Category Archives: Holidays

Merry Christmas! What Was The Best Christmas Gift You Ever Received?

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Merry Christmas! This is the season of giving!

What was your favorite Christmas gift?

I’ve been busy, purchasing Christmas gifts for my son. Made me wonder about favorite Christmas gifts! Take a moment to answer the following question: What was the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I’m wishing everyone a safe and blessed Christmas! During Christmas, remember Christ’s amazing birth!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

My romance collection is on sale for 99 cents each.

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Yes, There Really Is A Santa Claus! :-)

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I’m talking about Saint Nicholas! For some reason, I’ve always been fascinated with why we celebrate Christmas. I’m not sure if it’s because I never celebrated as a child – or, some other reason!

Since it’s Christmas, I thought it’d be fun to share some Saint Nicholas facts.

1. Very little is known about the real Saint Nicholas.

2. He was born in Asia-Minor – which is now modern-day Turkey – in the third century.

3. He was the Bishop of Myra in the fourth century.

4. He attended the First Council of Nicaea.

5. Most stories about Saint Nicholas are legends – his being a secret gift-giver stemmed from the legend of his secretly leaving dowries for a poor widower’s daughters.

6. The beginning of Saint Nicholas becoming our modern-day Santa Claus happened in New York around 1804. Saint Nicolas became our modern-day Santa Claus via a series of New York events:

7. A man named John Pintard met with New York leaders to establish the New York Historical Society. The Historical Society members celebrated the early Dutch-roots heritage of New York by having an annual dinner on December 6th: Saint Nicholas Day.

8. Washington Irving, Pintard’s brother-in-law and a member of the Historical Society, wrote A History Of New York under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerboker. A History of New York mentioned Saint Nicholas several times, further popularizing him.

9. Clement Moore, another member of the Historical Society, had his poem, The Night Before Christmas, published anonymously in the New York Sentinel in 1823, further popularized Saint Nicholas’s character. ***An ongoing debate is the authorship of this poem – either Clement Moore or Henry Livingston was the author.

10. The popularity of this poem gave Saint Nicholas great influence on how we know him today. It was the first widely accepted reference to Saint Nicholas having reindeer and driving a sleigh.

***Prior to this most of Santa’s characteristics were believed to be derived from Odin, a Germanic God.  Odin traveled through the air on a six-legged horse as part of the ghostly Wild Hunt. Odin also had a long white beard, and he visited people, bearing gifts.

Also, The Night Before Christmas gave names to Saint Nicholas’s reindeer. This poem proved significant in developing the modern image of Nicholas’s physical appearance, too – he no longer appeared as a bishop, wearing bishop’s clothing. He now was a red-cheeked jolly man. In this poem, Saint Nicholas made his visit on Christmas Eve – moving his “day” from December 6th (Saint Nicholas Day) to December 24th.

11. Thomas Nast – A New Yorker who was a cartoonist and illustrator at Harper’s Weekly. His drawings had a vast influence on the popularity of Santa Claus. His drawings established the following Santa Claus traits:

Nast’s drawings established Santa as a toymaker living in the North Pole with his elves as assistants. He also established Santa receiving letters from kids as well as kids leaving snacks out for Santa to enjoy. He also showed Santa with his giant book with the names of children.

12. Francis Church, a journalist, answered an editorial letter from a little girl named Virginia O’Hanlon. She wanted to know if there was a Santa Claus and his response was printed in the New York Sun. It was reprinted and embraced by the public each year until The Sun went out of business.

13. Haddon Sundblom – an artist, drew drawings every year for Coca-Cola, further popularizing Santa Claus.

So, there you have it! Those are the main reasons why third-century-born Saint Nicholas became our modern-day Santa Claus!

Can you recommend any books about Christmas or Santa Claus traditions?

I’ve read a few over the years and the two that I enjoyed the most were:

Christmas – A Candid History

The Battle For Christmas

~Cecelia Dowdy~

My romance collection is on sale for 99 cents each.

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All I Want For Christmas Is You – A Secular Romance

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***Free secular Kindle book!

All I Want For Christmas by Lisa Mondello

Have you ever been abandoned by your family?

Lauren’s six-year-old daughter (Kristen) asks Santa for a Christmas present – a daddy. When the millionaire/mall-owner, Kyle – dressed as Santa, spots Lauren for the first time – he’s smitten. He attempts to assist stubborn, proud, Lauren when her car breaks down – but she refuses his help. After all, she’s been alone since her parents tossed her out of their home when she got pregnant in high school. Alone since then, she’s learned to make it on her own, and she doesn’t have the time or desire to get involved with Kyle. It doesn’t matter that Kyle is good-looking, thoughtful, and gets along great with her daughter.

Although Lauren resists his attention, Kyle doesn’t give up. Realizing that Lauren was abandoned as a teen, Kyle can relate to that feeling because he’s been abandoned too.

This book was heartwarming, and shows how two broken people attempt to overcome obstacles before they’re free to love one another.

Have you ever felt abandoned by your family? What happened? Did you ever resolve your differences?

 

 

 

The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber

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The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber

Have you ever had a long-term feud with your best friend?

If so, how long were you mad at each other? What was the feud about? Did the two of you ever make up?

When Sarah McDowell visits the exclusive women’s country club in town, she has a mission. She must reserve the club for her daughter, Kristin’s, wedding. She’s hoping she doesn’t run into her worst enemy for the last 20 years, Mary Sutton. Long ago, Sarah was a real estate agent. She borrowed her best friend’s, Mary’s, family heirloom tea set to supposedly display at a house she was showing. However, Sarah lies to Mary, the silver tea set was not used for Sarah’s showing, but, for a showing for one of Sarah’s co-workers. The tea set is stolen, and Mary has never forgiven Sarah for lying to her and mishandling her tea set.

Sarah has high hopes for her daughter’s wedding, but, when she’s told that she can’t use the country club, unless she does community service with Mary, making Christmas baskets for the needy, she gets highly upset!!

Sarah’s daughter, Noelle, was Mary’s son (Thom’s) high school sweetheart. Part of the reason Thom and Noelle broke up was because of the family feud between their mothers. Now, about ten years after that nasty breakup, Noelle is back in Rose (her hometown). It was too painful for her to return to Rose after Thom stood her up the night they were supposed to elope.

It’s Christmas, and Noelle is finally going to be spending the holiday with her family…the only problem is, the first person she runs into is Thom. Can they work through the past and heal from their pain? Thom was hurt, too, that awful night and he finds it hard to forgive Noelle for all that’s happened.

This story was extremely light Christmas reading. It was sort of pleasant, but, very predictable. I found it hard to read about the hostile animosity between Mary and Sarah. The two women were so immature that they acted like children. Acting like that for twenty years would wear me down…I’d think I’d get tired of it after awhile. I’d probably end up moving away (to avoid my enemy), or, risk having a heart attack!

I enjoyed reading the story, and I also loved the nice, whimsical Christmas atmosphere.

Many thanks to Harlequin MIRA for providing me a free review copy through Net Galley.

So, have you ever had a long-term feud with your best friend?

If so, how long were you mad at each other? What was the feud about? Did the two of you ever make up?

I feel that lots of relationships – friendships and family relationships – are ruined because of money.

What kinds of things do you think ruins friendships and relationships?

Call Me Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber

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Call Me Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber

Which toy did you want the most for Christmas? Did you ever receive your most-desired toy?

This is a classic Christmas story that’ll warm your heart during the holiday season. Holly Larson has temporary custody of her nephew, Gabe, since Gabe’s father is stationed overseas. She’s financially strapped since she has extra expenses from caring for her nephew. She’s also not used to being a mother. On top of her new motherly duties, she has to work for a strict, Scrooge-like boss. Her boss is a famous designer named Lindy Lee.

When Holly doesn’t have the money to pay for her coffee at the coffee shop, Jake Finley saves the day, paying for her cup of brew. Afterwards, Holly runs into Jake frequently. Jake and his father have not celebrated Christmas since his mother and sister were killed in a freak accident more than 2 decades ago. Jake manages the toy section for Finley’s (his father’s department store). A strange, elderly seasonal employee is hired to work with Jake – Mrs. Miracle.

Gabe wants an expensive toy robot from Jake’s store for Christmas. Holly doesn’t know if she can afford to buy the robot for Gabe. Is she a bad mother if she can’t purchase the toy for her nephew?

I really felt for Holly, temporarily raising her nephew. Being single, and then suddenly having a child to care for, is not easy. Also, I really felt for Jake and his dad.

A toy robot, Mrs. Miracle, Gabe, Holly and Jake are important players in this loving Christmas tale. I loved this heartwarming story because the characters were so vivid and realistic. I could imagine people reading this book every year during the holiday season.

Many thanks to Harlequin MIRA for providing me with a free review copy.

Tell me, which toy did you want the most for Christmas? Did you ever receive your most-desired toy?