Christmas at Schoenbrunn in 1773

Christmas at Schoenbrunn in 1773
by Tamera Lynn Kraft

Schoenbrunn Village

In the wilderness of Ohio in 1773, a small band of missionaries and Lenape Indians celebrated Christmas at Schoenbrunn Village, the first settlement in Ohio. They’d come to this wilderness and started the village a year earlier to preach the Gospel to the Lenape, also known as the Deleware. 

The missionaries, both white and native families moved from a town in Pennsylvania called Bethlehem. Moravians had come to Bethlehem years earlier when a preacher named John Wesley had donated the land to them. But the Lenape had been forced west as more white men had moved into the area, so the Moravians decided to move west with them.

Life was hard in Schoenbrunn. Cabins were quickly made and community gardens were planted that included beans, corn, and squash. Most villages also planted potatoes and turnips next to their cabins. The rest of their food came from hunting. But the real danger came from the many Indian tribes surrounding the village, some of them hostile.

Schoenbrunn School

They didn’t have time to build a fence to keep out varments and the first Ohio church until Spring, 1773, but they did manage to build a school, the first built in Ohio. The school taught both boys and girls, a first for the colonies, how to read the Scripture in their native language and in English. The Moravians printed a Bible in the Lenape language.

The village council was led by David Zeisberger and including white Moravians and Lenape converts. The rules for the village were established by the Lenape Christians. These missionaries did not consider the native converts to be beneath them but instead brothers in Christ.

Fireplace in Schoenbrunn Church

After a year and a half in Schoenbrunn, the villagers were excited to celebrate their first Christmas. They had many traditions that we still use today. They would have a candlelight Christmas Eve service called a Lovefeast. During this service, they sang Christmas hymns, shared sweet rolls and coffee together, and prayed for each other. The service concluded when they gave each child a bleached beeswax candle and a scripture to hang on their trees at home. The white candle symbolized the purity of Christ and the flame showed that Jesus is the light of the world. A red ribbon would be wrapped around the candle to symbolize how Jesus shed His blood for a lost world. 

In every home in Schoenbrunn, families decorated artificial Christmas trees with candles and papers with scriptures written on them. The trees were made by putting together a wood frame and decorating it with real pine branches. The family would also make a putz, a nativity village that included the nativity scene, the wise men, and other Biblical scenes and place it under the tree. Most Moravians gave small gifts at Christmas, but resources were so limited that the children in Schoenbrunn were happy with their candles they received at the church. After a Christmas feast, the family would read the verses hung on the tree and talk about God’s blessings at Christmas.
Schoenbrunn Village has been restored and is open to tourists.

Find out more at this link (http://www.ohiosfirstvillage.com) .

A Christmas Promise

By Tamera Lynn Kraft

A Moravian Holiday Story, Circa 1773

During colonial times, John and Anna settle in an Ohio village to become Moravian missionaries to the Lenape. When John is called away to help at another settlement two days before Christmas, he promises he’ll be back by Christmas Day.

When he doesn’t show up, Anna works hard to not fear the worst while she provides her children with a traditional Moravian Christmas. 

Through it all, she discovers a Christmas promise that will give her the peace she craves.

“Revel in the spirit of a Colonial Christmas with this achingly tender love story that will warm both your heart and your faith. With rich historical detail and characters who live and breathe on the page, Tamera Lynn Kraft has penned a haunting tale of Moravian missionaries who selflessly bring the promise of Christ to the Lenape Indians. A beautiful way to set your season aglow, A Christmas Promise is truly a promise kept for a heartwarming holiday tale.” – Julie Lessman

December New Releases & Christmas Books Tea Party ~ Lovefeast at Schoenbrunn

At Schoenbrunn Village in the 1770s, in the heart of the Ohio wilderness, Moravians celebrate Christmas with a Lovefeast. They serve sweet buns, coffee or tea, and juice for the children. They are the first to have candlelight services and indoor decorated Christmas trees along with a Putz, a nativity scene with a whole village attached. The Moravians of that area love Christmas, so this year, we will join their Christmas celebration at Schoenbrunn Village.

