“What I liked best about Christmas was that for a whole day grown-ups seemed to agree to take time of from being grown-ups. At six-thirty sharp when I burst into my parents’ room, yelling, ‘Merry Christmas!,’ they both laughed and jumped right up as if six-thirty wasn’t an early hour at all. By the time we came downstairs, the servants were lined up in the hall dressed in their best. ‘Gung-shi.’ They bowed. ‘Gung-shi. Gung-shi.’ This was the way Chinese offered congratulations on special occasions, and the greeting, as it was repeated, sounded like little bells tinkling.
Lin Nai-Nai, however, didn’t ‘gung-shi.’ For months she had been waiting for this day. She stepped forward. ‘Merry Christmas,’ she said just as if she could have said anything in English that she wanted to. I was so proud. I took her hand as we trooped into the living room. My father lighted the tree and he distributed the first gifts of the day—red envelopes filled with money for the servants. After a flurry of more ‘gung-shis,’ the servants left and there were the three of us in front of a huge mound of packages. All mysteries.” ~Homesick by Jean Fritz
Archives
Christmas in New Jersey, 1776
“The attack was set for Christmas night, December 25-26, when most of the Hessians would be drunk or exhausted from the day’s celebrations.
About twenty-four hundred Continentals began marching toward the Pennsylvania side of McKonkey’s Ferry several miles upstream from Trenton late on Christmas afternoon. Paths down to the river were covered with snow. In the failing light, Washington saw the snow marked by the bloody footprints of those who went without shoes. None complained; it wouldn’t have done any good.
It hadn’t been a merry Christmas for those gathered on the shore. Miserable and homesick, they stood about in groups, waiting to board the boats. Rain began to fall, then wet snow. The temperature dropped. All they had to cheer them were the words of Tom Paine’s latest pamphlet, printed in Philadelphia three days earlier.
As the shivering troops waited, Washington had the pamphlet read to them. Paine’s words went to their hearts like flaming arrows.
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but he who stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of men and women. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph . . . “
~The War for Independence: The Story of the American Revolution by Albert Marrin.
Christmas at Hatfield, 1548
“We kept Christmas at Hatfield that year instead of going to court . . . I sent my gentlemen and yeomen out into the woods to collect red holly-berry branches and evergreens to decorate the place, chestnuts to roast. They went gladly. Then, just as gladly, my knights helped me decorate. After that they went hunting with Roger Ascham for the Yuletide dinner. I put cloth of gold and velvet ribbons on everything, from newel posts to clocks.
We prepared a Yuletide feast that would do my father proud.
My yeomen cut a Yule log and some applewood, and soon the fragrances of applewood, evergreen, and chestnuts permeated the whole house.”
The Red-Headed Princess by Ann Rinaldi.
Christmas in Rome, AD 800
As the crown settled on his head, as the Pope stepped back and raised his hand in blessing, Charles closed his eyes and folded his hands. He stayed thus for perhaps a minute; then he rose.
Instantly a mighty shout burst forth: “Long life and victory to Charles, the most pious Augustus, by God Crowned the great and pacific Emperor of the Romans!”
Over and over again the shouts rang to the roof, echoing and beating against the walls, against the columns and the arches, making the candles flicker and flare with the breath of so many voices. The cry was handed back by those pressed in the doorway, carried back and out into the space beyond, so that it seemed all Rome at that moment rang with acclamation.
Was this not all that he could have wished for from the people?
He turned and faced them all. At once they were still. They gazed toward him eagerly.
When the silence was absolute, he spoke.
“I, Charles, Emperor—engage and promise in the name of Christ, in the presence of God and St. Peter the Apostle, to protect and defend the Holy Roman Church in all things profitable to the same, and, God being my helper, to the best of my knowledge and ability.”
~Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard.
Christmas in the North of England, 2007
“Tonight is the school Nativity play performed by Class 1 with an awful lot of help from the rest of the world because Class 1 can do nothing unaided. Mary and Joseph are the worst of the lot. If the real Mary and Joseph were anything like our Mary and Joseph there would be no Christmas because Christianity would have got no further than a big fight over who got the donkey somewhere along the road to Bethlehem.”
