By Elizabeth Lane
Why do we have decorated Christmas trees? Where did they come from? In the 7th century a monk from Devonshire went to Germany to spread the Word of God. Legend has it he used the triangular shape of the fir tree to describe the Holy Trinity. Converts began to revere the Fir tree as God's Tree. By the 12th century it was being hung upside down from ceilings at Christmastime, as a symbol of Christianity.
The first known decorated tree was in Latvia in 1510. Martin Luther, in the early 16th Century, is said to have decorated a small tree with candles to show his children how stars twinkled on Christmas eve. By the mid 16th Century, special Christmas markets in Germany were selling shaped gingerbread and wax ornaments for people to hang on their trees. Some early trees were made to symbolize the Paradise Tree in the Garden of Eden. Trees were often decorated with candy and paper flowers, symbols of plenty.
The Christmas tree was brought to England by the Georgian kings, who came from Germany. The British people, not being fond of their German rulers, rarely followed the custom at the time. However, when the popular Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, a German, and they put up a tree for their family, Christmas trees became the instant fashion, not only in Britain but on the East Coast of America. The Christmas Tree had arrived!
Although the Christmas tree had been introduced in America by Hessian soldiers during the American Revolution, the custom didn't catch on widely until the mid 1800s. Advances in communication--magazines, newspapers, etc., spread the custom.
Most decorations at the time were homemade. Young women crocheted snowflakes and stars and sewed little pouches for gifts. Small bead decorations and silver tinsel came from Germany, along with angels for the top of the tree. Candles were often placed in wooden hoops for safety. About 1880 the first glass ornaments came to America, quickly followed by American patents for electric lights (1882) and metal hooks for hanging decorations (1892).
Small artificial trees were fashioned from goose feathers for years. But the artificial tree as we know it came along in the early 1900s. In America, the Addis Brush Company created the first brush trees, using the same machinery that made their toilet brushes. They were more durable than feather trees and would hold heavier decorations.
Whatever kind of Christmas tree you have at your house, if any, I wish you a warm and happy holiday season.
This week on Excerpt Thursday, we're featuring a taste of Elizabeth Lane's latest novella, "The Homecoming." It's part of Harlequin Historical's holiday-themed western anthology, COWBOY CHRISTMAS, featuring Carol Finch and Pam Crooks. We won't be giving away a copy of this one, so make sure you put it on your Christmas list ASAP!
Twelve days of Christmas—three heartwarming romances!
"A Husband for Christmas" by Carol Finch
To reassure her overprotective parents, Victoria Thurston must convince the town marshal to be her "holiday husband." But the magical, festive air--and Tori's luminous green eyes--make it very difficult for Logan Daniels to keep to their marriage in name only!
"The Homecoming" by Elizabeth Lane
Brooding rancher Clay McAllister paid his reckless brother's dues in a tough Kansas jail. Now Clay must win back his beautiful wife, Elise. And, after three years apart, some yuletide passion is just what Clay and Elise need to reignite the fire that still smolders between them....
"The Cattleman's Christmas Bride" by Pam Crooks
With her reputation cruelly slandered, Allethaire Gibson is forced to flee to the snowy Montana mountains. There the dazzling socialite unexpectedly finds a Christmas romance with a man who has fought for respect just as she has--rugged cattleman Mikolas Vasco!
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Kansas State Penitentiary
Leavenworth County, Kansas
December 4, 1878
"You've served your time, McAllister. You're free to go."
Clay McAllister shivered as the iron gates clanged shut behind him. The December cold cut to his bones. His cheap prison-issue coat was too thin for the weather, but it would have to do until he got back to Texas.
Back home--if he still had a home.
A lot of could change in three years, Clay knew. His wife hadn't written to him once. The only thing he'd received from her were his own unopened letters, with a terse "Return to Sender" penned on each envelope. The returned letters had told him, at least, that she was still living on the ranch. But they answered none of his other questions.
Why was Elise so angry? Didn't she know what had happened to him?
What in hell's name had gone wrong?
The memory of that awful night still darkened Clay's dreams. He and his eighteen-year-old brother Buck had driven a thousand head of longhorn cattle up the trail to Abilene. After selling them for top dollar, they'd paid off the hired vaqueros and set out for an evening of celebration. A bath, a good meal and a couple of drinks had been enough for Clay. With the cash in the hotel safe, he'd retired early to rest up for the trip home.
He'd drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face. The money from the cattle sale--almost $20,000--would pay off the debts on the ranch and give them a good start for next year. It would also buy the new furniture Elise had been wanting, as well as clothes and toys for their two-year-old boy, Toby. They'd been living on the ragged edge of poverty for so long. What a pleasure it would be to buy nice things for his wife and child.
Sometime after midnight he'd awakened to discover that Buck's bed was empty. His brother hadn't returned to the hotel.
Worried, Clay had dressed and gone out looking for him. Buck was a strapping lad, able to do a man's work on the trail. But at eighteen he had a lot to learn. Abilene was as rough as any cow town on the map, a place where a young man could get into no end of trouble. As he searched the saloons and gambling dens and checked the drunks passed out on the boardwalk, Clay had lashed himself for leaving Buck on his own. If anything had happened to the boy, he would never forgive himself.
