The beauty of winter...

"The beauty of winter is that it makes you appreciate spring."
-L.M. Montgomery
Sara Stanley in The Story Girl

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Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created May 28, 2024.
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A Prince Edward Island Christmas: Nowadays and Long Ago

A Prince Edward Island Christmas: Nowadays and Long Ago is a book that was written by Deirdre Kessler featuring photos by Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay. It was published by Nimbus Publishing in 2003.

Years ago, my husband and I traveled to Prince Edward Island for our honeymoon, and we stayed at the Elmwood Heritage Inn in Charlottetown. When we left for Summerside, we were given this book as a gift by the owners of the Elmwood. Once in a while, I like to flip through the book and remember my visit to the Island. I still haven't made it back to PEI, and I'd love to visit again during the winter.

The book is divided into four main sections: (1) The Setting, which describes the island in the winter and at Christmas, (2) Good Things to Eat, which features traditional Island recipes, (3) From the Past, which shares Island customs and traditions, including Lebanese, Acadian, and Mi’kmaq influences, and has a section on L.M. Montgomery and Christmas, and (4) Entertainments, which includes information on concerts and gift giving.

The back cover describes the book as follows:

"Perhaps because islands are naturally protected from the mainstream of life, the traditions that enriched the lives of the first arrivals endure. On Prince Edward Island, family, community and economic life still reflect traditional customs and values, especially during the most celebrated holiday - Christmas. Behind the glamour of Christmas lights, the search for the perfect Christmas tree, Christmas concerts and home-made gifts, skating on outdoor rinks and sticky-raisin fruitcakes create the age-old feeling of joy and expectation.

In this charming reflection of then and now, award-winning author Deirdre Kessler and acclaimed photographers Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay team up to create a lasting reminder of old-fashioned Christmas."


Image credit:
Photograph of A Prince Edward Island Christmas: Nowadays and Long Ago book cover by World of Anne Shirley.

Created May 6, 2024. Last updated June 5, 2024.
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And then came March

"And then came March, with its mad, galloping winds..."
-L.M. Montgomery
Pat of Silver Bush

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Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created March 1, 2024. Last updated April 19, 2024.
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a diamond winter day in February

"It was a diamond winter day in February—clear, cold, hard, brilliant."
-L.M. Montgomery
The Golden Road

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Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created February 1, 2024. Last updated April 19, 2024.
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the January winds whined

"After Christmas the snow went away and the January winds whined over cold, hard-frozen pastures and through grey, cold trees."
-L.M. Montgomery
Pat of Silver Bush

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Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created January 18, 2024. Last updated April 19, 2024.
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January so far has been a month of cold gray days

"January 28th.

January so far has been a month of cold gray days, with an occasional storm whirling across the harbor and filling Spook's Lane with drifts. But last night we had a silver thaw and today the sun shone."
-L.M. Montgomery
Anne Shirley in Anne of Windy Poplars

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Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created January 28, 2023. Last updated April 19, 2024.
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The Winter Wind by L.M. Montgomery

In January 1904, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "The Winter Wind" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."

Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:


Here is the full text of the poem:

THE WINTER WIND
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

I am the gladdest of winds that blow
Though I come from the realms of ice and snow.

I waken the notes of the pine tree lyres
When the sunset kindles its crimson fires.

I dance over meadows and valleys white
In the sparkling frost of a winter night.

I croon a song that is low and sweet
When the dawn creeps out on her silver feet.

I nip and pinch with a right good will
The children’s cheeks on the coasting hill.

I sting to action the hearts of those
I meet on my way from the Northland snows.

Laughter rings when I whistle by,
For a right good, rollicking wind am I.


Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1904, January). The Winter Wind. The Farm Journal. 28(1): 1. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1904-01_28_1/mode/2up

Created November 12, 2022.
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I hate this war...

"'I hate this war,' said Rilla bitterly, as she gazed out into the maple grove that was a chill glory of pink and gold in the winter sunset."
-L.M. Montgomery
Rilla of Ingleside

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Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created March 11, 2022. Last updated April 19, 2024.
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Merry Christmas, Anne

Merry Christmas, Anne is a children's book by Kallie George with beautiful illustrations by Geneviève Godbout that was inspired by L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. Deriving from the original source, George tells the story of Anne Shirley's first Christmas in Avonlea for young readers, aged 3 to 7. The 40-page long picture book was published by Tundra Books, a division of Penguin Random House Canada in October 2021.

Here is the description of the book from Penguin Random House Canada:

A heartwarming holiday picture book inspired by L.M. Montgomery's beloved classic Anne of Green Gables.

It's Christmas in Avonlea, and Anne is thankful for so many things: feathery frosts and silvery seas, and wreaths as round as the moon. But most of all, she's thankful for her kindred spirits, including Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who adopted her, and her bosom friend Diana. But Anne is distracted this holiday by having to recite at the upcoming Christmas concert. And she feels bad that her kindred spirits give her so much during the year when she has very little to give in return. Can Anne overcome her jitters and make her kindred spirits proud -- and also think of a way to show her appreciation for the people she loves?

With magical illustrations and a heartfelt message, this festive picture book is the perfect holiday read for Anne fans old and new and a joyous way to celebrate the season.

ISBN-13: 978-0735267183

Image credit:
Book cover of Merry Christmas, Anne.

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Created December 1, 2021. Last updated October 28, 2024.
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Anne of Green Gables Christmas Ornament

On my honeymoon on Prince Edward Island, I bought this Anne of Green Gables Christmas ornament to hang on my Christmas tree. It's a little straw hat with red braids attached.

If you can't make it to PEI, there's a similar Christmas ornament available here.

Created July 26, 2006. Last updated January 25, 2024.
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Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories

Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories is a collection of 16 stories by L.M. Montgomery that were gathered and rediscovered by Rea Wilmshurst and published in 1995. Two stories are Christmas chapters from the Anne of Green Gables series, and the other 14 stories are Christmas and New Year stories written by L.M.Montgomery for magazines. The titles of the stories contained in this volume and their original publication dates are listed below:

Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves (from Anne of Green Gables, 1908)
Christmas at Red Butte (1909)
The End of the Young Family Feud (1907)
Aunt Cyrilla's Christmas Basket (1903?)
The Osborne's Christmas (1903)
The Unforgotten One (1906)
Clorinda's Gifts (1906)
Katherine Brooke Comes to Green Gables (from Anne of Windy Poplars, 1934)
A Christmas Mistake (1899)
A Christmas Surprise at Enderly Road (1905)
The Falsoms' Christmas Dinner (1906)
A Christmas Inspiration (1901?)
The Josephs' Christmas (1902)
Uncle Richard's New Year Dinner (1910)
Ida's New Year Cake (1905)
Bertie's New Year (1905)

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Created December 27, 2002. Last updated April 26, 2024.
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The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Treasury

The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Treasury is a book by Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Eriksson that was published by Viking Penguin Books in November 1997. The book includes Christmas recipes, crafts and decorating ideas to celebrate the holiday just like Anne Shirley. The book includes charming art and illustrations by David Montle.

Here is the description of the book from the inner panel of the dust cover of the hardback edition:

A celebration of Christmas—Green Gables style! Inspired by Lucy Maud Montgomery's beloved classic Anne of Green Gables, Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Eriksson have gathered a fascinating selection of Christmas lore, crafts, cooking and decorating ideas, complete with easy-to-follow instructions and charmingly illustrated with step-by-step drawings and glorious colour photographs.

Learn how to create a Green Gables gingerbread house or make decorations for your home, such as wreaths of roseberries or Matthew’s sleigh-bell door chimes. Delight your friends and family with your own gifts for "kindred spirits": perhaps a Green Gables tea cosy or Christmas ribbon cushion. You can also recreate the holiday finery that Anne and Diana would have loved, from Anne’s beaded slippers to a velvet muff for those chilly winter nights. And, by following the recipes for festive delicacies such as "Four Winds Roast Goose," "Mrs. Lynde's Plum Pudding" and "Marilla's Ginger Tea," you can enjoy the sort of traditional meal that would have been served at Green Gables, Anne's House of Dreams and Ingleside.

With all this and much, much more, The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Treasury will be loved by young and old and treasured for many Christmases to come.

ISBN-13: 9780670870318

Here is the description of the book from the back cover of the hardback edition:

Share in the joy of an unforgettable Green Gables Christmas - with all the feasts and treats that Anne would have enjoyed. This book shows you how to make these holiday customs of days gone by part of your own Christmas tradition.

Image credit:
Book cover of The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Treasury.

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Created November 4, 2001. Last updated October 28, 2024.
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