Christmas Candles: Plays for Boys and Girls — Text and Context

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Authors: Carter, Elsie Hobart, 1875-1949 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2018 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Christmas plays; Children's plays Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 74,039

Reading time 322 min

Text sections 11

For Christmas Candles: Plays for Boys and Girls — Text and Context, the stored edition analysis reports 74,039 words, 5 hr 22 min estimated reading time, and 11 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 10.5 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Christmas plays,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #58546

An editorial note on the language, narrative voice, and pacing in Elsie Hobart Carter's 1915 collection of Christmas plays for children, based on excerpts from the Project Gutenberg edition.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg58546

Read the Text

When was it? [_Puts his hand to his head._]

MOTHER [_drawing him gently to lean against her_]. There, never mind. Eat now.

[GRETEL _and_ HANS _draw away again._

HANS. Are you _sure_ it is the Christ-Child, Gretel?

GRETEL. I don't know. But I think--I think if it was, His face would be all shining.

MOTHER. Where is your home, my son? And what is your name? Why were you wandering all alone this bitter night?

FRIEDEL. I am Friedel. Just Friedel. Not anything else. And I haven't any home. I wish I had. A home is what I was looking for. I thought perhaps someone would take me in, and let me work to pay for keeping me. But nobody wants a boy, somehow, nobody. [_Drops his head in his hands._]

MOTHER [_stroking his head_]. You shall never say that again, my son. While we have still our little hut, you shall live with us, and be an elder brother to my little ones.

HANS. You hear that, Gretel? It isn't the Christ-Child, after all. [_Rubs his fists in his eyes._]

GRETEL. Oh, but Hans, I believe the Christ-Child would like this almost as much. I mean He would like our putting the candle in the window, and making the toast and everything for this poor little boy, almost as much as if it was really for Him. Because it's His little boy, you know.

HANS. Really and truly?

GRETEL. Yes, I'm _sure_! Perhaps the Christ-Child sent him to us. Oh, Hans, listen! The chimes are beginning to ring. [_Both run to the window to listen. After a moment voices in the distance begin singing "Oh, Happy Night."_]

[Music: OH, HAPPY NIGHT[6]]

[Footnote 6: Courtesy of Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company.]

Music written for "Wide Awake"

Words by M.E.B. By LOUIS C. ELSON.

1. Oh, happy night! that brings the morn To dawn above the Lord new-born, And bids the angels sing again Their message to the sons of men, We hail thee! We hail thee!

2. Oh, happy star! whose radiance sweet Did guide the wise men's eager feet, To seek the way unknown, untried, That led them to the manger's side, We hail thee! We hail thee!

3. Oh, happy manger! that hath known This precious burden as thine own, Beyond all gifts the world doth hold Of pomp and pow'r and gems and gold, We hail thee! We hail thee!

4. Oh, happy day! that gave to men The Babe Divine of Bethlehem, The King of Kings the undefiled In semblance of a little child, We hail thee! We hail thee!

5. Oh, happy Babe! whose wondrous eyes Still hold the light of Paradise, Look down in blessing from above While, Prince of Peace and Lord of Love, We hail thee! We hail thee!

(Sung by a single voice, several joining in at "We hail thee!")

GRETEL [_at the end of the first verse_]. Oh, Mother dear, do you hear the singing?

[_Another verse is sung._

FRIEDEL [_wonderingly_]. What is it? Angels?

[_At the end of the song_ FRITZ _and others are seen passing the window._ HANS _and_ GRETEL _rush to their_ MOTHER.

GRETEL. Oh, Mother! He's coming! He's coming!

HANS. Yes, he is! I saw him!

MOTHER [_startled_]. Who is coming, my children?

[_The door is flung open and the children rush in_, ST. NICHOLAS _standing at the door._

HANS _and_ GRETEL. St. Nicholas! St. Nicholas!

ST. NICHOLAS. Yes, old St. Nicholas again. Mother Madelon, may I come in?

MOTHER. May you come in? Ask the little ones here!

[HANS _and_ GRETEL _run to draw him in._

FRITZ. You see, Mother Madelon, our Heinrich heard you say the good saint couldn't find you this year----

BARBARA. So we hurried right home----

HEINRICH. And as soon as he came we told him about you----

FRITZ. And begged him to let us show him the way!

