This time of year brings to mind so many of the time-honored traditions in our families. It gives us pause to reflect on our life, think on our loved ones far from home and brings to us the opportunity (if not the challenge) of facing another new year.In my new holiday release, A CHRISTMAS PROMISE, all of these elements are blended in a story depicting a recently widowed Brady McCormick who survives with his young son across the Atlantic to start a better life in America. (Circa 1857 New York) It was a promise he’d made to his wife to follow through with the plans they’d made before she died.
What must it have been like for the new Immigrant and his son, to arrive at Ellis Island, and go through the rigorous checkpoints before being allowed to step onto the streets of Ne
w York in 1857? With only a distant relative to meet them, no food, no home, no job--only the clothes on their back and the hope that the rumors of “golden streets” proved true. What might have greeted them on the docks on that bitter November afternoon? Shipments from abroad--the smell of exotic teas and spice mixed with the pungent salty sea air and the stench of fresh fish. Mounds of evergreen trees, loaded on smaller ships bringing Christmas trees to the docks for New York families to choose for the upcoming holidays. There would be a hustle and bustle between native New Yorkers and those embarking on their dreams, anxious to get a glimpse at this brave new world called America.
Traditions--old and in-the-making--take place in this story about misconceptions, hope and love in a time and place that brings together two very different people from opposite ends of the earth.
I hope you’ll take a moment to check out A CHRISTMAS PROMISE--and that it rekindles in you, the spirit of Christmas, which knows no stranger. You can read an excerpt here.
One of the traditions that has passed down through the ages, but with ties to Ireland, is the candle lit in the window on Christmas Eve, signifying a welcome to the homeless Virgin Mary and Joseph.
This too is a tradition I started several years ago when my family would begin to arrive for the holiday. I place seven electric candles in the windows of my front porch and light them at dusk each night from Thanksgiving eve to after the New Year. To me and to my family, in the cold darkness of evening, those lights, seen as you come up the drive, are a quiet symbol of warmth and welcome to those traveling home.
What favorite traditions do you cherish at this time of year? Share them with me here and be entered for a chance to win one of three copies of A CHRISTMAS PROMISE!
May you enjoy the blessings of family and friends and the joy of a good book!
Be well~
Amanda
Awaken Your Passion!
