Favorite Danish Christmas Traditions

 

     Christmas is a magical holiday, especially for children. When I was young, I always looked forward to celebrating with my maternal grandparents, who incorporated traditions from their Danish heritage into our festivities. The Christmases in my novel, The Legacy, were inspired by these childhood experiences.

   

       My most vivid memories are of “dancing” around the Christmas tree and phonetically singing a song in Danish, "Nu har vi jul igen." At the time I had no comprehension of the words and little understanding of the meaning of the lyrics, but we laughed joyfully as we skipped and trotted around and around the decorated tree. Since I've begun studying Danish, I know the translation is “Now we have Christmas again.” And now, in 2020, we have Christmas (jul) again, and I am still fascinated with Danish holiday customs. 

     Winter brings long nights with many hours of darkness to the Nordic countries. Before the birth of Christ and the Christianization of the people centuries later, Danes had winter celebrations filled with feasts and superstitions. Many aspects of these pagan rituals found their way into subsequent Christmas traditions. One of these is the folklore surrounding  the Nisser. Nisser are similar to gnomes, short with long gray beards. They wear homespun clothes and bright caps, usually red. They are clever about getting around without being seen, but they do not leave gifts.

     A nisse (singular of nisser) expects a snack, usually of porridge on Christmas Eve. If not fed, he becomes cranky. Failure to leave a snack risks insulting a nisse.  A nisse is mischievous, but not evil. Some people believe a nisse is the spirit of an ancestor who comes around during Jul to see that the ancestral home is being properly cared for. The legends of the nisser vary by the source.

 

     Another tradition that carried over from pagan celebrations is the generous use of candles to light the darkness and bring warmth to the long winter.  In the Middle Ages, candles, food and money were given to poor people as charity. Today, Danes still refer to Christmas as the feast of the candles. An advent wreath of evergreens with four tall red or white candles is often hung above or set in the center of the dining room table. The first candle is lit the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Each week, an additional candle is lit until all are lit the last Sunday before Christmas.

    A very old Danish custom is to give farm animals and birds special attention during the Christmas season. The barnyard and stables are thoroughly cleaned. A sheaf of grain is hung out for the birds and livestock are given extra rations on Christmas Eve. A farmer who neglects his animals at Christmas will have bad luck in the new year. (I fill my birdfeeders on Christmas Eve. Does that count?)

     One of my favorite Danish traditions is sharing holiday cheer with family, friends and neighbors. Keeping homemade goodies, cookies, cakes and pastries on hand for visitors and delivering plates of them to neighbors is part of the fun.

    The traditional Christmas feast is usually enjoyed on Christmas Eve. The meal is followed by a dessert of Ris a l’Amande, a cold, creamy rice pudding made with vanilla and almond slivers. One (or more) whole blanched almond is mixed into the pudding. Traditionally, it is made the day before or in the morning and set out during the day to prevent nisser from playing pranks. When ready to serve, hot cherry sauce is poured over the top. If cherries aren’t available, raspberries may be used. The person who finds the almond gets a prize. Everyone must keep eating the pudding until someone finds the almond.

    These Danish customs found their way into The Legacy as they are some of my favorites.

     Do you have favorite Christmas traditions or memories?

Ann Markim

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The differences of historicals and historical fiction

I'd like to point out a few ways in which historicals are - well, different. I love reading historical novels of all genres and I love to write them, so are my five 'star' points that I look out for in the stories that I really enjoy.
　
1. Realistic reactions. In the past, the roles and pressures on people were different to now and a good historical reveals this. Women's liberation as a movement did not emerge until the late 1960s. Women (and working class men) did not acquire the vote in Britain until the early 20th century. Before then, the role of women was determined by family and peer pressure, by the church, by society's expectations, by class and above all by biology. (My great-grandmother had 14 pregnancies, 12 births, 2 miscarriages. In the days before reliable birth-control, women often spent their child-bearing years doing just that.)

In earlier warrior societies, where brute strength was prized as a means of winning booty, only a very unusual woman would be big enough and strong enough to fight as an equal warrior. Remember, food would often be in short supply and the sons and men ate first, not simply because of their higher status but because of survival. Men are generally more physically strong in pushing heavy ploughs, and so on. They needed to be well-fed.

2. Realistic dress. Fashion and past fashions is a fascinating business to me, but in a good historical dress also reveals class and tactile elements. A heroine who is changing her gowns every chapter may not be realistic. Clothes were costly and time-consuming to make. Fashions in the country would be less cutting edge than those of the city. Even cloth and colours would vary - the rich would have access to silks and more expensive dyes.

3. Realistic settings. How people lived in the past is very different from modern-day life (at least in the developed parts of the world) and that is worth showing in a historical. The daily trudge for water would be part of someone's life, as were the anxious waiting on crops and the hunger experienced while the harvest slowly ripened. In an unscientific age the fear of the unknown affected everyone - was the hail storm the sign of an angry god? Was a sudden illness in the village the result of witchcraft? If illness is not understood, then the evil eye becomes as good a reason as anything else. If 'everybody knows' that disease comes from the stench of the gutter, it becomes understandable to protect your cottage from pestilence by growing fragrant roses around the door.

4. Realistic plotting. In the past, communications were a major problem. In a world without the internet, battles could be lost because the flanks of an army literally could not talk to each other. A messenger could take days to ride or run from one part of any country to another. There were no policemen in ancient Greece, where the family was expected to take revenge and seek redress if any one of their people was murdered or injured. A good historical is aware of these difficulties and exploits them.
　
5. Realistic names. Sorry, but - unless the story is fantasy or timeslip - in a story set in 10th century AD somewhere in western Europe, or in China or India, 'Brad' or 'Chantelle', although pretty names, simply don't fit the places or the period and pull me out of the story.

Those are my 5 key points. What are yours?

Lindsay
http://www.lindsaytownsend.co.uk/

A Christmas Tradition

    Through the years, my family has had many Christmas traditions. At my maternal grandparents' home, we danced around the Christmas Tree in the Danish tradition.  My grandmother (whose parents inspired THE LEGACY) served cookies from this recipe, along with many other kinds of cookies, every year. As you can guess from the name, the recipe is very old. Every time I make this recipe, I think of her.

Ice Box Pecan Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter

½ cup sugar

1 cup chopped pecans (can use pecan pieces)

2 cups flour, scant

Extra granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Beat butter and sugar well.

2. Add flour and nuts. If necessary, knead dough to use all 2 cups of flour.

3. Form into logs, 1 to 1½ inches in diameter.

4. Place in ice box (refrigerator) for 1-2 hours.

5. Cut into approximately 1/3 inch slices.

6. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees until slightly brown around the edges.

7. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheet.

8. As you remove each still-warm cookie from the sheet, roll in granulated sugar, covering all sides.

9. This recipe does not double well.

What are some of the Christmas traditions in your family? 

Merry Christmas and Happy 2020.

Ann Markim

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Winter Solstice

Next month those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere will experience the Winter Solstice, i.e. the shortest day of the year. On this day, the North Pole will be at its maximum tilt away from the sun. Since before written history, the Winter Solstice (also called Midwinter) has been observed with rituals and celebrations, as it marks the beginning of lengthening daylight.

In The Legacy, Anna is a Danish immigrant. She and the other Danes refer to Christmas as Jul. The word derives from an ancient twelve-day Midwinter holiday celebrated by pagan Scandinavian peoples. Jul is currently used to denote Christmas in Nordic countries. Many of today’s Christmas traditions, including Christmas trees and wreaths, originated in this pagan holiday.   

Although the Winter Solstice is also referred to as Midwinter, many countries including the United States consider it the First Day of Winter. The actual date is usually December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere. (In the Southern Hemisphere, the Winter solstice occurs in June.) 

However, the December Solstice date and time will vary, depending on geographical location in the Northern Hemisphere. This year’s December Solstice will occur on Sunday, December 22, 2019 at 04:19 UCT (Universal Coordinated Time). But in Omaha, Nebraska USA, where I live, the official local time for the Solstice will be Saturday, December 21, 2019 at 10:19 PM Central Standard Time.

