Virginia Crow's Blog: Crowvus Book Blog, page 36

Day Fifteen of Quotes: Waiting with bated breath!

Sitting by the Christmas Tree is an essential part of the build-up to Christmas!

Christmas is a time for anticipation. All through advent, we're looking ahead to the excitement of the birth of Christ, the magic of the visit from Santa, the joy of present sharing, the contentment of time with family, the delight at the wonderful food and drink...

Here are some quotes which always give me good-goosebumps of anticipation!

"The Man Who Hated Christmas." (must be followed by choir singing God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.)
    - The Ladybird Christmas Carol (audiobook cassette) 

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them." 
    - Isaiah 11:6
"Inside every snowflake, like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe."    - The Grinch

"Of the Father's heart begotten ere the world from chaos rose"
    - Of the Father's Heart Begotten

"It was Christmas Eve. There had been snow, then a dripping thaw that had filled the river, followed by a sudden hard frost."
    - Linnet's Story; The Children of Green Knowe (Lucy M. Boston)

"After all, there's only one more sleep til Christmas Day!  (Merry Christmas!)"    - The Muppets' Christmas Carol

"'News from the magical country of Zorn.'"    - Christmas in Puddle Lane (Sheila McCullagh)

"It was Christmas Eve and although it was still afternoon, lights had begun to appear in the shops and houses of the little Russian village, for the short winter day was nearly over."    - Papa Panov (Leo Tolstoy)

"O come, o come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel."    - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

"'That's when I decided... I hated Christmas.'"    - Nativity
"'Pickle? For a baby? A baby needs toys.'"    - Babushka

"My sisters and I remember that winter as the coldest of our childhood."
    - Little Women (1994 adaptation)

"Aw, listen to that, Arthur! That's yer actual Bow Bells!"    - What Are We Gonna Get for 'er Indoors.

"They say the wolves are running, Master Harker."
    - Box of Delights (BBC Adaptation)

"Now light one thousand Christmas lightsOn dark Earth, here tonight.One thousand thousand also shineTo make the dark sky bright."    - Now Light One Thousand Christmas Lights

Day 14 - A Christmas Classic

 We're almost half way through December, and we're over half way through Advent. Decorating the house over the weekend was a joy, the Christmas pork is now brining in the fridge to become the Christmas ham, I made the first Irish Coffees of the season on Friday, and I'm beginning to feel the Christmas spirit wash over me. That has nothing to do with the Vimto and Schnapps I'm sipping. I really must get some different mixers!

I think most people would declare, if you asked them to say the greatest Christmas fiction, that The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens would be top of the list. The original book has inspired many wonderful films that are treasures of the season. With that in mind, here are 14 quotes from the book or films that stick with me. There are many more, so there may be a follow-up blog later on in Advent!

The Original Classic, by Charles Dickens

Scrooge:

There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something: that's all.

The Ghost of Christmas Present:

The boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and of all their degree. But most of all beware this boy.

The Muppets Christmas Carol

Gonzo: I am here for the story.

Rizzo: And I am here for the food.

Tiny Tim:

Bless us all, that as we live,

We always comfort and forgive.

We have so much, that we can share,

With those in need we see around us everywhere.

Quantum Leap: A Little Miracle

Michael Blake:

The Ghost of Christmas Future wore a black cape. Jacob Marley had the chains.

Al:

I AM the Ghost of Christmas Future. Ooooooooooh.

Michael Blake:

I-I must be dreaming.

Al:

More...like a nightmare!

The Man Who Invented Christmas

Charles Dickens: No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.

Charles Dickens:

He been this way for a long time. I'm not sure he can change.

Tara:

Of course he can. He's not a monster.

Scrooge:

I thought this was a ghost story. Not a fairy tale.

Scrooge

Scrooge:

I don't deserve to be so happy. But I can't help it. I-I-I just can't help it!

Scrooge:

Before I draw nearer to that stone, tell me. Are these the shadows of things that must be, or are they the shadows of things that might be?

Scrooged

Frank Cross:

We're going to need champagne for 250 people, and send the stuff that you send to me. Don't send the stuff that I send to other people.

Karen Allen:

That's one good thing about regret: it's never too late. You can always change tomorrow if you want to.

The Ladybird Version!

