I sometimes think that
instead of asking for the tired, poor, and huddled masses the Statue of Liberty
should really ask those who wash up on our shore to give us your holidays that
involve eating and drinking, and if there's a commercial edge to it so much the
better. We'll do what we do best in this country, change it beyond all
recognition and export it to the world.
That's why I find it
so interesting when I stumble across holidays that we don't celebrate in the
US. Take for example St. Nicholas Day. Now my Grandmother was full-blooded
German but it took a Bavarian to tell me about this holiday.
Like Christmas, it
involves gifts (win), food (win), and fun (win). St Nick is there—The
skinny bishop not the Coca-cola fat man. And best of all, there's this guy
called Krampus who will stuff bad little boys and girls into his sack and carry
them away. Hey, it's kinda like combining Christmas and Halloween.
There were just as
many German-Americans in the US as there were Irish and English when Christmas
was catching on. So why don't we celebrate St. Nicholas's Day ?
If I had to guess, it
comes down to one word: War.
Both the first and the
second World Wars created a strong
anti-German sentiment in the US, and it affected everything from the
music we could listen to, the language we spoke and what we called food
(sauerkraut became liberty cabbage, German shepherds were police dogs, etc).
This sentiment also gave us Prohibition—all those German beer gardens and
breweries.
But I digress. It's
time to add more holidays to the calendar. June and August are wide open. April
has taxes due and we definitely need something to celebrate to forget that. So
what do you say, let's start a movement to bring forth another holiday,
conceived in fun, food and drinks? What would you propose and why? Leave your
fabulous idea for a chance to win a free copy of my latest book.
Now a word from our
sponsor, er, my latest book celebrating: St. Nicholas's Day.
Gift from St. Nick
Blurb: Hans Lubeck
lost his birthright to a woman's deceitful games. Ten years later, he's on the
cusp of fulfilling his dream of captaining his own ship. And another woman
could jeopardize everything.
Schoolteacher
Lenore Kerrigan devotes her time to her pupils and good works. She has no use
for a man or the damage he could do to her reputation.
But
this holiday season, fate and an island of matchmakers have other plans. Will
they accept the gift of a lifetime, or will the past steal away any chance at
happiness?
Excerpt: When a first
kiss, isn't exactly a first kiss
"Are you awake, Lenore?"
Her stomach dropped into the basement.
Of all the hotel lobbies in the world, why did Hans Lubeck have to walk into
hers?
And why did she have to kiss him?
She swallowed the disgrace wadded in her
throat, then slowly worked her fingers out of his knitted sweater. Sweet
Mary, maybe I should join a convent in Ireland. At least then I won't be able
to get into anymore trouble.
"Lenore."
Biting her lip, she looked away. He
pitied her. She heard it in his voice. "I'm sorry. I was dreaming
and..."
And she'd lost her mind.
But she hadn't known it was him.
Although she should have known it wasn't Dixon. He'd never kissed her like
that. No one had. "I'm sorry."
Color spotted his cheeks. "No need
to apologize. You weren't responsible."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you saying
you kissed me first?"
"No, I'm saying I interrupted while
you were sleeping." He rocked back on his heels.
Her fingers traced her lips. But he had
kissed her back. She could still taste her mother's cobbler. Why had he kissed
her?