The length of daylight on the shortest day of the year also varies by geographical location, ranging from least at the North Pole to most at the Equator.

For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite of the Winter Solstice is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. This occurs in June, and in the USA it is the first day of summer. The difference in the number of hours of daylight between the shortest and longest days of the year is similarly related to geographical latitude.

My second book, tentatively titled The Claim and scheduled for release late spring or summer of 2020, is mostly set in the Yukon Territory at the time of the Klondike Gold Rush. Consequently, the photoperiod (length of daylight) at different times of the year is a major consideration. These wonderful maps by Brian Brettschneider were of great assistance. His blog is filled with fascinating North American maps and data, very helpful in researching unfamiliar geographical areas.

As the December Solstice approaches, consider a small celebration of the beginning of lengthening daylight in nature’s march toward summer. (I’ll probably indulge in my favorite chocolate.)

Ann Markim

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New Release — Theda's Deception by Agnes Alexander

When her gambler husband, Farley, is killed, Theda Plunkett takes his winnings and leaves town to find a new life. Along with her newfound friend, Nellie Mae Culpepper, the two decide to head west for a new start.

But the train they’re traveling on is involved in a serious accident, killing one of their traveling companions—another woman who is also named Theda. Theda Morrison, the dead woman, was on her way to a teaching position in Montana—and Theda Plunkett decides to take her place, assuming her identity.

“Miz Morrison” and Nellie Mae arrive in Thornbrook Flats, Montana, to a mixed welcome. In a few short days, they’ve settled in and know this is a good place for them to make their home—but someone else has other plans for them. Theda and the town sheriff, Leif Cavanaugh, barely start a relationship when Theda’s life is threatened by an unknown person, and her house ransacked. But why?

Theda must make the wrenching decision to move on from the only happiness she’s known, and a future with the decent man she’s falling in love with—her past is sure to catch up with her. But can she outrun the person who is determined to see her dead? And will Leif be able to find her before she’s killed? Can Leif still love a woman who has kept so many secrets? Or will THEDA’S DECEPTION ruin their last chance at happiness?

EXCERPT:

     “I won’t bother you but a minute or two Miz Plunkett. I know you’re in mourning.” Her voice was apologetic.

     Theda closed the door behind her and motioned to one of the two chairs in the room. “Please, sit down.”

      Nellie Mae sat and began fumbling in the pocket of her faded dress. She came out with a wad of crumpled money and handed it toward Theda. “This here is most of what your husband won afore he was shot. I figure it’s yours now.”

      Theda stared at her. “I don’t understand.”

     Nellie Mae looked puzzled. “What do you want me to say?”

     “Just tell me what happened and why you’re saying this is my money.”

    “Well, whenever Plunkett was shot, they yelled for me cause I’m purty good at patching up somebody with a bullet wound, but I seen right away there weren’t nothing I could do for him ‘cause he was already dead. When he fell, he knocked over the table and the money on it was around him on the floor. I heard somebody say the money belonged to the man who shot Farley Leroy Plunkett, and he kept saying it was his, cause Plunkett had cheated him. He might have got the money if’n somebody hadn’t shoved him against the table with the lamp on it. The cloth on the table caught fire, and afore they could put it out, the whole place was catching fire. I gathered up the money and put it in my pocket, so I could bring it to you. I follered you here from the funeral since out there in the graveyard weren’t no place to bother you and give it to you.”

     

THE BADLANDS – A MAJESTIC SETTING

In the days before European settlement, prairie grasslands covered the Great Plains from west-central Canada to Texas. There were few trees, and those few were only found growing near water. Today, with development, fencing, plowing and planting food crops, it’s nearly impossible to imagine the scene that greeted the first settlers.

This summer, on my way to do some research Inga’s story in Laramie, Wyoming, my sister and I drove the length of South Dakota, from Sioux Falls to Rapid City and Custer. Along the way, I tried to imagine what the pre-settlement land as a potential setting for a future novel. And then, we made a stop at the Badlands National Park.

