Short Story Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
- Read a short story.
- Share your review/recommendation below.
- Include the title and author.
One Christmas Eve is a short story by Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes. It is about a Black maid named Arcie making ends meet as a single mother just to enjoy the night before Christmas with her young son, Joe. It begins with her slaving away at a wealthy white family's home preparing supper while they inconsiderately shop until the stores almost close. After being paid less than expected, Arcie rushes to pick up Little Joe to explore the Christmas cheer downtown.
Even though it is a Christmas story, themes of racial and economic discrimination is abundantly clear. The commercialized image of Santa Claus as a jolly white man full of happiness and good cheer is quite the opposite viewpoint from Little Joe's eyes. The Santa depicted in One Christmas Eve is far from kind-hearted.
This short story is not your classic holiday read that brings readers joy. It is a harsh reminder of what Christmas was like for Blacks in the early 1930s. Set aside ten minutes to read it. One Christmas Eve can be found online.
Title: One Christmas Eve
Author: Langston Hughes
Published: Early 1930s
Published: Early 1930s
Edition: Online
Genre: Holiday
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤
Wow , interesting . I’ll check it out
ReplyDeletePlease do!
ReplyDelete