Top Five Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas Books

It's always fun to read Christmas Stories around the Holidays. So, why not sit back with a good old-fashioned Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas. Grab one for yourself, or give as a gift to a loved one.

1) Pennsylvania Dutch Christmases

This is a pictorial history focusing on the nineteenth-century Christmas customs of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Some earlier beginnings and traditions that continued into the early twentieth century are also included. The book includes Christian and secular observances of the holiday such as carols, trees, gifts, and superstitions. Kershner also traces the roots of Christ Kindle, Kriss Kringel, Belznickel, Saint Nicholas, and Santa Claus.


2) Pennsylvania Dutch Night Before Christmas

Children will enjoy this retelling of the Christmas classic by Clement C. Moore, which blends Santa Claus with the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch figure of the Belsnickel, a thin, cantankerous old man who visits children before Christmas and rewards or punishes them based on their behavior.


3) The Night Before Christmas: Pennsylvania Dutch & English; Die Nacht vor der Grischtdaag (English and German Edition)

Full-color illustrations complement this favorite children's story in English and Pennsylvania Dutch!

4) A Very Marienstadt Christmas

It's Christmas time in the Pennsylvania Dutch town of Marienstadt and everything is sparkling. You are invited to come spend the holidays in a community of people where tradition is strong and love is all around. When The Reluctant Belsnickel of Opelt's Wood was released in 2011 it quickly climbed Amazon's charts to #1 in Folklore. This novella tells the story of a sad, lonely man who finds joy and love when he is persuaded to play the folkloric role of Belsnickel for the children of Marienstadt. Published in 2013 The Christmas Daughter: A Marienstadt Story, is a novel about Boone Wilde, a former biker and heartthrob, who discovers he has a 12 year old daughter who needs him--a daughter that he comes to need even more. Treeing, in which a solitary antiques dealer is on a quest to find a holiday punch bowl for a traditional Marienstadt Treeing party and who finds much more in the process. In addition, Lola Eckert, the founder of Lola's Strudel Shop, a Marienstadt institution, shares with readers a collection of her most requested holiday recipes. Included are instructions for making strudel, including five strudels mentioned in the stories, plus keuchels, apple and peach dumplings, rhubarb tarts and more. This is a Limited Edition Gift Book for Christmas.

5) An Amish Christmas: December in Lancaster County Celebrate Christmas with Four Amish Romances.

A Choice to Forgive by Beth Wiseman After Daniel disappeared that long-ago Christmas Eve, Lydia built a life with his brother. But now she's a widow and Daniel has reappeared, asking for forgiveness. Can she go back to her normal life with her long-lost love as her neighbor? A Miracle for Miriam by Kathleen Fuller Seth is no longer the arrogant young man who shattered Miriam's confidence and broker her heart. Will he be able to show "plain" Miriam that she is truly beautiful to him? One Child by Barbara Cameron The birth of one child forever changed the world two thousand years ago. On a snowy Christmas night in Lancaster County, another child changes the world for two very different couples. Christmas Cradles by Kelly Long When Anna Stolis takes over for her aunt, the local midwife, Christmas night heats up with multiple deliveries, three strangers' quilts, and unexpected help from the handsome and brooding Asa Lapp.