by Roseanna White | Dec 1, 2014 | Holidays, Word of the Week
Thought I’d go Christmasy for December. =) So today’s Word of the Week is less a word and more the etymology of a story. Because my kids asked me, after I went through the original St. Nicholas story with them, when Rudolph came about, and I had no clue.
As it turns out, our beloved reindeer was an invention of a writer named Robert L. May, who was hired by the Montgomery Ward company to create an original piece of work for their annual children’s coloring book. May devised Rudolph in 1939…to some opposition. The publishers didn’t like the red nose idea. Red noses were associated with drunkards, which certainly wasn’t the image they wanted to portray. But when May had his illustrator friend create a cutesy deer character with a beaming red nose, the powers that be relented–and the story took off to amazing success. The original poem was written in the meter of “The Night Before Christmas.”
The song we all know and love was written a decade later, by the author’s brother-in-law. It remained the all-time best selling album in the country until the 80s!
The stop-motion animation version that I grew up thinking was the only Rudolph story worth watching, LOL, came about in 1964. Though very popular, this movie apparently doesn’t stick very accurately to the original poem. Which now makes me want to look up the original and see what’s been changed!
So there we have it. Our history of Rudolph. =)
by Roseanna White | Nov 26, 2014 | Uncategorized
Today I’d like to share a post I also have up at Colonial Quills. Please hop over there to read the full article…but mostly, please join me in the deepest gratitude this year. Not just for what we have. But for the trials He’s brought us through…the promises He keeps. Let’s give Him:
We all know the story of the first Thanksgiving, and it’s one I’ve enjoyed reading to my kids again this year. All those old familiar tales of Squanto and the Pilgrims, of neighborliness and sharing.
But even more stirring was when I read about the Second Thanksgiving the Pilgrims celebrated.
Read the Full Article
by Roseanna White | Nov 24, 2014 | Word of the Week
Okay, there’s a debate about this in my house. I made the observation a few weeks ago, when someone on TV mentioned their “bucket list,” that I was amazed at how quickly this term became a part of our daily vocabulary, when it was pretty much created by the movie.
My husband quickly said, “No it wasn’t. I’ve been hearing that term all my life.”
Naturally, I had to look it up. And what did I find in etymonline.com? Nothing. What did I find in the dictionary? Nothing. So I started doing basic Google searches for the origins of the phrase.
The first article I found on it was written by a journalist who had a similar observation to mine, and his determination was that it indeed hadn’t appeared in print until 2004 at the earliest (the movie is 2006).
I came back with a “Ha! See?” to my hubby, who said, “Yeah, not buying it. He’s just wrong.”
LOL. So I did some more digging. Here’s all I can find.
First of all, it’s pretty much accepted by all that it’s in reference to the term kick the bucket, which has been a phrase meaning “to die” since the 1780s. Moreover, bucket list has been a computer term since the 1960s, meaning a way to sort things (i.e. “that data belongs on the y-bucket list, whereas this data belongs on the x-bucket list). There’s some speculation as to whether a computer programmer was the first to snatch that phrase, decide it reminded them of kick the bucket, and make a leap in meaning. Who knows?
There are quite a few forums discussing this “is it really so recent??” question. Quite a few people who report having heard it growing up in the way in question. Which could very well be true. Historically speaking, words usually appear in spoken vernacular 20ish years before they appear in print. But we can only track things, obviously, by their appearances in print.
The OED (which my husband will say is the source for the English language) will have to be our final ruling on this. And they date the phrase at 2006, which is when it reached the number of appearances in print required to be deemed a sticking phrase in English.
So what do you think? Had you heard this phrase before the movie came out??
by Roseanna White | Nov 20, 2014 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
A couple weeks ago, my kids said something that got me thinking. We were in the van, heading somewhere or another, talking about how Christmas is coming soon. Rowyn asked what day of the week it was on, and Xoe said, “Thursday. Hey, that means that in a couple years, it’ll be on church day! Won’t that be cool? I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than going to church.”