JAN. And of course, he came!

KARL _and_ OSCAR. Yes, of course!

MOTHER. It was very thoughtful of you, little friends.

HANS _and_ GRETEL. Thank you, thank you all so much!

GRETEL. Oh, good saint, we were _so_ afraid you wouldn't come.

HANS. Mother _said_ you couldn't find us.

ST. NICHOLAS. And I doubt if I could have found you, if it hadn't been for that little gleaming candle that you put in the window to light my way.

GRETEL [_holding his hand_]. Oh, but, St. Nicholas, we ought to tell you that we didn't put the candle there for you.

KATRINA. Why, who was it for?

GRETEL [_softly_]. It was for the Christ-Child. We thought perhaps He would be out in the snow and cold--and we were so warm and happy!

Continue Reading →

Elsie Hobart Carter's Christmas Candles: Plays for Boys and Girls (1915) opens each play with a detailed cast list, setting, and playing time, framing the works as practical scripts for home or school performance. The language throughout is direct and functional, with stage directions that prioritize clarity over literary flourish. For instance, in "The Christ-Candle," the setting is described simply as "Snow-scene in forest" and "Interior,—a poor hovel," and the action is conveyed through terse instructions like "Exeunt slowly (R.)." This economy of language extends to dialogue, which often carries the burden of character and plot development without extensive exposition.

Functional Dialogue and Character Voice

The dialogue in the excerpts reveals a consistent pattern: characters speak in short, declarative sentences that advance the plot or reveal immediate emotion. In the play featuring Rosalia and Peter, Rosalia's lines are impulsive and childlike—"Oh, the lovely dollies"—while Peter's responses are cautious and practical: "Well, I don't see what I am going to do with you, now you are here." The monks, by contrast, use a more formal register, with Latin interjections like "Hoc credam!" and "Non verum est!" that mark their learned status. This differentiation in voice is deliberate, helping young performers embody distinct roles without relying on elaborate stage business.

Pacing Through Stage Directions

Carter controls the tempo of each scene through precise stage directions that alternate between rapid action and static moments. In the excerpt where the Prince climbs the wall, the directions accelerate: "Goes to wall, places ladder, tries its firmness, and begins to climb, finding much difficulty with basket." The subsequent fall and escape are compressed into a single line: "At which the Prince contrives to fall over the wall, dropping the basket inside." Contrast this with the pause that follows, where Rosalia "looks about her, feels the curls of the doll next her, etc., etc." This deliberate slowing allows the audience to absorb the scene's humor and tension. The plays are designed for a running time of 30–40 minutes, and the stage directions serve as a conductor's baton, ensuring the action never drags.

Recurring Motifs and Thematic Language

Across the excerpts, certain words and images recur: "doll," "cradle," "garden," "snow," and "hiding." These create a cohesive symbolic vocabulary. The doll that "didn't come up" in the garden becomes a plot device when Rosalia steps into its place, blending the inanimate with the animate. The motif of hiding—Rosalia creeping in behind a monk, the Prince attempting to escape—echoes the plays' central tension between innocence and transgression. Carter's language is never abstract; she grounds moral lessons in concrete, visual situations. The repeated use of "poor" ("poor hovel," "poor homely gear") signals a concern with humility and charity, but the tone remains light, avoiding didacticism through playful dialogue and brisk pacing.

Readers approaching this collection should attend to the interplay between the printed text and its intended performance. The stage directions are not mere instructions but integral to the narrative voice, shaping how the story is experienced in time. The plays reward a reading that imagines the pauses, the hurried exits, and the sudden revelations. Carter's craft lies in making the invisible visible—through the Christ-Child's return, the elves' fern seed, or a child standing in for a doll—and her language, though spare, carries the weight of these transformations.

I remember how those old Christmas plays softened their language for young voices, a gentle pacing meant for stumbling readers. That same patient warmth lives in De turkey and de law — Reading Companion, where dialect becomes a kind hand guiding a child’s ear. They share a quiet trust that words, simply spoken, can hold a season’s wonder.