofernes as a general of Nebuchadnezzar, not Antiochus, it is generally considered that the names are code names for Antiochus and one of his generals, and that the story actually took place during the years of the Maccabean revolt. Legend has it that the reason Holofernes drank so much is that Judith fed him cheese, and so cheese, too, is a traditional Chanukah food.

No matter what you are celebrating, I wish you joy of the season.

Kudos to both Pat and Lenore for this fantastic and thoughtful introduction. It contains a lot of food for thought and discussion!

[Pat Floyd]

I'm not a devoted reader of canon, and I don't recall having read "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" until Laurie mentioned it as a possibility for December discussion. I've been delighted with its humor and its interesting twists and with the compassion Holmes shows.

It also brought to mind an entirely different kind of frolic that involved a swallowed gem, Donald Westlake's The Hot Rock (1970; movie with Robert Redford, 1972) in which one of the thieves swallowed the gem, recovered it, and just couldn't bring himself to repeat the process so hid it in the jail, requiring the thieves to break into the jail instead of out of it. I think it's the funniest of the Dortmunder books.

[Jennifer]

Pat, you are fiendish! Now I have got swallowed gems on my mind and I am haunted by a story of a Jewish lady who swallowed several diamonds every day (or so...) in concentration camp to keep them safe. Someone, what am thinking of? I can not remember where I read this...
Jennifer

[Lenore]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

I am haunted by a story of a Jewish lady who swallowed several diamonds every day (or so...) in concentration camp to keep them safe. Someone, what am thinking of? I can not remember where I read this...

In Herman Wouk's War and Remembrance, the heroine's uncle, Aaron Jastrow, is sent to Auschwitz. He has brought diamonds with him in the hope of buying his and his niece's freedom, but when he realizes he is about to die, he swallows the diamonds to keep the Nazis from obtaining them for nothing. Is that what you are remembering?

[Pat Floyd]

These references to the horror, suffering, and death Jews faced during WWII brings to mind "The Power of Light" and the hope and courage some people were able to find in the midst of that great darkness. The last paragraph of Singer's story suggests that it is essentially factual.

David and Rebecca had certainly grown up in families of faith. They knew the story of people who had fought for the freedom to practice their faith and who had experienced God's provision of the means to keep the Chanukah lamps burning. I think it was because of this background that Rebecca was able to find courage from the light of one candle on the first day of Chanukah.

Whether we are people of faith or not, most of us have concrete symbols that hold meaning for us: a ring, a locket, a certain tree, a picture. I love candles. Their light suggests to me the idea of light overcoming darkness in a way electric lights do not.

Do you have symbolic objects or practices that are important for you? Especially any related to this winter season?

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by Lenore

In Herman Wouk's War and Remembrance, the heroine's uncle, Aaron Jastrow, is sent to Auschwitz. He has brought diamonds with him in the hope of buying his and his niece's freedom, but when he realizes he is about to die, he swallows the diamonds to keep the Nazis from obtaining them for nothing. Is that what you are remembering?

Thank you Lenore. I seem to remember it was a woman and she did this act over and over to save her diamonds. But at least I know that I didn't create this kind of thing in my mind! It's sort of rattling around in my brain. Sometimes I can almost grasp more of the story. I'll keep thinking..
Jennifer

[MaryL]

Have finished all four selections-quite a varied lot. I noticed one unifying element: Poverty. The sheer, grinding, desperate kind. The kids in Singer's stories didn't know any different as all their village was the same. But the poor guy in Blue Carbuncle had certainly known better days, and as for the boy in McCone's story he was a rags to riches to out on the street , seeing people with no hope or viable options. I'm cold and tired just reading these tales.

Several years ago we took my two kids to New York City, and one of the places we went was the Tenement House Museum. It's an intact tenement, built in the 1840's and they have different eras and immigrant experiences depicted in each apartment. A real eye-opener for all, esp. my kids. I strongly recommend it if your children get an attack of the "Gimmies". Mine have been much less demanding... But anyway the point is, there is a place in NYC that accurately portrays a lot of what the folks in the stories went through. How mankind managed to persevere, prosper and rise above such soul-killing conditions I don't know. Maybe that's the point of the stories?

http://www.tenement.org/tours.php

[Pat Floyd]

Originally Posted by MaryL

Have finished all four selections-quite a varied lot. I noticed one unifying element: Poverty. The sheer, grinding, desperate kind. The kids in Singer's stories didn't know any different as all their village was the same. But the poor guy in Blue Carbuncle had certainly known better days, and as for the boy in McCone's story he was a rags to riches to out on the street , seeing people with no hope or viable options. I'm cold and tired just reading these tales.