She didn’t realize how she hit me. How those words would echo with me. On the one hand, I’m saying, “Yay, my daughter gets it! She gets the real reason for Christmas! She’s thinking about Jesus!”
On the other hand, I’m knowing some severe guilt. Why? Because never in my life have I gone–nor wanted to go–to church on Christmas. Christmas Eve, yes. Of course. Always. But Christmas? No way. Christmas is for family time. Breakfast. Dinner. Presents. Christmas is for gathering with those I love and…and…and
what?
When did the church part get pushed out of the day? Maybe it started as anticipating, bringing it in…maybe we can say “Well we don’t even know what day Jesus was born on, so why does it matter when we go to church to celebrate it?” But if it doesn’t matter…if it’s meant to lead us to focus on him…why not give Him the day we give Him? Why do we push him to the night before, to an obligatory reading of Scripture, to a single candle lit and forgotten?
What if I’m wrong, have been wrong all my life? That’s what my husband and I were talking about later that same week. What if–brace yourselves–what if Christmas isn’t about family?
That’s the message in the feel-good movies, right? It’s a time of hope. Of giving. Of embracing that Christmas spirit. It’s a time of believing in the impossible. Of miracles (which may or may not include Santa). It’s a time for drawing close to those you love.
Only…it’s not. Or shouldn’t be. I’m not saying Christmas shouldn’t include those things…but shouldn’t it be a spiritual holiday? Shouldn’t I be thinking more about the miracle of God becoming man than a snowman coming to life? Shouldn’t the Christmas story be more than an obligatory reading? Shouldn’t I be more focused on preparing my heart for God than in preparing the presents for under the tree?
I’ve heard it all, read it all, said it all before…and then changed nothing. We still go out shopping and spending and asking our kids to make Christmas lists. We make them write down every thing they want and don’t have–and then get frustrated when they’re more focused on presents than Him. When they get upset if they don’t get what they ask for.
This year, something’s going to change in my house. For starters, no lists! This one has really struck me this year. I am absolutely, 100% not going to have my kids focus on what they want. I don’t want Christmas to be about what they want. I don’t, frankly, want it to be about what presents they’re giving (though that’s better). I want the focus to be on what they’ve already gotten. What has already been done. A celebration of the most amazing gift mankind has ever received.
We got God, y’all. In the flesh. Putting aside his deity to take on the fragile bones and sinews of a helpless little baby. I’m sorry, but a talking dragon toy ain’t got nothin’ on that.
This year, the few gifts we get our kids will be given to them on Christmas Eve. Yes, we’re still celebrating the
Joy of the holiday by trying to bring joy to those we love–within reason. We’re decorating, because celebration is important. But
that will be our lead-in, not our what-we’ve-led-up-to. Christmas Day, we’re going to focus on Him. I’ve asked the kids to come up with things they’d like to do Christmas morning to celebrate Jesus.
They want to sing.
They want to pray.
They want to read the Christmas story.
They want to have written their own Christmas stories and read them to us.
They want to make a gift for Jesus.
They want to make a cake (or pancake) for Him.
That will be our morning, then we’ll go spend time with the rest of the family. First though, we’re going to get grounded. We’re going to lift our hearts and spirits to Him. We’re going to make sure we’re not making an idol of the holiday.
Because I really, really don’t want the day that we set aside to celebrate Jesus becoming man to become a tool of the enemy. I really, really don’t want that enemy cackling over how he’s managed to cheapen it, even among the Church–especially among the Church. I don’t want my God in heaven to be looking on us with mourning, wondering why our families are more important than His.
Like all the best lies, there’s a kernel of truth in the way I’ve always done things. Family is important. The celebration is important. The cheer, the
Joy, the
spirit is important. But not as important as the Spirit. Not as important as the
why behind the celebration. Not as important as the Father who gave us this gift, the Brother with whom we’re joint-heirs to the kingdom.
