While researching this year’s Christmas novella, Rose, in the Christmas Quilt multi-author series, I wanted one of the characters to teach the other about the holiday.
Rose is Scottish. Because of a
proclamation made in the Reformation by Oliver Cromwell, celebrating Christ’s
Mass was banned in England and Scotland starting in 1647. (The ban was lifted
in the UK 15 years later, but remained in Scotland for another 300 years.) The
day was spent like any other and most people worked the regular jobs. So all
that Berrin shows her is new and exciting.
In this Beauty-and-the-Beast-themed
story, I wanted the hero, Berrin, to expose Rose to new traditions as their
friendship advanced. He is of German heritage and found a robust community of
his folk when he bought the blacksmith shop in Butte City, Montana. He’s part
of the Liederkrantz Society (a wreath of songs), formed in 1876, and the group
performed at community events and visited the historical equivalent of rest
homes in the city to bring holiday cheer. The tree, laden with miners’ candles
and other decorations, was first decorated in 1876 in a hall where the German
community met.
an illusion of what real candles look like on a tree
Here’s a little background on two
famous carols of German origin.
Stille Nacht (Silent Night), was first a poem written in 1816 by
Father Joseph Mohr. His friend, Franz Gruber, set the poem to music and the
pair performed it with a simple guitar accompaniment at a midnight Christmas
Mass two years later in Austria. The song became instantly popular and was
translated into many languages (300 at last count) but the name of the author
was lost to history. Then, in 1995, Mohr’s original manuscript of the poem
resurfaced, and the proper credit was given to the carol.
O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree), was written in 1824 by Ernst Anschütz, a schoolteacher in Liepzig, who based it on a 16th century folk song by Melchior Franck. By the middle of the 19th century, the song was tied to the Christmas tree and much loved in many other countries.
Spinster Rose
MacEwen is the shy daughter in the large family of a prominent banker. All her
life, her stutter has kept her from experiencing a normal social life like her
sisters have. Although she’s the oldest daughter, Rose rarely talks with anyone
outside her large family. Her mother believes no man will ever want her because
a woman who can’t act serve as hostess won’t aid a husband’s career. Rather
than argue, she keeps her thoughts bottled up inside. For years, she has sat at
her grandmother’s side and learned the art of quilting. Rose pours her emotions
into making quilts that she donates for charitable causes. But what she yearns
for is the chance to converse with others in the community about what’s in her
heart.
Blacksmith Berrin
Harimann is most at ease in his world of heat and toil. No one bothers him
while he’s wresting useful objects from blocks of metal. Those who come to his
dark shop don’t linger after transacting their business. A disfiguring injury
five years earlier robbed him of his fiancée. Rather than make excuses for a
family who couldn’t look him in the eye, he moved west and set up shop in the
Silver Bow Creek Valley. The pain from his burn scar now resides in his lonely
heart and festers because of what’s missing from his life.
When the pulley on her quilt frame
breaks, Rose ventures outside the family mansion in search of a blacksmith.
Berrin looks up from his forge and sees an elegant lady in his shop doorway.
Their gazes meet, and she steps into his world, bringing light. They connect
instantly, and their fate seems set. But what chance does this pair have when
everyone tells them they are not suited? Can their budding love withstand the
expectations of her family and society’s standards?
and in KU
Best wishes to all for a happy holiday
season
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Looking forward to a fantastic 2024
