THE HOLIDAYS ARE UPON US

Post by Doris McCraw (c)

December is a time of snow and cold in the Northern hemisphere, sun and rain in the Southern. It is the month of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. A time of gifts and celebrations.

The gift giving of the three wise men in the Bible are part of the tradition. However the idea of gift giving is a much older one. Ancient Rome, and early Pagan religions had celebrations with gift giving during the winter months, usually starting on what would now be December 17^th.

The decorated Christmas tree is credited as having started in Germany in the 16^th century, when early Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. They were not the first, however to celebrate with greenery. Most early societies believed the ‘evergreen’ plants were special, especially so during the cold winter months of the Northern Hemisphere. In my story, “Lost Knight, Out of Time” I fudged a bit and brought the decorated tree into the story. But if you read it, the concept fits.

New Year’s celebrations of January 1 began in Rome in 153 BC, because that was the beginning of the civil year when newly elected Roman Consuls took office. In fact January and February were not even part of the calendar until around 700 BC. Prior to that, New Year’s was celebrated in March.

From Authors (C) collection

So as we get ready to share our imagination, our stories and ourselves this season, think back to the rich history that comes with this time of year. The many authors here and elsewhere have spent time creating stories for you and your reading friends.

It is with joy and sadness I prepare to read Sara Barnard’s final ‘Everlasting Hearts’ story. The two wonderful Christmas anthologies PRP “One Winter Knight”, and “Cowboy Under the Mistletoe” are sure to please many. Zina Abbott’s “Bridgeport Holiday Brides” is out and my own “Gift of Forgiveness” is coming soon. Painted Pony Books has “A Christmas Spider” by Randy Lee Eickhoff. Watch for these and so many more stories for the Holidays, and don't forget all the other greats ones that have come to us throughout the year from Prairie Rose Publications and their imprints. 

I am a firm believer in books as gifts. When you give someone the gift of a book, you are not only sharing your love of reading, but the heart and soul of the author. When you have a book, and you know how to read it, you will always have someone with you. So this Holiday season, whether in the Northern hemisphere, where you bundle up to read and stay warm, on in the Southern where the beach is calling., you can’t go wrong with books.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and remember, these traditions go back many centuries! (And yes, I do enjoy Alice Cooper's music, just not his stage shows *grin*)

Angela Raines is the pen name for Doris McCraw. Doris also writes haiku posted five days a week at – http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com and has now passed one thousand haiku and photos posted on this blog. Check out her other work or like her Amazon author page:  http://amzn.to/1I0YoeL