I hadn't thought about this common factor in the stories. Thank you, Mary, for pointing it out. We could add that the people who survived war in the time of the Maccabees and those present at Jesus' birth were also poor. In fact, most of the people who have ever lived have been poor by our standards.

I would really like to visit the tenement museum. Thank you for the link. Some of the horrors of that time included unbelievable child labor and girls who turned to prostitution to survive. Mothers and children I know who live in public housing have the plague of drug dealers and nearby shooting nightly.

At this season, it would be appropriate for us to give serious attention to poverty. It's estimated that 25,000 people in the world die each day from hunger, 22,000 of them children. Looking up world poverty yields some excellent websites. I find particularly helpful the Golobal Issues sites and http://www.poverty.com

In the United States we see little absolute poverty where day-to-day survival is the issue, but we need to be deeply concerned about generational poverty. When families have lived in poverty for two or more generations, have never owned property, never known anyone who improved their lot by education, never known anyone who moved up in a job or held a good job, never seen anyone plan for the future or benefit from delayed gratification, breaking the cycle of poverty becomes extremely difficult.

[annie]

What I find strange is that we have entered a time when so many people do no think that they can improve their lot.
Some may say this has always been so, but that is not my experience. A PhD student is writing an oral history of my native town (you know what I mean!) and I have contributed.
I was not brought up in poverty, but this was an area with poverty. However, we all firmly believed that all of us were as worthwhile as the next person, and we all deserved an education. So many of my parents' and my generation benefited from education: and no-one told us that we didn't deserve it because we were working class or poor.
My grandparents, who came from poor families thought universal education one of the luckiest things that happened to them. They still had to do factory jobs, but they read to us, took us to the theatre, campaigned for better conditions.

I realised that I was lucky ( and relate to Steve's comments about John Stuart Mill) to grow up where personality, disposition, willingness to work, kindness were all valued more highly than what you could buy.

Hope this isn't off-topic

[Sabiny21]

The Blue Carbuncle:

This is one of my favorite stories in Canon and it's not just because I always picture Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes lounging around in his dressing gown when I read it, but because it leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling (ok that might be Jeremy Brett's fault). We get to see a relaxed, whimsical, and very curious Holmes. I think the opening scene with his deductions about the hat shows how naturally curious Holmes is even when it's not tied to a case. I constantly find myself trying to 'apply his methods', which leaves me very sympathetic to poor Dr. Watson. The line about the Goose coming alive is well... snort-worthy:

"Eh? What of it, then? Has it returned to life and flapped off through the kitchen window?"

There are so many memorable quotes in this story that I could go on and on. Including how suave he is while tracing the goose and inventing the whole wager about a city goose vs. a country goose. The overall mystery along with the series of events revolving around the hapless criminal is just classic.

Silent night was interesting and since I live around San Fransisco the description of the city at night and the plight of the homeless stood out to me. It also showed that homelessness isn't always about money. IE: Mike had a family and all the money he needed but he didn't feel like he fit in with a certain class. There are so many underlying reasons for poverty and because of the complexity of each individual situation it's something that is not easily helped. Mental illness, alcoholism, and other factors, like abuse sometimes makes it impossible for family members to help their loved ones and not all of them accept help like Mike did.

I've only read Silent Night and Blue Carbuncle, but besides the Christmas theme, I thought that the underlying theme of chance tied these two stories together. It was chance that brought the Goose to Holmes and chance that someone spotted Mike, which sent two detectives out in the cold before Christmas, and in the end, they both 'saved a soul'.

Along the discussion of the poor living conditions in London- I thought that "The People of the Abyss" by Jack London was very insightful. He wrote this first-hand account after living in the East End for several months, sometimes staying in workhouses or sleeping on the streets. You can read it for free on the internet.

-Sabrina