The short stories in And Thus He Came, perhaps might best be called modern parables. They are not the usual fare of warm and fuzzy Christmas stories (pleasing as those are) but rather life events and crises triggered by Christmas, present or imminent (Wikipedia, David Wales)

Cyrus Townsend Brady (December 20, 1861 – January 24, 1920) was a journalist, historian and adventure writer. He was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1883. In 1889, he was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal church, and was ordained a priest in 1890.