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On Christmas Day in the Evening
Excerpt from On Christmas Day in the Evening
There was much to talk about. To begin with, there was everybody in North Estabrook to inquire after; and though North Estabrook 18 but a very small village, it takes time to inquire after everybody. Quite sud denly, having asked solicitiously con cerning a very old woman, who had nursed most of the Fernald children in their infancy and was always re membered by them with affection, it occurred to Nan to put a question which had been on her mind ever since she had come into town on the afternoon stage.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
There was much to talk about. To begin with, there was everybody in North Estabrook to inquire after; and though North Estabrook 18 but a very small village, it takes time to inquire after everybody. Quite sud denly, having asked solicitiously con cerning a very old woman, who had nursed most of the Fernald children in their infancy and was always re membered by them with affection, it occurred to Nan to put a question which had been on her mind ever since she had come into town on the afternoon stage.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
89 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1910
About the author
Grace S. Richmond
63 books32 followersGrace Louise Smith Richmond (1866–1959), American romance novelist created the Dr. R.P. Burns series.
Her first short stories were published in various women's magazines including the Women's Home Companion, Ladies' Home Journal, and Everybody's Magazine as early as 1898. Richmond wrote 27 novels between 1905 and 1936. Red Pepper Burns was published in 1910. Like most of her strong-willed yet compassionate characters, R.P. Burns is a kind, old-souled country doctor who makes house calls. His fiery red hair and temper to match earned him his nickname Red Pepper, though he is still a charming and endearing gentleman. Mrs. Red Pepper (1913), Red Pepper's Patients (1917), and Red of the Redfields (1924) followed.
Her first short stories were published in various women's magazines including the Women's Home Companion, Ladies' Home Journal, and Everybody's Magazine as early as 1898. Richmond wrote 27 novels between 1905 and 1936. Red Pepper Burns was published in 1910. Like most of her strong-willed yet compassionate characters, R.P. Burns is a kind, old-souled country doctor who makes house calls. His fiery red hair and temper to match earned him his nickname Red Pepper, though he is still a charming and endearing gentleman. Mrs. Red Pepper (1913), Red Pepper's Patients (1917), and Red of the Redfields (1924) followed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 24, 2019
3.5★
I've hit my target for the Goodreads Challenge - This is read Number 90, so go me!
We are back with the wholesome and loving Fernald family that features in On Christmas Day in the Morning. While I preferred the first book (which was more about honouring your family, this is more about the importance of a community) this is still a lovely tale, with the sort of sentimental message I am in the mood for at Christmas time.
Best wishes for 2020 everyone! Love each other, be kind to one another.
I've hit my target for the Goodreads Challenge - This is read Number 90, so go me!
We are back with the wholesome and loving Fernald family that features in On Christmas Day in the Morning. While I preferred the first book (which was more about honouring your family, this is more about the importance of a community) this is still a lovely tale, with the sort of sentimental message I am in the mood for at Christmas time.
Best wishes for 2020 everyone! Love each other, be kind to one another.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
December 27, 2019
3.75 stars for this heartwarming religious 1910 short fiction story about the Christmas experiences of the Fernald family, with their six grown children (all except one married) and kindly parents. This story is a sequel to On Christmas Day in the Morning, and both are free to read at Project Gutenberg.
The grown kids now gather at their parents’ home whenever possible at Christmas. Some of them are there a couple of weeks before Christmas, and one evening the talk turns to the local village church, which has been completely closed for the last 17 months since some terrible quarrels between several members of the congregation. Nan decides it’s time to open the church back up, have a Christmas evening meeting with a guest sermon (conveniently, an in-law’s brother is a well-known preacher), and get people to forgive old grievances. It’s a bit of an uphill battle, but her family rallies around her and they fix up the old church. But then their guest preacher has an unexpected inspiration...
It’s an inspiring, traditionally religious story about forgiveness and love, and pulling together as families and communities. Recommended if you enjoy that kind of read. Here’s the link to it on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19384...
And like Carol, I’ve completed my 2019 reading challenge with this story. I had to squeeze in a few short ones there at the end to hit my goal, but I made it!
The grown kids now gather at their parents’ home whenever possible at Christmas. Some of them are there a couple of weeks before Christmas, and one evening the talk turns to the local village church, which has been completely closed for the last 17 months since some terrible quarrels between several members of the congregation. Nan decides it’s time to open the church back up, have a Christmas evening meeting with a guest sermon (conveniently, an in-law’s brother is a well-known preacher), and get people to forgive old grievances. It’s a bit of an uphill battle, but her family rallies around her and they fix up the old church. But then their guest preacher has an unexpected inspiration...
It’s an inspiring, traditionally religious story about forgiveness and love, and pulling together as families and communities. Recommended if you enjoy that kind of read. Here’s the link to it on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19384...
And like Carol, I’ve completed my 2019 reading challenge with this story. I had to squeeze in a few short ones there at the end to hit my goal, but I made it!
November 25, 2022
Do Christmas miracles really happen? Can they actually happen at the hands of earthly human beings? You can find out by reading this heartwarming 1910 sequel to On Christmas Day in the Morning over your next lunch break. Highly recommended and free on Amazon!
I enjoyed this little two-short-story series so much that I bought a whole treasury of Ms. Richmond works for only $1.99 on Amazon. There is something about these authors from another era…
I enjoyed this little two-short-story series so much that I bought a whole treasury of Ms. Richmond works for only $1.99 on Amazon. There is something about these authors from another era…
December 25, 2013
Wonderful short book about the same family as "Christmas Day in the Morning". While home for Christmas, the young people decide to reopen the old village church for a Christmas Day service.
December 27, 2018
Very similar to On Christmas Day in the Morning, this story is a perfect Christmas evening read.
December 9, 2021
Dec 2021
This is a different kind of story than On Christmas Day in the Morning. Instead of a homey tale of family gathering, this is one of reconciliation and forgiveness in a community. Conflicts and recriminations have torn apart the fabric of the small village of North Estabrook where Father and Mother Fernald live, and as a result their church has fallen into disuse. The Fernald children, on their now annual Christmas visit, decide to open and decorate the church in preparation for a Christmas evening service where a heart-felt sermon makes all the difference.
Old-fashioned but still relevant and rather moving, and I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the Christmas hymns.
5 stars
Ilustrations by Charles M. Relyea can be viewed here.
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/...
Dec 2022
The reading of this short story deserves to be a Christmas tradition. Touching with a wonderful message.
This is a different kind of story than On Christmas Day in the Morning. Instead of a homey tale of family gathering, this is one of reconciliation and forgiveness in a community. Conflicts and recriminations have torn apart the fabric of the small village of North Estabrook where Father and Mother Fernald live, and as a result their church has fallen into disuse. The Fernald children, on their now annual Christmas visit, decide to open and decorate the church in preparation for a Christmas evening service where a heart-felt sermon makes all the difference.
Old-fashioned but still relevant and rather moving, and I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the Christmas hymns.
5 stars
Ilustrations by Charles M. Relyea can be viewed here.
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/...
Dec 2022
The reading of this short story deserves to be a Christmas tradition. Touching with a wonderful message.
December 28, 2019
Read for the Retro Reads group in Dec. 2019
Very nice Christmas story having to do with peace and reconciliation in a small village.
Very nice Christmas story having to do with peace and reconciliation in a small village.
December 18, 2020
This was the sequel of One Christmas in the Morning. I like the first one a lot, really cute story, but this one was boring.
November 28, 2021
Oh well, all those free reads on Amazon for Kindle can't be winners.
How Mary felt Christmas day in the evening--
How Mary felt Christmas day in the evening--
December 29, 2020
5 stars & 5/10 hearts. I loved this story even more than the first one. The moral was SO good and the humour excellent! I loved Billy Sewall and old Elder Blake was amazing. The whole story was delightfully sweet and wholesome and amazing. <33
A Favourite Quote: “I can hardly wait till I get back to town to hunt up a man I know, and tell him I think he was in the right in a little disagreement we had a good while ago. I’ve always been positive he was wrong. I suppose the facts in the case haven’t changed[,] but somehow I seem to see them differently. It doesn’t look to me worth while to let them stand between us any longer.”
“Ah, it’s not worth while,” agreed the old man quickly. “It’s not worth while for any of us to be hard on one another, no matter what the facts. Life is pretty difficult, at its best—we can’t afford to make it more difficult for any human soul. Go back to town and make it right with your friend, Mr. Burnett. I take it he was your friend, or you wouldn’t think of him to-night.”
A Favourite Quote: "It had not been thought best to ask the congregation to sing. There was no knowing whether anybody would sing if they were asked. Now, it seemed fortunate that it had been so arranged, for somehow the congregation did not look exactly as if it could sing. Certainly not George Tomlinson, for he had a large frog in his throat. Not Asa Fraser, for he had a furious cold in his head. Not Maria Hill, for though she hunted vigorously, high and low, for her handkerchief, she was unable to locate it, and the front of her best black silk was rapidly becoming shiny in spots—a fact calculated to upset anybody’s singing."
A Favourite Quote: “I can hardly wait till I get back to town to hunt up a man I know, and tell him I think he was in the right in a little disagreement we had a good while ago. I’ve always been positive he was wrong. I suppose the facts in the case haven’t changed[,] but somehow I seem to see them differently. It doesn’t look to me worth while to let them stand between us any longer.”
“Ah, it’s not worth while,” agreed the old man quickly. “It’s not worth while for any of us to be hard on one another, no matter what the facts. Life is pretty difficult, at its best—we can’t afford to make it more difficult for any human soul. Go back to town and make it right with your friend, Mr. Burnett. I take it he was your friend, or you wouldn’t think of him to-night.”
A Favourite Quote: "It had not been thought best to ask the congregation to sing. There was no knowing whether anybody would sing if they were asked. Now, it seemed fortunate that it had been so arranged, for somehow the congregation did not look exactly as if it could sing. Certainly not George Tomlinson, for he had a large frog in his throat. Not Asa Fraser, for he had a furious cold in his head. Not Maria Hill, for though she hunted vigorously, high and low, for her handkerchief, she was unable to locate it, and the front of her best black silk was rapidly becoming shiny in spots—a fact calculated to upset anybody’s singing."
December 21, 2022
I liked this short story much better than its companion piece, On Christmas Day in the Morning.This is the telling of a large family of siblings who travel home to spend Christmas with their elderly parents. The traditional evening church service that they looked forward to was sadly canceled. The country church was closed and sat empty due to a rift amongst its congregants.
The adult siblings devised a plan to decorate the church, call in a speaker, and provide music in order to reestablish the tradition they loved. The community responded admirably, and the worshipful gathering enabled healing and a fresh new beginning for the congregation.
This had an old-fashioned feel but was delightful to read, and embraced the true spirit of the season it celebrates.
The adult siblings devised a plan to decorate the church, call in a speaker, and provide music in order to reestablish the tradition they loved. The community responded admirably, and the worshipful gathering enabled healing and a fresh new beginning for the congregation.
This had an old-fashioned feel but was delightful to read, and embraced the true spirit of the season it celebrates.
December 12, 2017
The sequel to "On Christmas Day in the Morning" jettisons most of the emotionally manipulative melodrama elements of the first novella in place of a more authentically heartwarming story of a family reuniting a squabbling community. Given that this was almost certainly dashed off for a quick holiday cash-in, it's a surprisingly delicate and subtle look at the way the growing schisms in Protestantism during the early 20th century could break apart old friendships over the slightest differences, easily reconciled but for the pride of those involved.
December 6, 2018
Review and Cleanliness Report coming soon.
June 4, 2008
old fashioned heart warmer; was probably originally a short story in a ladies magazine in 1908.
June 27, 2017
I love all of Grace Richmond's books about simpler times.
December 14, 2020
Well I didn't research this one enough so I didn't realize it was a sequel so will now go back and get the Kindle edition of "On Christmas Day in the Morning" but thinking I may just hold it on the Kindle with this one and read them in the correct order next year.
I was interested in this because it appeared to be about Christmas Day at night and the way it has always been for me is either we were so busy that we were still visiting and Christmassing way into the night or it was Christmas Evening and it was all over and we had nothing to do except to think "Oh well I guess that is it" (especially true as kids and then grandkids have grown up). That really wasn't what this was about; it is a nice short novella about an old minister and a town that has had problems within their church with some parishioners not getting along (that is something that does seem to happen) and how they eventually work it out. You know....A Christmas Miracle!
I was interested in this because it appeared to be about Christmas Day at night and the way it has always been for me is either we were so busy that we were still visiting and Christmassing way into the night or it was Christmas Evening and it was all over and we had nothing to do except to think "Oh well I guess that is it" (especially true as kids and then grandkids have grown up). That really wasn't what this was about; it is a nice short novella about an old minister and a town that has had problems within their church with some parishioners not getting along (that is something that does seem to happen) and how they eventually work it out. You know....A Christmas Miracle!
December 13, 2019
Make Merry!
🖊 This is a merry book of a short story on a Christmas theme. The Project Gutenberg e-book version has the original artwork which makes this book all that much more enjoyable and festive to read. It worked well with me whilst I sat in front of the fire curled up in my reading chair. This is very appropriate for children and adults to read. This book is the sequel to On Christmas Day in the Morning🎄 Make merry!
📕Published in 1910.
🎨Illustrated.
From My Desk in My Private Library at Crystal Lake:
જ⁀🟢 E-book version on Project Gutenburg.
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
🖊 This is a merry book of a short story on a Christmas theme. The Project Gutenberg e-book version has the original artwork which makes this book all that much more enjoyable and festive to read. It worked well with me whilst I sat in front of the fire curled up in my reading chair. This is very appropriate for children and adults to read. This book is the sequel to On Christmas Day in the Morning🎄 Make merry!
📕Published in 1910.
🎨Illustrated.
From My Desk in My Private Library at Crystal Lake:
જ⁀🟢 E-book version on Project Gutenburg.
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
January 12, 2021
I was browsing at the Kindle store and came across this antiquated short Christmas story which shows how a little effort brings lots of rewards to a small town that has been broken apart! 🎄🎄😘😘 Loved the sentiment and I so fear there is very little understanding and forgiveness in the world today but what it needs is God in everyone's life, maybe that would bring people together!
December 7, 2018
Another winner!
December 6, 2021
I loved this story of the Fernald family who gather at their parent's home each year to celebrate Christmas. This year they take on the project of cleaning and decorating the old, unused church in preparation for an evening service on Christmas Day. Over a year ago, there was a rift in the congregation and all members ceased attending. We never learn what caused the break, only how it is healed through the efforts of these good people and the wisdom of both a young and an elderly minister.
"Ebenezer Blake became the mouthpiece of the Master he served.
Peace and good will? oh, yes-he preached it-no doubt of that. But it was no milk-and-water peace, no sugar-and-spice good will. There was flesh and blood in the message he gave them, and it was the message they needed. Even his text was not the gentle part of the Christmas prophecy, it was the militant part- 'And the government shall be upon His shoulder.' They were not bidden to lie down together like lambs, they were summoned to march together like lions-the lions of the Lord. As William Sewell looked down into the faces of the people and watched the changing expressions there, he felt that the strange, strong, challenging words were going home. He saw stooping shoulders straighten even as the preacher's had straightened; he saw heads come up, and eyes grow light;-most of all, he saw that at last the people had forgotten one another and were remembering God."
"Even as they smiled, shamefacedly but happily, at each other, similar scenes were being enacted. All about them spread the breaking ice. Incredible, that it should happen in a night? Not so. The forces of Nature are mighty, but they are as weakness beside the spiritual forces of Nature's God."
"Ebenezer Blake became the mouthpiece of the Master he served.
Peace and good will? oh, yes-he preached it-no doubt of that. But it was no milk-and-water peace, no sugar-and-spice good will. There was flesh and blood in the message he gave them, and it was the message they needed. Even his text was not the gentle part of the Christmas prophecy, it was the militant part- 'And the government shall be upon His shoulder.' They were not bidden to lie down together like lambs, they were summoned to march together like lions-the lions of the Lord. As William Sewell looked down into the faces of the people and watched the changing expressions there, he felt that the strange, strong, challenging words were going home. He saw stooping shoulders straighten even as the preacher's had straightened; he saw heads come up, and eyes grow light;-most of all, he saw that at last the people had forgotten one another and were remembering God."
"Even as they smiled, shamefacedly but happily, at each other, similar scenes were being enacted. All about them spread the breaking ice. Incredible, that it should happen in a night? Not so. The forces of Nature are mighty, but they are as weakness beside the spiritual forces of Nature's God."
December 6, 2022
’ALL the Fernald family go back to the old home for Christmas, now, every year. Last Christmas was the third on which Oliver and Edson, Ralph and Guy, Carolyn and Nan, were all at the familiar fireside, as they used to be in the days before they were married. The wives and husbands and children go too–when other family claims can be compromised with–and no one of them, down to Carolyn’s youngest baby, who was not a year old last Christmas, has sustained a particle of harm from the snowy journey to North Estabrook, tucked away though it is among the hills, where the drifts are deep.’
A story filled with the joy of a family getting together for the Christmas holiday, originally published on the first of January, 1910. Many years have passed in the years since then, and there is an aura of old-fashioned charm that permeates these pages, but there are moments that feel as though not much has changed, as well.
There are illustrated versions of this story, as it is appropriate for all ages, but there is also one without illustrations which is available for free on Amazon, which is what I read.
Just a few days ago I read her ’On Christmas Day in the Morning’ and was pulled into the story and the old-fashioned charm, so once I knew there was a sequel to ’On Christmas Day in the Morning’, I knew I wanted to read it.
A simply lovely read. My thanks to my friend Christine who told me about this one as well as ’On Christmas Day in the Morning.’
December 22, 2022
On Christmas Day in the Eveningis a follow-up to the short story On Christmas Day in the Morning. The Fernald family now gathers every year for Christmas; after having surprised their elderly parents three years prior; the adult children make it a point come with their families for the holiday. This year, the conversation turns to the old church, which has been closed since the previous summer when trouble amongst members of the congregation forced the church to close its doors. The family decides it’s time to start anew and hold their own service. Word gets around, and by the time the doors open, the pews are full.
I found this story to be rather confusing and the writing rather choppy, but Elder Blake’s sermon and the ending are worth waiting for.
3 stars
November 28, 2025
Another short story featuring the same family as in On Christmas Day in the Morning. It is several years after that story and the adult children continue to visit their elderly parents each Christmas, now with their spouses and children in tow. This particular Christmas they decide to revive the old church which has not been in use since the retirement of their previous vicar. They decide to decorate the church for the holiday and host a Christmas mass. While a sibling of one of the spouses agrees to do the readings, he entreaties the retired vicar to make an appearance to his flock and revive their Christmas spirit, which leads to feuding neighbors reconciling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2021
Oh! This story made me cry!
How sad it is when people hold on to grudges, resentment, jealousy, and bitterness! It severed a church and all the friendships within it--due to an unwillingness to both forgive and ask forgiveness!
This beautiful little illustration of redemption displays the incredible value of the aged and wise among us...and the great worth of forgiveness. May we all seek healing for broken relationships this Christmas, as this story gently encourages us to do. ❤
How sad it is when people hold on to grudges, resentment, jealousy, and bitterness! It severed a church and all the friendships within it--due to an unwillingness to both forgive and ask forgiveness!
This beautiful little illustration of redemption displays the incredible value of the aged and wise among us...and the great worth of forgiveness. May we all seek healing for broken relationships this Christmas, as this story gently encourages us to do. ❤
December 24, 2021
Grace S. Richmond is now one of my new favorite authors! Her 2 Christmas stories are perfect for getting into the Christmas spirit -- they remind me of Maeve Binchy or Rosamund Pilcher's work -- set in a simpler time, a little old-fashioned, but well-written and interesting.
Some of her stories are available (search under her name on Goodreads, and I just found a larger book of her work, "The Works of Grace S. Richmond."
Some of her stories are available (search under her name on Goodreads, and I just found a larger book of her work, "The Works of Grace S. Richmond."
December 16, 2025
This short story was written in 1910 and we follow the same family from, "On Christmas Day in the morning" as they continue to spend each Christmas together. Now the family wants to re-open a closed church in the hopes of reconciling a quarrelling community. Heartwarming.
December 23, 2020
Too much church for me, but a very well-written cheesy, Christmas feel-good story.
December 3, 2021
A good story about forgiveness on Christmas Day.
December 16, 2024
Wholesome
December 10, 2023
Read on Kindle while listening on Chirp.
A continuation of the previous book called On Christmas Day in the Morning. The family, now meeting together annually for the holiday, find a way to heal a rift in a dormant local church. Very touching story.
A continuation of the previous book called On Christmas Day in the Morning. The family, now meeting together annually for the holiday, find a way to heal a rift in a dormant local church. Very touching story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews