An Early American Christmas - A Month of Cozy Books

An Early American Christmas by Tomie dePaola is so cozy! I confess I’m not generally a big fan of Tomie dePaola books, but I just adore this one.

In the story, a German family moves to a New England town where no one celebrates Christmas. (This was common long ago in some parts of New England.) This family celebrates and the book tells the story of all they do to prepare in the fall and up until Christmas. They make bayberry candles to burn in the window, harvest their food, make mounds of cookies, carve a new figure for the creche, and decorate their home. And then they put the candles in the windows and begin to sing on Christmas Eve. What will the town do?

We put candles in our windows each fall and keep them there through the holidays and winter (although ours are electric and not bayberry!). I love the feeling of warmth and hospitality they seem to send forth each night when we light them. So I especially loved this story about a family in New England who brings this tradition to their town.