Anna Brunner welcomes you to the Lovefeast where they are serving tea, coffee, and sweet buns at the church. It's the only building large enough for the party. They've decided to do something special for you and also serve a Moravian Christmas feast with roast turkey, corn bread, potatoes, beans, and for desert, squash pie. They always use the three sisters, corn, beans, and squash, in their celebrations.

Come by the fire and warm yourself. Our Ohio winters are much colder than your tepid Virginia weather. We Moravians are normally coffee drinkers, but we bought tea when the traders came around so we would have some for you visit. So which would you like to start with, coffee or tea?

Let's begin our celebration by introducing you to this wonderful array of Christmas novels and novellas from our Colonial Quills/CACW Authors with some fabulous GIVEAWAYS!

From Tamera Lynn Kraft
A Christmas Promise

A Moravian Holiday Story

During colonial times, John and Anna settle in an Ohio village to become Moravian missionaries to the Lenape. When John is called away to help at another settlement two days before Christmas, he promises he’ll be back by Christmas Day.

When he doesn’t show up, Anna works hard to not fear the worst while she provides her children with a traditional Moravian Christmas.

Through it all, she discovers a Christmas promise that will give her the peace she craves.

“Revel in the spirit of a Colonial Christmas with this achingly tender love story that will warm both your heart and your faith. With rich historical detail and characters who live and breathe on the page, Tamera Lynn Kraft has penned a haunting tale of Moravian missionaries who selflessly bring the promise of Christ to the Lenape Indians. A beautiful way to set your season aglow, A Christmas Promise is truly a promise kept for a heartwarming holiday tale.” ~ Author Julie Lessman

Amazon Kindle | Barnes and Noble Nook |Pelican Book Group | ChristianBook

From Susan F. Craft
Christmas Treasures

Anthology of Christmas Short Stories

My story, His Eye Is on the Sparrah, is the fictionalization of something that happened to my mother years ago.

It's among eighteen heartwarming stories of Christmas that will become favorites to read year after year. 

One of my favorite characters in my short story is my main character Eleanor Stevens' best friend Isabel Ravenel. Both in their late seventies, they've been friends for over fifty years. Isabel speaks in a Low Country Charleston, South Carolina drawl - an accent born of 300-year-old-family money, elongated by the Gullah dialect of former slaves who inhabited the sea islands, tempered by the stubborn pride of stiff-necked Secessionists, and softened by the whispers of Spanish-moss shawls draping from live oak trees.

Isabel often mixes up her theological metaphors: "Take heart, Sugah, the Lord always comes through and makes our lemons into lemonade."

When Eleanor resists praying to God for such a trivial thing as losing her walking cane, Isabel reminds her, "Not at all. Remembah, His eye is on the sparrah..."

Join us for a stroll through America, yesterday and today, where hearts are joined at Christmastime.

Susan F. Craft will offer a signed copy of Christmas Treasures to one commenter selected at random. Here is the link to Christmas Treasures on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Treasures-Collection-Short-Stories/dp/1503007901/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417561103&sr=1-1&keywords=Christmas+Treasures+anthology

From J. M. Hochstetler
One Holy Night

As on that night so long ago . . . in a world torn by sin and strife . . . to a family that has suffered heart-wrenching loss . . . there will be born a baby . . .

It’s 1967, and the Vietnam War is tearing the country apart, slicing through generations and shattering families. Because of Japanese atrocities he witnessed as a Marine in the South Pacific during WWII, Frank McRae despises all Asians. Now his son, Mike, is a grunt in Viet Nam, and his wife, Maggie, is fighting her own battle against cancer. 

When Mike falls in love with Thi Nhuong, a young Buddhist woman, and marries her in spite of his father’s objections, Frank disowns him. Then, as Christmas approaches, Frank’s world is torn apart, and he turns bitter, closing his heart to God and to his family.

But on this bleak Christmas Eve, God has in mind a miracle. As on that holy night so long ago, a baby will be born and laid in a manger—a baby who will bring forgiveness, healing, and peace to a family that has suffered heart-wrenching loss.

Christianbook | Amazon |B&N | iTunes

From Carla Olson Gade
Christmas stories that feature German and Dutch Christmas traditions.

 

Misteletoe Memories (ECPA Best seller)
’Tis the Season

Spend a heartfelt Christmas on Schooley’s Mountain as four generations make a house a home.(1820) Dutchman, Stephan Yost, resident carpenter of Schooley’s Mountain, New Jersey’s fashionable resort, spends off-season working on repairs, renovations, and constructing new buildings. When he is hired to build a permanent home for the resort's German physician and his spirited daughter, Annaliese Braun, in time for Christmas, Stephan finds himself enamored by the precocious spinster. But will he be able to compete for her affections against the advances of a manipulative iron baron?

Amazon: Paperback, Kindle only $1.99

A Cup of Christmas Cheer (2013)

Upon A Christmas Tree Schooner, A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Vol. 1 & 2 (Guideposts Books)

(1880) A ship’s captain takes his schooner upon icy Lake Michigan in his last haul of the season for Christmas trees for the German immigrants in his town.

Purchase directly from Guideposts BooksThe Memory Shop, A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Vol. 3 & 4 (Guideposts Books)
The proprietor of a Midwestern Main Street memorabilia shop finds his own cherished memories rekindled and relationships renewed at Christmastime.

Purchase directly from Guideposts Books

From Carrie Fancett Pagels
The Fruitcake Challenge, Book 3 in The Christmas Traditions Series

The Fruitcake Challenge by Carrie Fancett Pagels

(1890) Christmas set in a lumber camp outside of Mackinac City, Michigan. When new lumberjack, Tom Jeffries, tells the camp cook, Jo Christy, that he’ll marry her if she can make a fruitcake, “as good as the one my mother makes,” she rises to the occasion. After all, he’s the handsomest, smartest, and strongest axman her camp-boss father has ever had in his camp—and the cockiest. And she intends to bring this lumberjack down a notch or three by refusing his proposal. The fruitcake wars are on!

Snowed In, A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Vol. 1 & 2 (Guideposts Books)
(1945) WWII veteran helps make a special Christmas for his girlfriend and her little sisters. His grandma and uncle keep them in their log cabin as a blizzard sets in. Set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and inspired by Carrie's parents.

Giveaway: Pick either a set of the Guidepost Books or a paperback copy of The Fruitcake Challenge (or ebook of Carrie's new novella if preferred!) 

From Shannon McNear

A Pioneer Christmas Collection,  9 Stories of Finding Shelter and Love in a Wintry Frontier

Defending Truth
(Note from CFP: Shannon is too modest to mention that her story was a RITA finalist!!! A huge honor!)

On the frontier of western North Carolina, which will someday become east Tennessee, Truth Bledsoe keeps her family fed while her father is away fighting the British. When she discovers a half-starved, fugitive Tory, she’s not above feeding him, but to go past simple Christian charity to forgiveness seems impossible. To love would be unthinkable. 

Micah Elliot has fled capture after the massacre at King’s Mountain, heartsick, battle weary, and ashamed of the cowardice that sent him westward over the mountains instead of eastward to home. Groping his way through a crisis of faith, he must discover and embrace what might finally be worth laying his life down for.

Shannon will be offering one signed print copy to a commenter selected at random. (Print copies are harder to find, but e-books are still widely available.)

Christianbook | Amazon | DeeperShopping.com

From Elaine Marie Cooper, A Different Story for Christmas...
Bethany's Calendar

While Christmas is often a celebration of joy, it can be a bittersweet time for those experiencing loss.

Colonial Quill's Elaine Marie Cooper usually writes historical fiction, but her book release this December is the memoir of her daughter who passed away from a brain tumor 11 years ago. She felt prompted to write about her daughter's diagnosis and journey through cancer, as well as the numerous insights gleaned from the most painful trial of the author's life.

Bethany's Calendar tells the story of Elaine and Bethany's journey and the many ways God helped their family to survive. It is a story of fear and faith, commitment and compassion, told with gut-wrenching honesty while sharing unwavering faith in God.

It is a memoir written to help those who are caregivers, cancer patients and anyone who knows someone struggling with a serious illness. It is a story that offers hope and help to those who are traveling uncharted territory.

"One might expect a book about the death of a child to be overwhelmingly sad, but Bethany’s Calendar is so much more. It is also a story of a family’s faith and the visible ways that they experienced God’s provision, power, and presence during and after this very difficult time in their lives." — CQ's Janet Grunst

Elaine will be offering a signed copy of Bethany's Calendar to one commenter who expresses a desire to read this memoir. 

Elaine's Website   You can order Bethany's Calendar  here 

 OUR CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAYS!!

We are celebrating at this tea party by giving away a digital copy of A Christmas Promise by Tamera Lynn Kraft along with a Schoenbrunn pewter ornament and a Schoenbrunn pouch to keep you valuables in.


Carla Olson Gade is also giving away a set of A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Vol. 3 & 4, featuring her story "The Memory Shop" to one winner. To another winner, a copy of Mistletoe Memories  with a pair of Dutch wooden shoes Christmas ornament.


To enter please leave a comment about your favorite part of the Christmas season or let us know if you have any ethnic Christmas traditions that you follow?

Please be sure to watch for replies to your comments as we always enjoy lively conversations at our tea parties!

The Modern Missionary Movement started in Colonial Times

Tamera Lynn Kraft

America is well known for the modern missionary movement. The missionary movement is credited with starting in the mid 1800s, but it really started with a 100 year prayer movement in colonial times. The people who started this movement were called the Moravians.

In 1727, a group of Moravians in Saxony started a round the clock prayer meeting that lasted 110 years. By 1737, Moravians had settled in Savannah, Georgia to share the Gospel. At this time, they met John Wesley, from the first Great Awakening and had a profound impact on his ministry.

In 1741, the Moravians moved to an estate owned by John Whitfield, another preacher from the Great Awakening, and started ministering to the Delaware Indians in the region. They established the town of Bethlehem and Nazareth in Pennsylvania and moved throughout the colonies sharing the Gospel wherever they went.

By 1772, the Delaware were being pushed into Ohio, and the Moravians followed them. They set up two villages there, one in Schoenbrunn and one in Gnadenhutten. They risked great dangers, not only from the other tribes but from the British forces once the Revolutionary War began. The British accused the Moravians of informing the colonialist about troop movements, a charge that was true.

The Moravians finally abandoned their villages to move on because of the dangers, but when the converted Delaware returned to Gnadenhutten to harvest their crops, they were massacred by American soldiers who mistakenly thought they were raiders.

There aren't that many Moravian in the United States today because the left America to evangelize other parts of the world. But they are a huge part of the missionary movement in America and paved the way for other missionaries.

On December 1st, my Christmas novella published by Harbourlight is being released. It's about one missionary family in Schoenbrunn and they dangers they faced. It's called A Christmas Promise.

Schoenbrunn Village - Moravian Missionaries

Tamera Lynn Kraft

In the 1770s, Moravian missionaries moved to Ohio from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to settle a village called Schoenbrunn which means Beautiful Spring. Their goal was to bring the Gospel to the Delaware Indians. After the Delaware would convert to Christianity, they moved into Schoenbrunn. Within a year, the village grew so large, they started another settlement and Gnadenhutten.

Schoenbrunn, in many ways, was ahead of its time. The settlers of the village, including the Delaware, created their own code of conduct and opened a school. The school taught both boys and girls when other colonial schools at the time only accepted boys. The students learned to read both English and Lenape out of a Bible that was translated in the Lenape language.

The Moravians built a church there with painting on the walls of Biblical scenes. They used these painting to teach about the Bible. They had church every morning and twice on Sunday. On special occasions they would have Lovefeasts where they served coffee, juice, and sweet buns. The Christmas Eve Lovefeasts were the most special because the Moravians were the first to have Christmas Eve candlelight services.

The settlement only lasted a few years. When the Revolutionary War broke out, British troops suspected the Moravians of giving information to the colonial army. These charges against them were true. After a time, they moved to protect themselves from reprisals.

Schoenbrunn Village is still open today for visitors and tourists to learn about some of the earliest missionaries in America.

In November, my Christmas novella called A Christmas Promise is due to be released by Harbourlight Press in e-book format as part of their Christmas Extravaganza.