The Gift of the Magi

William S. Porter, better known as O. Henry, was a writer during the late 1800’s. Famous for his short stories, he was considered a writer “for the people”, as he always seemed to touch something in everyone with his tales.

One of the most famous of his stories, and my personal favorite Christmas book, is “The Gift of the Magi”. This story was written around 1890, and was poorly received at the time. It has become, over the years, a classic Christmas tale that shows the true meaning of Christmas and makes one think about what, after all, is most important.

Simply told, yet with enormous feeling, the story follows a young couple of that era on Christmas Eve. Della, the young wife, is the first person we meet. She is struggling to deal with poverty at this time of year, and yet still get her husband, Jim, whom she loves dearly, a Christmas gift.

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. All Della had after scrimping and saving for weeks. She knew that this would not be enough...