The formations found there, and in the surrounding area, are unique.

 

 

  

As we hiked a trail or two, I became confused. I felt that I was seeing grasses I had seen in remnants of native Tallgrass Prairie (usually found in the eastern part of the Great Plains) and species of grasses common to Shortgrass Prairie (usually found in the west regions). When we arrived at the visitor’s center, with its informative displays, I got my answer. Within the Badlands National Park we find the “largest extent of native mixed grass prairie in the park system,” with more than sixty species of grass growing there.

The Park provides a series of educational signs along the route.

Wisps of scrub and a few scraggly trees grow atop and sporadically along the sides of the eroded outcroppings. As we meandered through the park, we noted so subtle, and some not-so-subtle, variations in the colors of the formations. Granted, some of the subtle changes may have been affected by the varying light conditions.

   

 

  

The explanation for the spectrum of colors is that the Badlands were deposited in layers over millions and millions of years, over many historic periods with different environments including tropics, woodlands and meandering rivers, and seas. Oldest layers are at the bottom, more recent ones on top.

  

 

At one time, streams and rivers carried sediments from the Black Hills. This caused building up of the rock layers we see today. About 500,000 years ago, the Cheyenne River captured streams and rivers flowing from the Black Hills into the Badlands region. After this, the deposits stopped and erosion from winds and weather dominated.

The land is fascinating, and has made a unique backdrop for a variety of novels. My problem will be developing a fresh plot that rises to the grandeur of the Badlands.

Ann Markim

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We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby… Or Have we?

As a child of the 1960’s, I witnessed, and personally experienced, discrimination on basis of my gender when I entered the college in 1969. At that time, women were commonly required to demonstrate far superior qualifications (far above those expected of men) in order to even be considered for admission to medical and other professional schools.

We were told:

Men were supposed to be doctors. Women were supposed to be nurses.

Men were superior to women in math and science so they make better engineers, scientists, and so forth.

The vast majority of CEO’s, politicians and people in positions of authority were men, and they controlled the policies and practices that perpetuated the status quo. So, when I joined in the movement demanding equal rights for women (the ERA), I believed I was in on the ground floor of a radical effort. Oh, the naiveté of a young, farm girl.

As I’ve been researching the women’s suffrage movement for my new novel, I’ve learned that I was just one of the countless foot soldiers in a long, wearisome, undertaking.

The first women’s rights convention in U.S. history was held July 19 & 20, 1848, in Seneca, New York. At the time, women were considered property of their husbands with no rights of their own. The convention organizers wanted to overturn the “code of true womanhood” which proclaimed, “Man was made for himself, woman was made for him.”

On July 19, two hundred women attended. Men were not allowed. Elizabeth Cady Stanton presented her treatise, the “Declaration of Sentiments,” based on the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed that all men and women are created equal. The document detailed the most egregious injustices suffered by women.

Men were allowed to attend the second day of the convention, and about 40 did. The attendees adopted the DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS & GRIEVANCES. Resolutions were listed. Examples include, married women should be able to hold property in their own name, married women should be able to divorce their husbands and have custody of their children, women should receive equal pay for equal work, and women should have equal access to education and the professions. All of these initial resolutions passed unanimously.

But when the resolution for women’s suffrage was proposed, it met with powerful opposition and was subjected to a lengthy debate. The African-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke in favor of suffrage stating that without the vote, women would be unable to change the laws that treated them unfairly. The resolution passed.

Innumerable future-focused, selfless women worked hard for many years to secure women’s suffrage, knowing they probably would not survive long enough to personally benefit from their efforts.

It was 72 years before passage of the amendment granting women the right to vote. Next year, 2020, will be the 100^th anniversary of U.S. women winning the right to vote.

     

Granted, progress has been made on the resolutions passed at the Seneca Falls convention. I am grateful to those who started the women’s movement and to all who have worked for women’s equality, as I have reaped benefits from their sacrifices. But we still have a long way to go.