And afterwards:
“Buttercup was a perfect Baby Jesus. . . I think he may grow up to be a very talented actor because although it was quite a simple thing he had to do, just lie nicely on some hay, he managed it very well indeed. Class 1 had just as simple things to do, but they didn’t manage them half as well. The Wise Men had to be asked in front of everyone to settle down and leave the presents alone. And we will need a new donkey next year. With stronger ears.”
~Forever Rose by Hilary McKay.
Books for the Children on your Christmas List
These suggestions are made up of mostly Cybils nominees published in 2008. They should be available in your local bookstore or online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. (You can get to Amazon anytime by clicking on any of the book cover pictures in any of my posts.)
For the baseball fans: Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park (Semicolon review here), Six Innings by James Preller (Semicolon review here), The Big Field by Mike Lupica.
For those with a penchant for the piratical:
Roger the Jolly Pirate by Brett Helquist (Reviewed at A Tuesday Story.), Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen (Carol’s Corner review), Pirates by David Harrison.
For pre-adolescent princesses: Clementine’s Letter by Sara Pennypacker (Semicolon review here), Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains by Laurel Snyder.
For middle school boys in search of adventure: Bringing the Boy Home by N.A. Nelson, Island of Mad Scientists by Howard Whitehouse (Melissa’s Book Nut review).
For Christmas-lovers: Forever Rose by Hilary McKay (Semicolon review here).
For country music lovers: The entire Maggie Valley series by Kerry Madden. (Semicolon reviews here and here)
For World War II buffs: Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Ann Rodman (Semicolon review here with a list of other WW II homefront books), Don’t Talk to Me About the War by David Adler.
For mystery lovers: The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding, The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Stewart (Melissa’s Book Nut review).
For astronomers and moon-gazers: Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass,
For budding artists: The Calder Game by Blue Balliet (Semicolon review here), The Curse of Addy McMahon by Katie Davis (Reviewed by KBacellia).
For animal lovers: Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee, The Underneath by Kathi Appelt (Semicolon review here), Stella Unleashed: Notes from the Doghouse by Linda Ashman.
These are just a few of the books nominated for the Middle Grade Fiction Cybil Award. For more, with links to reviews, look here.
Carol’s Meme for November 29th
I just found Carol Magistramater’s meme from last year for the November 29th birthday of three of my favorite authors.
1. What was the first [Alcott, Lewis, L’Engle] book you read?
Alcott: Little Women, probably. I was in a play based on the first few chapters of the book when I was in fifth grade. I was Jo.
Lewis: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I don’t associate anything special with reading this book, but I’m sure I started with the first Narnia book.
L’Engle: A Wrinkle in Time.
2. If you could be a [Alcott, Lewis, L’Engle] character for a day, who would you be?
Alcott: I’d be grown-up Jo with the big house and all the boys running in and out.
Lewis: Lucy, of course, having tea with Mr. Tumnus.
L’Engle: I’d be Katherine Forrester Vigneras playing the piano in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
3. Do you prefer [Alcott?, Lewis, L’Engle]’s fiction or nonfiction?
I always prefer fiction, although C.S. Lewis’s nonfiction apologetics and essays are profound and have been quite influential in my thinking.
4. Which [Alcott, Lewis, L’Engle] book would you recommend to any reader?
Readers of Lewis should start with the Narnia books unless they’re adults with a low tolerance for fantasy. In that case, Mere Christianity is the book for the nonfiction crowd. Eight Cousins is actually my favorite Alcott book, along with an immediate follow-up read of its sequel Rose in Bloom. A Wrinkle in TIme is a good place to start with L’Engle unless again you don’t care for children’s science fiction. In that case, I would suggest A Severed Wasp or A Ring of Endless Light.
5. Which [Alcott, Lewis, L’Engle] book did you dislike?
The Last Battle is my least favorite of the Narnia books, although even that one has some excellent scenes in it. Some of Madeleine L’Engle’s early young adult romances feel a bit dated, but I enjoyed them anyway.