Narrator:

It was the same school-room. The boy was older, alone again. Suddenly the door opened and a little girl rushed in and hugged him. It was his sister. She'd been sent to bring him home for Christmas

Scrooge:

It's your Uncle Scrooge. I have come to dinner. Will you let me in, Fred?

Narrator:

Of course he would! He nearly shook his hand off.

Day 13 of Quotes - Nature and Nostalgia

Thirteen quotes for Sunday, 13th December, 2020. I have shamelessly taken all of these from my first book, "Child of the Isle", a memoir, and my third book, "Child of the Earth", which is nature-writing. (My second book is for young children, "Rosie Jane and the Swodgerump", and last month naughty Rosie Jane and her kind friend, Jessica, reappeared in "Rosie Jane's Christmas Carol".)

If you enjoy the following quotations, please consider reading my monthly blog, "What's It Like Up There?", at susancrowauthor.blogspot.com.

The first nine quotes are from Child of the Isle -

"The Epworth Bells" on 22nd December, 1917, gave this advice to its readership:
'As Christmas purchases are now in full swing, it is not too early, perhaps, to enter a word of appeal and reminder in regard to them. No one wants to destroy the season's tradition of festivity, which in these trying days may well be allowed to "do its bit" in keeping our hearts up. But all self-respecting people ought to set their faces against the tendency to turn festivity into the channels of excessive eating and drinking.' "

"Worst Christmas memories? Well, the ones we can laugh about anyway! Our first Christmas as parents has to have a mention here. We decided to leave buying the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve - we thought it would be romantic and traditional - but it turned out to be a very silly idea - and we've never done it since! We traipsed around the appropriate shops in and around Doncaster, along the market and everywhere we passed, on the way home to Crowle, which might have had even a tiny scraggy tree - but there was no tree to be found. Fortunately my Auntie Gwen called to see Baby on his first Christmas Eve and we related the sad tale of the absent tree. She went home and sought out her old artificial tree for us. What a Christmas star!"

"In those days, while living in Orkney, we made tape recordings of all of us - more of us as the years went by - singing carols and Christmas songs, reading poems, stories and passages from the Bible to send to Granny in Crowle as a pre-Christmas present."

"Grandad Bobby used to tell us about his Christmas stocking with such elation that he almost became a little boy again. In his stocking there would be an orange in the toe, some nuts and an apple, a few sweets and a toy. One toy. And it fitted into a stocking. So it wasn't a train set or a remote controlled boat or even an Xbox!"

"Our grown-up children (the ones who are with us for Christmas) still hang up the same stockings they did through their childhood Christmasses - Daddy's old walking socks. I have mended them and re-attached their hanging loops countless times but the children really don't want up-to-date replacements."

"Granny Ivy was a first rate cook and Christmas dinner was perfection. Granny cooked the dinner in the oven attached to the fireplace in the living room and also in her small electric oven in the scullery with the pudding steaming away on the hob."

"The uneaten cake was put away in a tin and sometimes there was still a little left for Mike's birthday at the beginning of March."

"A Lincolnshire tea table at Christmas wasn't complete without a plate of buttered plum bread. Margarine just wasn't acceptable. And there was no Flora Buttery in those days!"

"We weren't allowed into her house though - until we had sung carols at the door - and they always had to include 'Away In A Manger'."

The following four quotes are from "Child of the Earth" -

"The moon over the square is a picture. It is worth a second look. The colours around it, and those along the edges of scant clouds, are soft and soothing. Blues and greys with silvery pinks."

"Another December walk, this time along the cliff, yielded a moving tapestry of thousands of wheeling starlings gathering to roost. An impressive spectacle, seemingly never-ending as group after group joined the black mass of circling bodies to eventually settle at the chosen resting place. These flocks, grouping and regrouping at the cliff's edge, will remain with me as I contemplate the delights of December."

"In the black of the evening, the stars will prod the sky with their spits of silver until morning, when pinks and pale blues are born of the night and linger until the brownish violet of the snow clouds replace them. "

"For those of us who find ourselves lost in an existence which is not controlled by man and have no inclination to be rescued, 'The Huron Carol' acknowledges Gitchi Manitou, the Supreme God, as the Father of all. It gives thanks for the little Jesus who, for over two thousand years, has marked out the path for us with positive footprints."

