Christmas Heirlooms

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Are you ready for Christmas? Or if you’re not ready, hope you're at least enjoying a fun Friday, looking forward to the celebration of our Savior’s birth.

For children, the joy of Christmas comes from the wonder and anticipation of the season. Older people more often find joy in memories that settle deep into the soul, built layer upon layer. Christmas heirlooms are the catalyst guaranteed to recall those memories of Christmases past, and all the joy they hold.

Every family has its own unique heirlooms. One of the most enduring is the crèche.

According to tradition, Saint Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene in 1223 as a live representation of the Holy Birth. The Nativity scene inspired communities throughout Catholic countries to stage similar pantomimes.

As the centuries progressed, figurines of clay, terra cotta, and porcelain were produced to display in public and in homes. Besides Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus, shepherds, sheep, angels, and the Magi were added to the setting. Displaying the crèche became almost as popular as the Christmas tree. Customs evolved, such as assigning the honor of placing the baby Jesus to the family’s youngest child.

The family crèche was a prized heirloom passed down from generation to generation, but it's not the only Christmas keepsake.

Whether store-bought or hand-made, ornaments are popular heirlooms. As the custom of decorating a Christmas tree grew, the need for ornaments naturally increased.

Victorians made most of their ornaments, and the instructions for constructing them were included the magazines of the day. Balls, bird nests, cones, and framed pictures were made of wood, fabric, paper, and whatever nature provided.

The late 1800s saw the rise of tin pressed ornaments, but the most prized ornaments were of blown glass, usually imported from Germany. These were so expensive a household would probably possess only one or two. Then sometime between the two world wars, American companies began manufacturing glass ornaments. After WWII, F. W. Woolworth made these ornaments available in his five and dime stores.

As the cheaper ornaments became available, hand-crafted heirlooms fell out of popularity. A shame in my opinion, because it’s the school projects brought in by grade-schoolers or things intricately stitched, embroidered, crocheted, and glued by mothers that hold the best memories.

When I was growing up we had a box of heirloom ornaments. A house fire destroyed them years ago, and only one of my crafts has endured to become a true heirloom. During a particularly lean year, I didn’t have enough in the Christmas budget to buy a nice Christmas tree skirt, so I looked through my left-over yarn. Not much was available in the colors I needed, but I started crocheting and this is it.

Half a lifetime later it still wraps around the trunk of our Christmas tree. Cats and puppies have played under it. Babies have chewed on it. Children have lain on it, playing games. Toys have snagged it. Large and small piles of packages have rested on top of it. After a wash, it’s good as new. I can’t imagine a Christmas without it.

That’s what an heirloom is—enduring through the years, bringing back the memories.

Does your family have a Christmas heirloom that means a lot to you?

The NINE Author Interview - Hold on to your hat!

A Ruby Christmas - written by NINE different authors.

NINE authors. NINE settings covering THREE continents. ELEVEN chapters. ONE jet-set, tricky dog. A crèche with pieces collected from across the globe. And RUBY, the heroine who travels around the world, and brings back JOY for Christmas at the ranch.

I (metaphorically) sat down with (most of) the authors of this fun Christmas Novella. Here’s what we talked about:

Why participate in a multi-author project like this?

Marji: Besides the opportunity for me, as a new writer, to earn a publishing credit, I've loved getting to know my other co-authors. And I'm blown away by how the Lord weaves our chapters together to create a moving, cohesive story!

Dianne: I spend most my time writing nonfiction and I really want to write some fiction. It was challenging to work off of someone else’s brainstorming and story, and to make my part of it fit. But it has been a most amazing journey that has touched me personally in many ways.

Ruth: Because it's fun!! And also because I get to work with some amazing authors.

What makes Ruby's Christmas special?                

Dianne: I’m not sure how to answer that question for anyone else but me. This story has touched me personally because some points in my life paralleled Ruby’s. You can read about it here.

Phee: I think Ruby's life was somewhat joyless before her father sent her on the quest for the nativity. As she found each piece, she also learned more about Jesus, who is the source of joy.