6. What is your favorite [Alcott, Lewis, L’Engle] quote?
Lewis: “A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere–‘Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,’ as Herbert says, ‘fine nets and stratagems.’ God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous.”
L’Engle: “Love always has meaning. But sometimes only God knows what it is.”
Alcott: “Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.”
7. Which [Alcott, Lewis, L’Engle] book would you like to read next?
I’d like to re-read The Silver Chair, my favorite of the Narnia books. Certain Women by Madeleine L’Engle is an adult novel about the Biblical King David and about a modern-day David, an actor who engages in serial polygamy in about the same way that David of the Bible loved many women and had many wives. I’d like to re-read it, too. No Alcott right now, thank you.
8. What biography of [Alcott, Lewis, L’Engle] would you recommend?
I haven’t read any biographies of Madeleine L’Engle, but I can recommend her autobiographical trilogy that begins with A Circle of Quiet.
For C.S. Lewis, I read Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis by George Sayer a couple of years ago and thought it was well-written and balanced, not too adulatory nor too negative. (Reviewed here by Carrie at Reading to Know.)
Invincible Louisa by Cornelia Meigs won the Newbery Medal in 1934. I remember thinking it not a bad book at all, but Ms. Meigs’ style and vocabulary are probably too challenging for most children today.
9. Rate the ALL authors by order of preference.
1. C.S. Lewis
Lewis is the best writer and the most profound thinker of the three, the one whose work will stand the test of time. I predict that Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and Till We Have Faces, in particular, will be read and appreciated a hundred years from now.
Jared at Thinklings: Remembering Jack (2005)
Lars Walker at Brandywine Books: The Feast of St. Jack and The Great Man’s Headgear
Hope at Worthwhile Books reviews Out of the Silent Planet, the first book in Lewis’s space trilogy.
Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles writes about her appreciation for the works of C.S. Lewis.
Jollyblogger reviews Lewis’s The Great Divorce.
2. Madeleine L’Engle
Ms. L’Engle is the most likely of the three to have her work become dated. However, the science fiction quartet that begins with A Wrinkle in Time may very well last because it deals with themes that transcend time and localized concerns. And I still like The Love Letters the best of all her books, a wonderful book on the meaning of marriage and of maturity.
In which I invite Madeleine L’Engle to tea in June, 2006, before her death last year.
A Madeleine L’Engle Annotated bibliography.
Semicolon Review of The Small Rain and A Severed Wasp by Madeleine L’Engle.
Semicolon Review of Camilla by Madeleine L’Engle.
My Madeleine L’Engle project, which has languished this year, but I hope to get back to it in 2009.
Sweet Potato reviews A Wrinkle in Time.
Mindy Withrow writes about A Circle of Quiet.
Remembering Madeleine: Obituaries and Remembrances from September, 2007.
3. Louisa May Alcott.
I love reading about Ms. Alcott’s girls and boys even though many people, almost all males and many females, are too jaded and feminist, to enjoy books that celebrate the joys of domesticity and home education.
Circle of Quiet quotes An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott on the wearing of blue gloves.
Carrie reviews Little Women, after three attempts to get though it.
Framed and Booked liked Eight Cousins the best just as I did.
November 29, 2007: To This Great Stage of Fools.
There you have it: an impromptu celebration of three very fine authors. If you have anything to add, please leave a comment.
Monday’s List: 100+ Homemade Christmas Gifts for the Craft-Impaired
I am not a crafty person. My parents used to make craft-y stuff when I was a kid, and they tried to include me in the family fun. But it always came to the point where someone else had to either re-do or finish my craft project to make it look halfway decent. SO, although I want to have a simpler, more homey Christmas (also less expensive), I can’t really do craft projects that take any level of artistic ability or coordination. (You should have seen my strand on the macrame plant hanger that my family made together.) The following ideas are for the rest of us, those of us whose scrapbooks look like a five year old got into the glue and pictures and whose prowess with needle and thread is nonexistent.