Today, women still do not receive equal pay for equal work.

Almost every week we learn of Title IX violations involving educational institutions’ failure to address sexual harassment of women, sexual assault of women or inequity in athletic programs.

And, women in power are not immune. as a study referenced in the Harvard Business Review shows.
Interruptions are attempts at dominance. In reviewing 15 years of Supreme Court oral argument transcripts, they found that "women do not have an equal opportunity to be heard on the highest court in the land. In fact, as more women join the court, the reaction of the male justices has been to increase their interruptions of the female justices. Many male justices are now interrupting female justices at double-digit rates per term, but the reverse is almost never true. In the last 12 years, during which women made up, on average, 24% of the bench, 32% of interruptions were of the female justices, but only 4% were by the female justices."

This summer marks 161 years since the Seneca Falls convention, and 99 years since women were granted the right to vote. We still haven’t had a female President of the United States, and women are woefully underrepresented in national and state governing bodies.

I wish I had a simple remedy for these and other examples of the inequality of women in our country. I don’t. But based on our history, we clearly must keep fighting for equal rights – if not for ourselves, for our daughters and granddaughters.

Ann Markim

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New Release — Courting Anna: Women of Destiny by Cate Simon

Beautiful Anna Harrison has carved out her life as a small-town lawyer. Brilliantly intelligent and fiercely independent, a female attorney of her caliber is quite the oddity in 1880s Montana Territory! After losing her fiancé years before, she guards her heart as carefully as her treasured independence—until outlaw Jeremiah Brown comes into her life. Throwing caution to the wind is not in Anna—but what can one night with her handsome client hurt? He’s leaving town the next day…

Jeremiah Brown has been working hard to come clean and dodge bounty hunters who know him as Tommy Slade until the statute of limitations runs out on his past crimes. Though he’s irresistibly drawn to Anna, he’s well aware that sleeping with his beautiful attorney is a deadly game to play, even if it’s only “just” one night. Still, how can he resist?

But Fate has different plans for them, and they find themselves falling in love against their better judgment. How can they have a future with a price still on Jeremiah’s head? And how can Anna find happiness as a wife without losing her own hard-won independence? When circumstances spiral out of their control, they both discover that love is the most important thing of all. 

In the courtroom, in the wilderness, and in the face of scandal, Jeremiah’s biggest challenge is Courting Anna.

EXCERPT

     "Someone here to see you boys," said the deputy, clearly relishing the fact that he was in on something.

     The men both smiled, through the bars of the sheriff’s lockup. The blond one had an open, friendly look, and a classically handsome face, but the dark-haired one, Jeremiah Brown, lit up the room with that broad smile of his. "Well, hello, ma'am," he said. "It's nice of you to come and call. But we were expecting…"

     "You were expecting a lawyer named Harrison, weren't you? Well, that's me, Anna Harrison."

Their smiles faded quickly. They thought it was a joke on them. She was used to it—most everyone who wasn’t from around those parts thought the same. That was the other reason the sheriff always called Nick in first.

     "No rule against it in this territory. My father was a lawyer before me, and he didn't have any sons to clerk for him, so I'm carrying on the family profession." She crossed her arms and looked squarely at them, the way she’d learned to do when anybody expected her to simper and blush. "Ask anyone around here…right, Deke?"  She glanced at the deputy, who winked at her.

     

The Palace in the Middle of the USA

Since the Revolutionary War was fought to free the colonies from the rule of a Monarch, it is surprising that the U.S.A. has so many palaces. Of course, the Governor’s Palaces in Williamsburg, Virginia, and New Bern, North Carolina, are left over from the British reign. The palaces in Hawaii are vestiges of the days the Hawaiian royal family ruled the islands. And Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, New Mexico was originally constructed in the early 17th century as Spain's seat of government for what is today the American Southwest.

One of the most unique American palaces is located in Mitchell, South Dakota.

In 1892, the “World’s Only Corn Palace” was established on the city’s Main Street as a gathering place for locals and visitors at the annual fall festival celebrating the end of the growing season and the harvest.

