Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-207).
Contents:
Christmas chronicles -- Christmas Eve in a sod house / Hugo Nisbeth -- No sound of joyous Christmas bells / Mary Dodge Woodward -- In the American fashion / Works Progress Administration -- Screaming their excited delight / Melvin L. Frank -- Christmas on the Gunflint / Justine Kerfoot -- A Christmas tree for birds / Florence Page Jaques -- Once again it is Christmas / Wendell Anderson -- Where are the trees? / Robert Treuer -- They want to hear a story / Faith Sullivan -- Like the haunting croon of Goodman's clarinet / Roger MacDonald -- This is my favorite part / Lorna Landvik -- Celebrating Christmas in Lake Wobegon / Garrison Keillor -- Christmas-- is really a terrible day / Charles Flandrau -- Off the hook / Charles M. Schulz -- It's the light / Cathy Mauk -- The Christmas question / Jonis Agee -- Christmas in the city / Lee Mero -- My Middle West / F. Scott Fitzgerald -- You could hear sleigh bells / Walter O'Meara -- Closer to the ground / Jerry Fearing -- My December duty / Bill Holm -- How much for this tree without limbs / Louie Anderson -- Afterthoughts on Christmas trees / Barton Sutter -- Cold feet / Emily Carter -- The gift of oranges / Beatrice Fines -- Betsy, Tacy, and Tib go Christmas shopping / Maud Hart Lovelace -- What a Christmas shopper found / an anonymous lady -- A day of excitement, of joy / Harrison Salisbury -- I dreamed I was in New Ulm / Celia Tauer -- Daddy's gift / Evelyn Fairbanks -- One more saving grace / Cheri Register -- In stitches / Sam Cook -- A cut-glass Christmas / Susan Allen Toth -- Gifts / Maura Stanton -- Promises of bright, warm days coming / Samuel Hynes -- Something "different" / Kevin Kling -- A Christmas for their souls / Vilhelm Moberg -- Strange and unusual holidays / Civil War soldiers -- Come and eat, eat / Otis Terpening -- Celebration and saunas / Shirley Schoonover -- The kookie never krumbles / Nick Fauchald -- Dinner guests / Helen Hoover -- Coins of the realm / Susan Hauser -- Mickey's Diner / Colleen Kruse -- A Minnesota Christmas Eve feast -- Santi Claw / Syl Jones -- Carol's Christmas / Sinclair Lewis -- An adolescent's Christmas / Carol Bly -- Driving my parents home at Christmas / Robert Bly -- Everybody smile / Michael Fedo -- How am I doing, Dad? / Jon Hassler -- I will never forget : letters.
Summary:
Familiar traditions echo across the years in funny, poignant, and surprising ways: a family welcomes a Swedish traveler to their cozy sod house on the prairie; a schoolgirl is frightened by her role in the spotlight for the annual pagaent; a stranger makes Christmas possible for a family after the father's untimely death in the 1930s; a Civil War drummer boy prepares for a makeshift holiday while on duty with the First Minnesota. These stories and many more, accompanied by vintage recipes, advertisements, photos, and decorations, recreate the excitement and spirit of Minnesota's own Yuletide cheer.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.