Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, especially if you are a lover of fairy tales, stories, and legends. During this time of the year, we get to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, the angelic messenger of God, and of course, Santa Claus. Fairy Tales is a collection of stories that have been passed down across generations as a way to teach kids the difference between good and evil and as a type of story that makes us dream of faraway places and times. Many of us remember fairy tales as a child, and we still continue to read them as adults. So here are the most beautiful Christmas fairy tales.

The Night Before Christmas

In 1823, a young man named Clement Clarke Moore wrote a poem for a school assignment. The poem was later published in a book, and it became a Christmas classic. The book was a bestseller, and a tradition of reading it on Christmas Eve was started. The poem was later set to music and became a classic Christmas song.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, is one of the most beloved Christmas stories of all time, telling how this reindeer, lost in the woods on Christmas Eve, is saved by the power of love. The story was written by Robert May in 1939, and it's been adapted into an animated television special, many movies (including the one starring Gene Wilder), and even an opera.

The Little Match Girl

The Little Match Girl is the second of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales to be published. It was first published in 1845, with the Little Mermaid being the first. The Little Match Girl is a story about a poor girl who sells matches on the street. She sells them to customers who are not very nice to her, but she does not care because she is always happy to be earning money for herself. Her happiness is spoiled when she is given the opportunity to be a Little Match Girl for the Prince, but her joy is restored when she meets the brother of the man whose match she had accidentally set on fire.

A Stolen Christmas

The story of A Stolen Christmas is one of the most famous Christmas stories of all time, and it has been adapted into many different forms over the years. The story, written in 1895 by American author Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, is about a poor girl who gives up part of her Christmas gift of money to her father, but her father forgets to mention that he took some of her money too. The girl spends the day working to earn enough money to pay her father back, but she is visited by three ghosts who give her money for her father on Christmas.

Betty's Bright Idea

"Betty's Bright Idea" is a Christmas story written in 1852 by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe, with illustrations by John R. Neill.  It is a retelling of the story of Saint Nicolas and his orphaned charges in the Serbian Orthodox Church and the gifts and traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas.

The holidays can bring with them their fair share of stress: packing for family and friends, the anxiety of running out of time and money at the mall, and the pressures of keeping up appearances. Just because Christmas is supposed to be about giving doesn't mean we need to take on all the work and stress that come along with it. There are few things better than Christmas. When you set out to enjoy the holidays, you can't help but feel good—maybe because there are twinkling lights in the distance, maybe because family and friends surround you, maybe because you're drinking eggnog or baking cookies. Regardless of the reason, there's something unique about the season that makes it feel like the best time of the year to be alive—and that's why Christmas gets our vote as the best time to celebrate.