Ruth: I love the idea of her collecting pieces of the nativity from locations all around the world. That makes her crèche valuable in ways that money can't buy.

Julie: Ruby is special due to her foreign travels. That was challenging to coordinate and required a lot of creativity on the parts of the authors.

Who will the story appeal to?

Dianne: The story will appeal to anyone struggling through the loss of a loved one, searching for what’s most important in life, and who has faced some of life’s fire.

Phee: All the people who don't want to let the busy Christmas season overwhelm them.

Ruth: Families. I know a lot of families who look for things to read together during the holidays. It is clean and family friendly.

Julie: Anyone who looking for a curl-up-by-the fire, gentle, humorous story. And dog lovers.

Fay: A Ruby Christmas will appeal to those folks who love to settle down in front of the television and watch the Hallmark Movie Channel Christmas movies. Ruby is a sweet tale with just enough romance blended in.

What is your greatest passion when it comes to writing?

Ruth: Stirring people's emotions. I think Ruby will do that.

Julie: To go beyond entertaining and leave a meaningful message in readers' hearts.

Fay: Layering plots into story.

Jennifer: painting with words and evoking a response.

What is your favorite nativity set - one you own or one you've seen? Do you have any special Christmas memories involving a nativity scene?

Marji: We have a little stuffed scene, well-worn and well-loved. My oldest girl would carry around Baby Jesus like a treasure, both hands close to her body. Such a precious memory. But one of my favorites, a scene I pinned up on Pinterest is made up of S'mores! What an eye-catcher!

Ruth: My favorite nativity set was white porcelain. Plain, yet so elegant.

Julie: My favorite "nativity set" is actually like the one in the story. We've had a couple of different sizes. One of our German exchange students brought the big one (2ft tall) over as a gift from her parents. I love setting it up every year.

Check out the novella:

Ruby Joy Buckner, cowgirl, has never left the Lone Star State, but at her father’s request, she takes her faithful canine companion and travels the world in search of Nativity pieces. As Ruby collects the pieces, she also collects a few unexpected surprises, including an awareness of the beauty in other cultures, and quite a menagerie of new friends, thanks in part to Yippee Ti Yi Yo who charms everyone they meet. Ruby’s budding awareness of life outside Texas opens her eyes to a world of whimsy, and the Nativity pieces she collects are unusual. Will her father approve her eclectic collection … and the changes that travel brought to Ruby’s life?

Our Authors:

Jerusha Agen             MarjiLaine                 Ruth O’Neil

Dianne E Butts          FayLamb                   Phee Paradise

Jennifer Fromke        J.A.Marx                   Debbie Roome

  

Write Integrity Press has done it again! Last year, The Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt sent Grace on a whirlwind trip. Nine authors plotted her journey and in the process, created a story enjoyed by tens of thousands.

This year, the same publisher has brought together many of the same authors (and a few new ones!) for a new Christmas story, A Ruby Christmas. The first 9 chapters will be published via blog, one each business day for the first two weeks in December. Then the entire novella (with the 10th and 11th chapters) will be available for free kindle download December 13-16 and available for sale after that.

There’s so much going on, here’s how you can JUMP IN!

Catch up on the daily chapters from the beginning here. 

Visit the Pinterest contest board.

Hop over to Goodreads and add it to your “Want to Read” list.

Mark your calendars for the kindle release date and the first of FOUR FREE days on Amazon: December 13.

As a special bonus for all the readers who persevered to the end of this post, I have a closing thought from the publisher of A Ruby Christmas, Tracy Ruckman: I love our joint projects like A Ruby Christmas and The Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt. God always manages to surprise me with the final outcome. During the development of A Ruby Christmas, I came to know our authors on a different level. I am so appreciative of their talent, creativity, dedication, and hard work – lots and lots of hard work. My favorite football coach, Bear Bryant, said, “There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success.” That describes our journey this year with A Ruby Christmas. I pray this story touches the hearts and funny bones of readers all around the world.