There are already more than 100 ideas here because many of the links contain more than one idea. However, the last thirty slots are for you. If you post about an easy, doable homemade gift idea at your blog, leave a comment with a link, and if I think I could even make a stab at completing your project or suggestion, I’ll add it to the list.
1. The Headmistress at the Common Room says you can make your own dry erase boards.
2. Change the tradition and give to others.
3. Make your own body care products.
4. Give some pumpkin pie play dough.
5. Make a felt board.
6. Frame a favorite illustration.
7. Ian’s Seven Inexpensive Christmas Gifts.
8. Ian’s 10 Simple and Inexpensive Christmas Gift Ideas.
9. Make a friend a Wordle.
10. Cards from calendars.
11. Paper toys to print and make. More paper toys.
12. Another Headmistress find: make a terrarium.
13. 10 handmade Christmas gifts.
14. Begin a genealogy notebook.
15. Cookbook with your favorite recipes.
16. Clothespin people.
17. Spend time instead of money.
18. Make your own calendar.
19. Sponsor a Compassion child.
20. Decorative canned cookies.
22. Cookies, cookies, cookies!
23. Ribbon bulletin board.
24. Decorated notebooks.
25. Homemade Christmas spice bundles.
26. Print a paper iPod cover.
27. Print a poster, any size.
28. Free business card maker.
29. Lots more printables.
30. Canned cakes baked with love.
31. Easy ribbon headband.
32. Cookie of the month club.
33. Playing card notebooks.
34. Sock puppets.
35. Stationery Box Video Tutorial.
36. Assemble a play detective kit.
37. Mason jar soap dispenser.
38. Give someone a button jar or a button picture.
39. Baked recycled crayons.
40. Give a book with a handmade ribbon bookmark.
41. Recipe scrapbook.
42. Vintage button kitchen curtains.
43. Spice boxes.
44. Photo sticker labels.
45. Remember Ramona’s tin can stilts?
46. Give lessons in something that you know and your gift recipient wants to learn: guitar lessons, Spanish lessons, knitting lessons, cooking lessons, whatever you know.
47. Fill an old trunk or suitcase with fun clothing, hats and gaudy jewelry for your children to play dress-up.
48. Heat and eat dinners.
49. Friday night at the movies bowl.
50. Family Alphabet book.
51. Best Hot Cocoa Mix.
52. Make a muffin mix.
53. Encourage-mints: a jar of encouraging quotes.
54. Read a favorite book onto CD.
55. London in a Box —or some other place in a box sent to someone who’s homesick for or fascinated by the place where you live or a place you’ve been able to visit. For Texas, I’d send some chili mix or salsa, a bag of pecans, a few post cards, maybe iced tea mix, a key ring or something else from the Texas Store.
56. Blue goo and homemade finger paint.
57. Make a field-bag from recycled clothing.
58. Tutorial for making a felt flowered pomander. I might be able to do this one although it’s stretching the limits of my crafting abilities. Anything that requires a tutorial with multiple steps —and cutting and glue—would be a stretch for me.
59. Lots of Gifts in a Jar from Organized Christmas.
60. Adult Journal Jar. I am going to make one of these for someone I know who may or may not read here. So I can’t tell you who it is, but it’s definitely going to happen.
61. Ivy’s Coloring Page Search Engine. Make a coloring book for someone you love.
62. Pony bead coasters.
63. Child’s sewing box.
64. Whole Foods: Gifts from the Kitchen with printable gift tags and recipes.
65. Printable bookmarks.
66. Book purse. Actually, I’m sure this one is way beyond my abilities, but I surely would like to have one. Hint, hint.
67. Origami mini-books. Maybe for stockings?
68. Paper patchwork notebook covers.
69. Give Poetry for Christmas by Violet Nesdoly.
70. Homemade With Love has lots of easy ideas including a hand-decorated platter, a no-sew fleece poncho, stationery, and a cup of tulip bulbs.
71. CD envelopes for those homemade mix CD’s.
72. Homemade books for gifts.
73. Making blank books from old book covers.
74. Homemade gifts for dads, sons, and sons-in-law.
75. Cardboard frisbee.
76. Altered Books. Books made into works of art! If you’re an artist or even a wannabe artist, this art form looks like something you could enjoy doing for your family or friends.