Day 12 - Decorating Day

 Today is one of the happiest of the year. A Saturday close to Christmas is the time when we put our decorations up. We're in charge of the tree, which is brimming with special decorations collected over many decades. Mum decorates the rest of the house with garlands and greenery from the garden. The crib and nativity snow globe went up at the beginning of Advent.

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

How lovely are thy branches!"

O Christmas Tree

"Even if I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would continue to plant my apple trees."- Martin LutherThis isn't really a Christmas quote, and it's not from a book, but it's written on one of our baubles now hanging on the tree, and it seems remarkable apt for 2020!
"It was the most beautiful but curious, ornament I had ever seen. I couldn't take my eyes off it.”- James Barbato
"Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow. They represent a gift of love given a long time ago."- Tom Baker
"The little tree sighed, too, when the peasant and his wife were gone to bed, for they were an honest pair, and he liked their kind hearts."- Ursula Moray Williams
"Freshly cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin - inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night."- John J Geddes
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly,Fa la la la la, la la, la, la."- Deck the Halls
"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, nd tangled Christmas tree lights"- Maya AngelouThis was so relevant to us today! We are a very stubborn family and refuse to be beaten.
"The Christmas tree is a symbol of love, not money."- Andy Rooney
"There’s no experience quite like cutting your own live Christmas tree out of your neighbor’s yard."- Dan FlorenceNaughty!
"Glittering tinsel, lights, glass balls, and candy canes dangle from pine trees."- Richelle E Goodrich
"I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all really. Maybe it just needs a little love.”- A Charlie Brown Christmas

Day 11 of Quotes - Father Christmas

 

Santa Baby...

Santa Claus, whose origins are simultaneously Christian and Pagan, is now one of the most recognisable characters ever, with his white beard and red suit. He is the Spirit of Christmas, embodying generosity and devotion, delivering gifts to the young and young at heart and, always a saint at heart, there have been some lovely depictions of him bending his knee at the manger of the Christ Child.

I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanour. You know, I... I... I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives.

Miracle on 34th Street

Then, I saw Mummy tickle Santa Claus,

Underneath his beard so snowy white!

I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus

 

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane

He doesn't care if you're rich or poor, he loves you just the same

Santa Claus knows we're all God's children, that makes everything right

So fill your hearts with Christmas cheer, 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight

Here Comes Santa Claus

 

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry! 

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! 

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, 

And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

A Visit From St. Nicholas (Clement Clarke Moore)

 

Santa Claus : All right. Dooley, make up a list of who is naughty and nice.  

Dooley : Yes, sir. 

Santa Claus : And be careful. I'll be checking it twice.

Santa Claus the Movie 

 

They know that Santa's on his way - he's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.

The Christmas Song

 

Merry blooming Christmas!

Father Christmas (Raymond Briggs)

 

Father Christmas lives in a quaint wooden house built high amongst the trees, which might even be in a forest near to your home.

The Christmas Handbook (Malcolm Bird & Alan Dart)

 

And haulin' through the snow at a frightening speed

With a half a dozen deer with Rudy to lead

He's got to wear his goggles 'cause the snow really flies

And he's cruisin' every path with a little surprise

Little Saint Nick

...Incredibly 

a single cosmonaut whose suit glows red 

clings to its tail and holds long ropes to steer 

a group of prancing creatures...

We Are Not Alone (Dave Calder)

 

"He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became quite still. They felt very glad, but also very solemn.".

           The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis) 

Day 10 of Quotes - Christmas Gift-Giving and Shops

This year has made Christmas shopping more than a little bit awkward. Christmas is certainly not all about shopping, but it is all about gift-giving. From the greatest gift on the first Christmas, all the way through to the presents under the tree, through the gift of companionship and love.

Getting home for Christmas... Priceless

Mastercard Advert

The poulterers' shops were still half open, and the fruiterers' were radiant in their glory.

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

 

And now two smaller Cratchits, boy and girl, came tearing in, screaming that outside the baker's they had smelt the goose, and known it for their own

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

 

City sidewalks busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style

Silver Bells

 

“Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

Little Women - L.M.Alcott 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

 

"Well, there is harm. I tell her that there is no Santa Claus, so you bring her down here, and she sees thousands of gullible kids, and she meets an actor  a very good actor, mind you, with a real beard and a beautiful Santa suit, sitting smack dab in the centre of a child's fantasy world."

