I absolutely adore old fashioned, vintage look Christmas cards. I’ve shared many in the past, but haven’t veered into the more recent eras or focused on American motifs. I ran across a couple of retro Christmas cards, quite by accident, and naturally then lost hours of my life searching Google...
It is universally agreed that having a decorated tree inside the house as a focal point of the Christmas season became a standard in the western world thanks to Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria. Indeed, the Prince — who hailed from Schloss Rosenau near Coburg in Germany — encouraged...
Fun and fascinating Christmas trivia! Write these down to dazzle your holiday guests! The crew of NASA’s Gemini 6A space flight made history when they played “Jingle Bells” on December 16, 1965, earning the jolly jingle the Guinness World Record for being the first song ever played in space. Written by...
More Christmas music, please! Musical Saturday once again with a selection of unique holiday-themed videos from contemporary artists. As I noted last Saturday, when it comes to Christmas music, I lean heavily toward the classic songs written a hundred-plus years ago that contain strong religious themes within the lyrics. Those...
Are you ready for a shocking fact? This beloved carol was not written for the Christmas season or to celebrate the birth of Christ or even to be a song! Quite a surprise, isn’t it? Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was one of the most prolific and celebrated creators of hymns. In...
Ever since Hollywood began making movies, a certain number have been specific for the Christmas season. Until maybe two or three decades ago, defining what makes a “Christmas” movie was relatively straight forward. The givens were: 1) it was set during the holiday season, 2) usually involved some sort of...
Almost every year I share information on Washington Irving and the wonderful chapters about Christmas including in his famous 1819 The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The most recent blog on the topic is from the Christmas season in 2019 and can be read via the link below. Enjoy...
Almost every year I share information on Washington Irving and the wonderful chapters about Christmas including in his famous 1819 The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The most recent blog on the topic is from the Christmas season in 2019 and can be read via the link below. Enjoy...
Of course I can’t allow this Christmas season to pass without researching a few more holiday-themed words. The previous entry into Vocabulary Rocks! for Christmas words was in 2019 and the link is: Vocabulary Rocks! Christmas Edition with etymology for the words advent, crèche, tinsel, frankincense and myrrh, tidings, and...
The Lathans are HUGE fans of all things Disney. As massive lovers of the magical world created by the late, great Walt Disney — and as we fortunately lived in California, me personally growing up about an hour away from Anaheim — visiting Disneyland was a constant event all of...
When it comes to Christmas music, I lean heavily toward the classic songs written a hundred-plus years ago that contain strong religious themes within the lyrics. Those hymns, in all the varied renditions, will always be my favorites, hence my highlighting them in a plethora of blog posts over the...
I’ve never been a fan of fruitcake, however, that is due to the nuts rather than any of the usual reasons people hate this classic holiday treat. I am not technically allergic to nuts, but as far as I am concerned, I might as well be since the teeniest sliver...
The Holly and The Ivy is a traditional English Christmas song with a rich and mysterious history. The established version (see lyrics below) with the lyrics and melody was first published by English folk song collector Cecil Sharp (1859-1924) in 1909. Sharp, in turn, collected the song from from a...
Yesterday I highlighted my Christmas novella, A Darcy Christmas, with a bunch of excerpts to pique your interest. Read that post HERE if you missed it. Today, as the third day in my planned four weeks of blogs dedicated to the joyous Christmas season, it made sense to shine a...
Way back in early 2010, my editor asked me to write a Pride and Prejudice themed novella centered on Christmas. The plan was for my novella to accompany two other short stories for a release that upcoming holiday season. I was given the freedom to write whatever I wanted, meaning...
