Release date is 2024-06-15

La vraie tentation de saint Antoine -- Le pot de miel -- Noël rétrospectif -- Le bon gui -- L'évangile selon saint Perrault -- Les pâques de Sylvanie -- Impressions de semaine sainte -- Conte d'automne -- La première neige -- Plaisirs d'hiver -- Courrier d'hiver -- Une heureuse journée -- Les petits pages de musique -- Mourette et Perdigalet -- Un chasseur diligent -- Villégiature -- Une drôle de chasse -- La langouste -- Chien d'aveugle -- Les chats -- Le bon ivrogne -- La paysanne -- Le kaléidoscope -- Jean Mian -- L'homme au couteau -- Le Noël du député.

Véronique Le Bris, Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica))

"Nouveaux contes de Noël" by Paul Arène is a collection of holiday-themed short stories likely written in the late 19th century. The book centers around various festive tales, touching on themes of temptation, joy, and the spirit of Christmas through the lens of different characters, including the titular Saint Antoine and his trusty companion, Barrabas. The opening of the collection introduces one such tale titled "La Vraie Tentation du Grand Saint Antoine," where Saint Antoine interacts with a group of children who visit him on Christmas to bring treats. The saint prepares to share a story about his own temptations, humorously recalling the many devils he has encountered. As he recounts his experiences, the narrative delves into the whimsical and often comical challenges he faced, particularly the thought of consuming his beloved companion, Barrabas, the pig, as the festive season approaches. Through this engaging setup, the story explores the joy and struggle of maintaining one’s virtue during the temptations of the holiday season, setting the tone for a collection rich in spirit and merriment. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: Paris: Marpon et Flammarion, 1890