Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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MaryM
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Posted: Dec 01 2008 at 2:05am | IP Logged Quote MaryM
by Sepp Bauer
Illustrated by Else Wenz-Vietor

First published in Germany in the 1920's, this charming Advent story is told in parts, one for each day from St. Nicholas' Day (Dec. 6) to Christmas Eve (Dec. 24).

Amazon link

Keywords: St. Nicholas, Germany, folktale/fairytale, Christ Child, illness, journey, miracle

I just discovered this book which was republished earlier this past summer. It's a reissue from a book/Advent calendar first published around 1920 in Germany. I thought it would appeal especially to those of you who enjoy a fairytale nature. It is a sweet little book and very interesting to read about its rediscovery and publication.

This is the from the note at end of book:
Quote:
About the Book

The Christmas Rose was first published around 1920 as a kind of Advent calendar. The stories and pictures for two days appeared on each page. Each picture was printed in color on white paper, cut out, and glued down on cardboard that had been printed with the text. After it's original publication, the book went out of print and was all but forgotten.

A German editor learned about the existense of The Christmas Rose from one of Wenz-Vietor's daughters. Although the daughter remembered the book, she did not have a copy of it. The original illustrations were gone, probably destroyed during World War II.

Luckily, after searching through many used bookstores, the editor was able to purchase a copy of the original book from an antiquarian bookseller in Switterland in 2006. The Christmas Rose was soon reissued in Germany as a thirty two page picture book, with one day on each page. In this forty-eight page American edition, the book is smaller and upright, with one day on each two-page spread.

Just as Christmas traditions evolve, The Christmas Rose has been altered by its journey through time and across cultures. This lost treasure, rediscovered for a new generation, reminds us of the enduring strength of the Christmas spirit.


The illustrator Else Wenz-Vietor (1882-1973) was one of the most well-known illustrators in Germany in the 1920-30s. Her illustrations in this book are really quaint and I found them very nostalgic.

The forward includes information about Christmas traditions in Germany.

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MaryM
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Posted: Dec 01 2008 at 2:26am | IP Logged Quote MaryM
Interesting side note - the "rose" mentioned does bloom in winter. Helleborus niger is commonly called the Christmas rose, due to an old legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had no gift to give the Christ child in Bethlehem.



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donnalynn
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Posted: Dec 23 2008 at 5:01pm | IP Logged Quote donnalynn
Mary -

I love this book - I have an advent calendar with forest animals that we use every year and this book will work so well with calendar next year.

I had a lot of waiting around to do for a court appearance this am and this helped soothe my soul and kept a smile on my face. Thanks for recommending it!

I never knew before that the German references to the "Christ Child" don't necessarily refer to *THE* Holy Child.
Very interesting!

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