"Katherine Paterson illuminates the true meaning of Christmas in twelve modern-day stories written over the years for her husband, a pastor, to read to his congregation on each Christmas Eve. A man driving to see his dying father picks up a young hitchhiker who attempts to rob him; a proud and lonely widow is befriended by a persevering boy trying to earn a star for his church group; in Communist China, a female scholar and an old night watchman secretly bond together to read the Bible. Whether depicting a child coping with disappointment or a couple awaiting the birth of their baby, all these stories present a vision of hope and peace harking back to that first Christmas two thousand years ago."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc.