The Sled
A lovely Christmas book by J. Craig Williams and Christine B. Williams.
A lovely Christmas book by J. Craig Williams and Christine B. Williams.
Written by Lynne North and illustrated by Jack Foster. Christmas is the most exciting and busiest time of the year. All the elves are hard at work making toys for Father Christmas, and Bodo the Chief Inventor Elf is desperately thinking up new ideas for this year’s special toys. He loves the work, but someone else isn’t quite so happy. Luka is jealous. He is sure he could invent much better toys than Bodo, so decides Bodo should be out of the way. But wouldn’t that spoil Christmas for everyone? Luka finds out too late that he might not have…
Have you written all your Christmas cards yet? No, neither have I. We all will be soon though won’t we, but why? Where and how did this tradition begin? The first Christmas card designed for sale was by London artist John Calcott Horsley and commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman of the 1800’s, who found himself too busy in the festive season to send individual messages to all his friends. Yes, I know the feeling. Being a man who liked to be prepared therefore, in the summer of 1843 Sir Henry commissioned Horsley to design an impressive…
Take care, and look after your pets! They will be frightened…
Bonfire Night will soon be with us all again. Would you like to know the origins of this eventful night? The historic origins of Bonfire Night date to the conflict between virtually outlawed Catholics and the Protestant establishment of the 16th and early 17th century. On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes (the real one, not the stuffed variety) and a group of Catholic conspirators who felt badly treated by the King put 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar underneath the Houses of Parliament. (Not a bad idea, do I hear you say?) Some of those involved in the plot…
However you spend your Halloween, enjoy it in your own special way!
This year Crimson Cloak Publishing are bringing out an illustrated children’s Christmas book! Written by Lynne North and illustrated by the highly talented Jack Foster it is not a book to miss! Christmas Under Threat Christmas is the most exciting and busiest time of the year. All the elves are hard at work making toys for Father Christmas, and Bodo the Chief Inventor Elf is desperately thinking up new ideas for this year’s special toys. He loves the work, but someone else isn’t quite so happy. Luka is jealous. He is sure he could invent much better toys than Bodo,…
Are you wondering what the spiritual meaning of the Autumn Equinox is? Autumn Equinox represents a lot in the world. It is the equilibrium of day and night and this represents the light and darkness in our lives. The symbol of the Autumnal Equinox is a double spiral. It illustrates the in-breath and out-breath, the point of balance between the worlds, the inner and outer journey.The long summer nights have passed and we are now in a season of transition. Known to many as Mabon (pronounced May-Bun), the autumn equinox is not widely celebrated in the U.S., as it marks…
The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. When the initial battles broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical. By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence,…
The Summer Solstice is upon us, reminding us to celebrate the nourishing light of the Sun. At the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere, the Sun travels the longest path through the sky, and that day therefore gives us our longest day of the year. This day has been celebrated for countless years in many cultures. Midsummer is a centuries-old Germanic tradition. People celebrated the summer solstice, the day on which plants were said to have healing and magical properties. Bonfires were lit to protect against the forces of darkness, which were said to run free during the shorter days….