This year, we’re not just talking about the Reason. This year, we’re changing things. And for the first time in…well, maybe ever…I’m excited to think, not about what gifts or parties or songs there might be, not about what I’m going to do–this year, I’m excited to think of what God might do among my family this Christmas.
by Roseanna White | Nov 19, 2014 | Books, Remember When Wednesdays
This isn’t exactly a cover design post, since the covers haven’t been finalized yet. But this past weekend we had a photo shoot for an upcoming WhiteFire series, and it was so much fun that I thought I’d post a bit about it, and get y’all looking forward to when I do post about the cover design. 😉
WhiteFire recently had the Joy of signing a fresh young author to a 3-book deal. I first met Rachelle Rea on Go Teen Writers, quite a few years ago when the blog was first starting up. She’s been a regular member there over the years, and soon stood out as a sweetheart. One with talent. She just graduated from college last spring, and already she’s building a career as a freelance editor and is known for her tagline, “Inspiring Daring.”
Her Steadfast Love series takes place in the 1560s, focusing on a Catholic heroine caught in the middle of the riots and slaughtering of Catholics by Protestants in Holland, known as the Iconoclastic Fury. A rescuer arrives to sweep her back to her home in England…but not the rescuer she would have hoped for. No, the man who shows up is the very one who murdered her parents. She saw him standing over their bodies. So how is she to entrust her safety to him–but what choice does she have?
The heroine, Gwyn, is tall and willowy, blond, beautiful. So naturally, when stock photo sites fail me and I realize we’re going to have to do this one ourselves, I turn to my gorgeous, willowy, blond niece, Jayna. Happily, Jayna is active in theater and always eager to play dress up, so she readily agreed to pose for me. Yay!
The next step was costuming. The last couple times we had a photo shoot, we actually commissioned the dresses to be made by an amazing young seamstress–another girl I met through Go Teen Writers, LOL. But I knew I’d need three costumes (one for each book in the series), and that didn’t seem like the answer this time. So I instead contacted all the costume rental places I could find who were remotely close to my hometown.
I was kinda blown away by how that all worked out. My daughter was in a parade at our mall last week and had to go in for costuming…and it happens that the same shop I’d contacted in a town 1.5 hours away was the one doing those costumes, too. So I took Jayna to be measured at the same time as Xoe, and they brought the gowns with them to the parade. How perfect was that?
Now, fashions in the 1560s were pretty diverse. The gowns we chose reflect three of the very-different styles that a lady of Gwyn’s station would have worn, depending on the situation. In book 1, The Sound of Diamonds, she’s on the run—starting at a convent, where she wouldn’t have been decked out in court regalia. So for that one, we chose a beautiful blue velvet gown with a cape.
And we needed a “diamond” rosary necklace. Not that it deserves those quotes in the book, but I sure wasn’t shelling out the gazillion dollars a real one cost. 😉 So for the purposes of a photo shoot, we settled for Ye Olde Fakes.
Our next dress for The Sound of Silver was more in court styles. A burgundy velvet with a pop-up collar, this one is regal and ended up photographing so very well!
And finally, a dress for The Sound of Emeralds. Naturally, this one had to be green. =)
Of course, dresses weren’t enough. We needed a location. In the past, all our photo shoots have been in front of a blank screen, and then I put in a background photo to suit the setting. But in this case, I thought we’d try actually shooting with an appropriate backdrop. Of course, Cumberland, Maryland isn’t exactly bursting with Renaissance architecture.
But we do have one location that popped to mind–a church. I emailed them to ask about using the exterior of their building as our location, and they quite happily agreed. So we did the shoot at Emmanuel Episcopal, and it was absolutely gorgeous.
So there you get a glimpse of our costuming, set, and photography (photos are all by my fabulous aunt, Pam Mulligan). What you probably can’t tell from the abundant sunshine is that it was barely 40 degrees. Poor Jayna’s nose was getting red by the end of the shoot, LOL.
We had a fun time–though doing costume changes in a minivan is very daring. Rachelle should be proud. 😉 And the results were simply stunning. Can’t wait to share the cover process with you!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.