Miracle on 34th Street

 

"In the meantime, I am putting up more twinkle lights."

You've Got Mail

 

But the snow was so deep, that no one could get to market, and the little mice went home hungrier than ever.

Christmas in Puddle Lane - Sheila McCullagh

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr Seuss

Day 9 of Quotes - O Christmas Tree!

The ninth day of December calls for nine Christmas quotes. These are a mixture but all linked through the Christmas tree. Ours arrives on Thursday this week and will be decorated on Saturday. Very excited! 

"In the farmhouse of Quoydunt all was gaiety. The walls reflected the spirit of the season with a colourful assortment of paper decorations, holly and mistletoe, fairy lights, and Chinese lanterns, and in one corner of the kitchen stood an attractive little Christmas Tree, laden with gifts in fancy wrappings."

(from "The Ghost Of Ezekiel Drever" by R. T. Johnston, "Stenwick Days")

"After a lot of work, the Christmas tree was ready.
The waxwings pecked off twigs of frozen rowan berries and hung them here and there. The jackdaws came with wild red apples. The magpie brought along all kinds of things it found on its travels: bits of glass, bottle tops, and pieces of silver foil. The tree was also full of colourful feathers that the birds had plucked from their own plumage.
Oh, how beautiful it was!"

(from "The Yule Tomte And The Little Rabbits" by Ulf Stark and Eva Eriksson)

"The Christmas tree posed with its lights in its arms,
Newly tinselled and baubled with glittering charms;
Flirting in flickers of crimson and green
Against the dull glass of the mute TV screen."

(from "Another Night Before Christmas" by Carol Ann Duffy)

" . . .the children have to sit on their hands, enjoy what was in their stockings, and bide themselves until I get back. They are not allowed to touch their main presents under the Christmas tree until the sheep are fed and I come back in and I have had my breakfast. I'm not sure how long it has been like that in our family, but the lesson is a simple one. The farm and the livestock, and the men and women that work, come first."

( from "The Shepherd's Life" by James Rebanks)

"We sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" at the Fox and Feathers, under their ten-foot-high, lighted Christmas tree, and "See Amid the Winter's Snow" beside the iced-over pond."

(from "The Magic Apple Tree" by Susan Hill)

"The best Christmas trees come very close to exceeding nature."

(Andrew Aitken Rooney, American writer and broadcaster)

"To dwellers in a wood, almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature."

(from "Under The Greenwood Tree" by Thomas Hardy)

"Your boughs are green in summer's glow,
And do not fade in winter's snow.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
You stand in verdant beauty."

(Ernst Anschuetz)

 - and finally a little bit of a good fun Christmas song which has happy memories for our family - 

"Rockin' around the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party hop,
Mistletoe hung where you can see,
Every couple tries to stop."

Day 8 of Quotes - A Treasury of Quotes

Christmas is getting into full swing at school. Tomorrow is Christmas Lunch day. This year we'll be having it in our classrooms but, no doubt, they'll still be a jolly atmosphere around the tables.

Here are my 8 quotes for the 8th December, all from the book "The MacMillan Book of Christmas"...

"Secrets long and secrets wide,

Brightly wrapped and tightly tied."

From Christmas Secrets by Aileen Fisher

"High in the Heavens,

A gold star burns..."

From High in the Heaven by Charles Causley

"Glowing winged figures stood silent all around. They were as tall as trees. Yet they all stood within the small stable."

From The Witness by Robert Westall

"Such warmth is in this shed,

Such comfort from this Child,

That I forget my hard life,

Ignore the harsh world."

From The Shepherd's Dog by Leslie Norris

"But Miss Flora McFlimsey was happy, for once again on a Christmas morning she had been hugged and kissed."

From Miss Flore McFlimsey's Christmas Eve by Mariana

"The jingle of the bells the reindeer wear, because they don't have hooters."

From Bells by Hiawyn Oram

"No one knew what lovely things she had seen, and how gloriously she had flown with her grandmother into her own New Year."

From the Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

"Though each land names a different name,

Goodwill rings through each wish the same-

Merry Christmas!"

From Good Will to Men - Christmas Greeting in Six Languages by Dorothy Brown Thompson

This year we're sharing our favourite Christmas quotes from books, films, poems and songs. Hopefully, you'll be inspired by our quotes, and we'd love to hear some of your favourites too! You can comment with them at the bottom of this post.

Day 7 of Quotes - Christmas Singalong!

  

This picture of a delicious yule log is from two years ago, but it's too yummy not to share!

Day 7

We have very set ideas about Christmas music. It starts in September with Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band then, towards the end of the month, Aled Jones. In the October holiday, we progress onto the Christmas Playlist, which is a mixture of carols and songs, usually when we're driving in the dark. Christmas songs are played throughout Decorating Day, until it gets dark and we move on to carols. We usually don't listen to many secular Christmas songs as it gets closer to Christmas because we replace them with carols. These fabulous quotes are from a few of my absolute favourite secular Christmas songs...

"There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy, when they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie."

            - "Sleigh Ride"

"Christmas future is far away, Christmas past is past. Christmas present is here today, bringing joy that will last"  - "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"

"Hear the snow crunch, see the kids bunch, this is Santa's big scene!"

  - "Silver Bells" 

"Over the ground lies a mantle of white: a heaven of diamonds shine down through the night!"

  - "Winter Wonderland"

"We've only just finished with "£1.50 for the guy, mister..." Used to be a penny in my day."

            - "What Are We Gonna Get for 'Er Indoors"

"Does your granny always tell ya that the old songs are the best? Then she's up and rock'n'rollin' with the rest!"  - "Merry Xmas Everybody"

"Santa cutie, there's one little thing I really need: the deed to a platinum mine."

  - "Santa Baby" 

 

This year we're sharing our favourite Christmas quotes from books, films, poems and songs. Hopefully, you'll be inspired by our quotes, and we'd love to hear some of your favourites too! You can comment with them at the bottom of this post.

Day 6 - Researching Christmas Through Time

As an historical fiction writer, one of my favourite things to research is how Christmas celebrations have altered throughout the ages. Not all my books have Christmas in, but most of them do, and that's not an accident!

So here are quotes from six different Christmases in six different books, bringing you from 1074 to today.

1074

Here, the fire in the centre of the room attacked the enormous log, which was succumbing far quicker than she had ever known the gule block to do so in the past. It had to survive the next five days, or it would have failed in its role. She was unsure what misfortunes might ensue if this should happen. Only that the last time it had perished before the end of Christmas had been eight years ago, the year her parents had died.

from The Year We Lived (published April 2021 - eek! exciting!) 

1793

In contrast to the festivities and worries of the family at Chanter’s House, Christmas on the continent was a desperately lonely affair. Despite the lack of appeal that Wanderford Hall held for Fotherby, when Christmas arrived in Flanders, unannounced and unmarked, he felt a pang for the simple celebrations of home. Although Wanderford Hall was never decked for Christmas, the strictly adhered to fast of Advent made the feast of Christmas only more exciting.

from Beneath Black Clouds and White

1806

The Pottingers spent a merry Christmas in the house and company of Mr Jenkyns who excelled in his role as a host. They spent the day together as Christmas should be spent, in fun and frivolities, and pleasure in the company of others.

from Day's Dying Glory

 

1820

“Come, I shall teach you tune. A Christmas tune, for we are so close now. Which should it be?”
They spent the rest of the evening sharing a lesson in the playing of The First Nowell, Arabella playing it a phrase at a time, and Roger echoing it an octave above.

from Blind Folly of the Heart (working title - will be published one day!)

1854

In the enormous window stood a fifteen-foot tree, such as Prince Albert had introduced to the British Christmas. It was decked with red and gold. Piled beneath its heavy branches were a large collection of boxes, each with a wide ribbon tied around it.

from To Reason Why (working title - will be published one day!)

Today!

Alastair walked in and smiled at the room he had just entered. It was perfect. The tree in the corner next to two windows, rising to seven feet and almost brushing the ceiling; the star, which was attached to it, scraping the plaster; a cluster of presents safely nestled beneath the tree’s lowest branches, in an array of different papers, each tied with raffia ribbon; pastel coloured lights which shone from the central trunk, catching the bold, bright colours of the tinsel and the baubles. There were stockings still hanging from the fireplace, but these all hung limp, while the mantle shelf itself was lost behind a garland of real evergreen.

from Baptism of Fire