He'd lost track of the time it took to work his way toward the far end of the street. Here, even at this late hour, the discreetly shuttered houses swarmed with activity. Half-opened doorways offered glimpses of seductively clad women. Raucous female laughter and the notes of a tinny piano drifted through the darkness.
Damn him! Clay didn't relish the thought of dragging Buck out of a whorehouse. But he was getting worried--and angry. He'd raised his kid brother after their parents died, and he'd tried to teach him decent values. But it appeared that the lessons hadn't taken. When he found the young whelp, by heaven, Buck was going to get the tongue lashing of his life!
He was mounting the steps of the first house when he heard the commotion. Upstairs, in the place across the street, a fight had broken out. Glass shattered as a chair smashed through a window. Shouts and screams erupted in the night, accompanied by the sound of crashing furniture and bodies.
Thinking only of his brother, Clay plunged across the street, shoved his way inside and charged up the stairs. By then the whole place had become a melee of shrieking women and their scrambling customers. In a lamplit room at the end of the hall he found Buck, half dressed and fighting off three men. A tired-looking redhead, her makeup smeared, cringed in a corner, clutching a sheet against her body.
One of the men, a stocky, fellow in a checkered suit, had drawn a hidden knife. The blade flashed as he made a lunge for Buck. Reacting instinctively, Clay seized a cast iron boot jack and swung it against the man's head. The man sagged to the floor, collapsing without a sound.
Seconds passed before someone realized he wasn't breathing.
A sudden hush fell over the room. Rough hands seized Clay from behind, holding him fast. Before they dragged him away, Clay managed to mouth a few words to his brother.
"Get out of here, Buck. Take the cash from the hotel and ride for all you're worth. Give the money to Elise and tell her what happened. I'll come as soon as I can."
His trial was speedy. Under different circumstances Clay might have gone free on the grounds of defending his brother. But the man he'd struck down was a city councilman, and the town was screaming for justice. With a verdict of manslaughter, he was sentenced to serve five years in the state penitentiary. Good behavior had gotten him out in a little more than three.
Clay had never learned what the fight was about. And he'd never heard from Buck again.
Now, mounted on an aging buckskin horse that was all he could afford, Clay headed through swirling snow--south by southwest, along the empty cattle trails to the high Texas plains he called home.
With luck, he would be there by Christmas.
We've been a little slim on announcements lately, but I think it's because summer is a little slow in publishing. It's reverse hibernation! However, we do have two new, exciting additions to our line-up of Unusual Historicals contributors. Let me introduce them to you...
Last month, Jeannie Lin won the Golden Heart for her historical entry "Butterfly Swords," set in Tang Dynasty China. She'd just sold the manuscript to Harlequin Mills & Boon earlier that week! I had the pleasure to meet Jeannie at Nationals and congratulate her for her many successes. I'm looking forward to what she has to add to our monthly topics, and I'm more than a little eager to read her debut! Welcome to our site, Jeannie!
Lorelie Brown is an aficionado of all things 1920s, and her sexy speakeasy romance "Jazz Baby" just sold to Samhain last month. She's clever, funny, tough, and she's been one of my critique partners for three years, so I'm doubly excited to welcome her to our ranks!
We are currently on the hunt for two new full-time contributors to Unusual Historicals. If you're interested--even if only to know what might be required--please email email Carrie Lofty.
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Elizabeth Lane has received the cover for her upcoming October release, an anthology called COWBOY CHRISTMAS, featuring Carol Finch and Pam Crooks. Very nice!
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Join us Sunday when author Margaret Mallory will be joining us to talk about KNIGHT OF DESIRE, her exciting medieval debut!
We'll also draw the winner of Meredith Duran's BOUND BY YOUR TOUCH and WRITTEN ON YOUR SKIN...so join us then!
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Have a good weekend! If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...
By Elizabeth Lane
The first known decorated tree was in Latvia in 1510. Martin Luther, in the early 16th Century, is said to have decorated a small tree with candles to show his children how stars twinkled on Christmas eve. By the mid 16th Century, special Christmas markets in Germany were selling shaped gingerbread and wax ornaments for people to hang on their trees. Some early trees were made to symbolize the Paradise Tree in the Garden of Eden. Trees were often decorated with candy and paper flowers, symbols of plenty.
The Christmas tree was brought to England by the Georgian kings, who came from Germany. The British people, not being fond of their German rulers, rarely followed the custom at the time. However, when the popular Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, a German, and they put up a tree for their family, Christmas trees became the instant fashion, not only in Britain but on the East Coast of America. The Christmas Tree had arrived!
Small artificial trees were fashioned from goose feathers for years. But the artificial tree as we know it came along in the early 1900s. In America, the Addis Brush Company created the first brush trees, using the same machinery that made their toilet brushes. They were more durable than feather trees and would hold heavier decorations.
