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.
From Tamera Lynn Kraft
A Christmas Promise
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.
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
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..."
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.
From J. M. Hochstetler
One Holy Night
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.
’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
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| A Cup of Christmas Cheer (2013) |
(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 Books
The 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
The Fruitcake Challenge, Book 3 in The Christmas Traditions Series
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| The Fruitcake Challenge by Carrie Fancett Pagels |
(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
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!