77. Melissa Wiley’s Snuggleblanket. This one is borderline, requires some sewing, but I figure some of you can handle it, even if I can’t.
78. Several good ideas for free or nearly free gifts at the blog Mom Laughs.
79. Pencil and drawing pad holder. Another one that requires a bit of sewing ability. I only wish I could sew at times like this –when I see something cute that I could make if only I had the skilz. But I don’t, and I won’t, and so if you do, make me one.
80. Homemade stickers. Looks a little messy. but fun.
81. Miss Rumphius Seed Packets. Based on the book by Barbara Cooney, what a great idea! You could give a copy of the book along with the seed packets. And for a bonus, here are some more literature based crafts.
82. An oobleck to go with Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss.
83. Bead and Button teacup.
84. Paper Bag Scrapbook.
85. Decoupage Puzzle Blocks.
86. Build a lovely wooden bench out of old chairs.
87. Pear Jam.
88. Recycled sweater dress
89. Wall-mounted magnetic spice rack.
90. Candygram. This idea is for a birthday gift, but it could be customized for any holiday gift.
91.Make your own dry erase boards—in a lovely frame.
92. A set of lovely display/storage containers.
93. Framed paper silhouettes.
C’mon, don’t be shy. Leave a comment with your favorite homemade Christmas gift idea for the craftily handicapped to give, and I’ll add it to the list. Our motto is:
People who can’t do macrame need to give Christmas gifts, too!
Poetry and Fine Art Friday: 1492
Johnny’s Hist’ry Lesson by Nixon Waterman
I think, of all the things at school
A boy has got to do,
That studyin’ hist’ry, as a rule,
Is worst of all, don’t you?
Of dates there are an awful sight,
An’ though I study day an’ night,
There’s only one I’ve got just right –
That’s fourteen ninety-two.
Columbus crossed the Delaware
In fourteen ninety-two;
We whipped the British, fair an’ square,
In fourteen ninety-two.
At Concord an’ at Lexington.
We kept the redcoats on the run,
While the band played “Johnny Get Your Gun,”
In fourteen ninety-two.
Pat Henry, with his dyin’ breath –
In fourteen ninety-two –
Said, “Gimme liberty or death!”
In fourteen ninety-two.
An’ Barbara Frietchie, so ’tis said,
Cried, “Shoot if you must this old, gray head,
But I’d rather ‘twould be your own instead!”
In fourteen ninety-two.
The Pilgrims came to Plymouth Rock
In fourteen ninety-two,
An’ the Indians standin’ on the dock
Asked, “What are you goin’ to do?”
An’ they said, “We seek your harbor drear
That our children’s children’s children dear
May boast that their forefathers landed here
In fourteen ninety-two.”
Miss Pocahontas saved the life –
In fourteen ninety-two –
Of John Smith, an’ became his wife
In fourteen ninety-two.
An’ the Smith tribe started then an’ there,
An’ now there are John Smiths ev’rywhere,
But they didn’t have any Smiths to spare
In fourteen ninety-two.
Kentucky was settled by Daniel Boone
In fourteen ninety-two,
An’ I think the cow jumped over the moon
In fourteen ninety-two.
Ben Franklin flew his kite so high
He drew the lightnin’ from the sky,
An’ Washington couldn’t tell a lie,
In fourteen ninety-two.
How many historical errors, aside from the obvious dating errors, can your children find in Johnny’s poem? I find at least six, maybe ten, depending on what you count as mistakes. It’s a good exercise in spotting historical inaccuracies. I’ll start you out:
1. Columbus never even saw the Delaware River.
September 24: National Punctuation Day
For chidren:
Alfie the Apostrophe by Moira Rose Donohue.
Penny and the Punctuation Bee by Moira Rose Donohue.
Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver, illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference by Lynne Truss, illustrated by Bonnie Timmons.
For adults, students and writers:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss.
A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation by Noah Lukeman.