SAVING CHRISTMAS by Marisa Masterson

Fifteen people answered the call to leave their homeland behind to live out their Christian faith. What does that have to do with Christmas? 

Not far from my home is a German-themed community called Frankenmuth. It's quite a popular place. More than three million tourists visit the town each year. And it all began with the call to establish a Lutheran town.

Frankenmuth, Michigan
www.frankenmuth.org/about-frankenmuth/history/

Twenty years before in the 1820s, a German colony had been established in the area that is now Ann Arbor. (Think University of Michigan. Yes, that Ann Arbor.) The pastor there called on a fellow Lutheran minister to recruit Germans. They would come to the new state of Michigan and claim land. Fifteen agreed, coming from the Franconia area in Germany.

First, they built a church. (That church has celebrated its 175th anniversary and is well-attended church today.) Next, they erected a school. Both were focused on their misson to evangelize the Chippewa Indians. Sadly, that people group was nearly wiped out not long after that by small pox. The remaining members left to join with another tribe.

https://www.frankenmuth.org/blog/stlorenz-history/

Fine. But how does this connect to Christmas? This might seem a stretch, but many of our beloved holiday traditions came to the United States with German immigrants--the Christmas tree and the lights or candles on it, hanging stockings, the Christmas angel, the advent calendar. They all go back to Germany,

https://www.facebook.com/ConcordiaBuffalo/photos

Frankenmuth retained its German identity. It was a farming community. Then, the United States went Christmas crazy. The economy was good. Ornaments were now being massed produced instead of hand blown. And people wanted to give their children what they themselves had missed by growing up during the Great Depression. Wally Bronner opened a Christmas store in Frankenmuth as a part of the German identity.

After that, Tiny Zehnder changed the look of the buildings. He gave them a Bavarian facelift and put traditional Alpine outfits on his waitresses at The Bavarian Inn. People flocked to the town to enjoy Christmas and the German theme. Oh, and the famous chicken dinners also.

https://www.bavarianinn.com/

Maybe those men didn't save Christmas. Christmas saved Frankenmuth. It brings a continual flood of visitors to the small town, tourists who want to shop in an old general store and enjoy the year-round Christmas feeling.

My Contemporary Christmas new release is set in Frankenmuth, Michigan. I take the reader on a trip around the town.

For Reese, it’s love at first sight. As far as Calliope is concerned, it’s one more risk that she’s afraid to take. Can he build her confidence enough to accept his love?

Calliope Schmidt loves her hometown of Frankenmuth, Michigan-- a German American town that keeps the holiday alive all year long. She is even content with her job as a classroom aide.
That is, until the teacher collapses. The new principal offers Calliope the chance to be the real teacher—the role she’d already been playing for the students. The handsome, intimidating man thinks she can do it. He’ll even mentor her.

Voices from the past say that he’s wrong. She’ll fail. She always fails. Whose voice will she allow to sway her? Will she be ready to accept the surprise her gorgeous boss springs on her?

A sweet Christmas romance with a guaranteed Christmas surprise and a happily ever after. 

Buy today!