The venue hosted stage entertainment, and became so popular that a new Palace was built in 1905. When this new building was outgrown, it was replaced by a third Palace, which was completed in 1921. This is the Palace that stands today. Later, in the 1930’s the exterior was restored to the original Moorish style, with minarets and kiosks.

Mitchell still hosts the annual fall festival, but it also serves as a venue for basketball tournaments, local high school events and commercial shows and exhibits.

This unique structure, decorated with naturally-colored corns, other grains, and native grasses, draws half a million tourists each year.

The murals on the exterior are changed each year. The ears of corn are sliced in half lengthwise and then nailed into place by hand in the pre-drawn designs. Approximately 325,00 ears of corn are used, with each ear having 4-5 nails to hold it in place.

The theme for this year is “Salute to the Military.” In addition to the murals on the front of the building, a series of huge panels graces the side wall.

 The detail in the designs is mind-boggling, given the number and variety of colors in the ears of corn that are required. Here are a couple of examples.

  

Inside the Palace there is an entry and lobby with displays and exhibits. On the second floor is a gallery displaying the works of Oscar Howe, the artist who was the longest-running mural designer.

It is often said that “place” can become a character in a novel, as important as the protagonist(s). The “World’s Only Corn Palace” is certainly a fascinating place with a great deal of character. If you’re in the area, it’s a unique and interesting destination.

Please comment with a fascinating place you have visited or somewhere that pleasantly surprised you.

Ann Markim

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Source material: Handouts from the Corn Palace and tourist guides to Mitchell, South Dakota.

Historic or Contemporary? Why Not Both?

Depending on who you talk to, I’m either a writer of historic romances, or an author of sexy contemporaries. No, I don’t have a Jekyll/Hyde personality, but sometimes I do feel like I’m using both sides of my brain when I write. I liken it to the Olympics, where the same person competes in various disciplines of the same sport—say downhill skiing, where the object is to go fast and slalom skiing, which calls for precision and accuracy. The basics are the same, but it’s the tricks of each that make them unique and special.

Historical romances for me are like slalom skiing—orderly and analytical. I need to get my facts straight before I begin writing. The Cotillion Ball series takes place in America in the late 1850s and 1860s. Those years were tumultuous times in the country, as the threat of civil war loomed on the horizon. But it wasn’t just the war that happened during that time. Western expansion caused many Americans to move from one coast to the other, gold was discovered in California, railroads and telegraph lines carved pathways across the face of America. What this translates to is plenty to write about, but I’d better make certain my facts are in order. If I have a wagon train going west, it better leave from one of the towns where the trains began, and it better happen in the correct time period.

Fashion is another factor. Do my heroines wear hoop skirts or were they passé? Did women walk by themselves during the day in downtown New York, or did they need an escort at all times? Are the words I’m using too modern? It’s a constant game of checking and double-checking facts. I love to write and read historic romances, but they are difficult, tedious and time consuming to achieve.

By contrast, contemporary romances are just the opposite. They’re the downhill skiing in my eyes. Quick and sometimes verging on out of control. Yes, I still need to fact-check, especially if I’m placing the book in a part of the country I’m not familiar with, or if I’ve got things in the book that I know nothing about—bull riders, motorcycles, lobstermen, tornadoes, jewelry makers, to name a few. But I don’t need to obsess over whether the word was in use in the 19^thcentury, and I can use words that I know didn’t see the light of day until the year 2000 or beyond. It’s liberating to me to be able to write a contemporary, and I can find all kinds of fun things to write about. 

 

I like to change things up after I write a historical and compose a sexy contemporary. But as I write each genre, I’m thinking of the next one, and what I’ll write. So by the time I finish a contemporary, I’m ready to slide back into my world in the 1850s, and can tackle the new story with fresh ideas. Regardless of what the sub-genre is, the basics are still the same. There must be a compelling love story, and the writing has to sparkle. Without those two elements, no one will care what type of writing you do. It’s kind of like skiing. You can sign up for whatever kind of specific discipline you want, but you’d better first know how to ski.