Christmas Mail-Order Brides
Four-in-one Historical Romance Collection
Includes Carrie’s novella: “A Trusting Heart”
Barbour Publishing, ISBN 1602609691, 352 pages, $7.99

Ride the transcontinental railroad as marriage arrives by mail-order—and just in time for Christmas. Annika arrives in Wyoming to discover her intended is missing. Jolie’s journey to Nevada is derailed by disaster. Elizabeth carries a load of secrets to Nebraska. And Amelia travels to California to wrap up her final attempts at matchmaking. Will the holiday season be the ticket to spark love in unexpected ways?

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A TRUSTING HEART by Carrie Turansky
Swedish immigrant Annika Bergstrom travels to Wyoming as a mail order bride, but when her prospective groom, Chase Simms, disappears, she finds herself falling in love with his brother Daniel. Will she take hold of her chance for love, or wait for the man she has promised to marry?

THE PRODIGAL GROOM by Vickie McDonough
Jolie Addams is 18 and must leave the orphanage she grew up in. The headmaster has arranged for her to work for a lecherous benefactor. She decides to become a mail-order bride to escape what she fears would be a dreadful existence. But on the way to Nevada, her stage is robbed. She and a wounded passenger are stranded. They are rescued the next day, but Jolie’s intended refuses to marry her after she spent the night alone with Clay Jackson. She and Clay are forced to marry. Can a relationship and love grow from such an awful beginning?

HIDDEN HEARTS by Therese Stenzel
After facing a series of tragic events, Elizabeth Lariby agrees to become a mail-order bride. Hoping to build a new life in Nebraska, she is determined to hide her grief-stricken heart from her new husband. Driven to be a success, Zane Michaels quietly obtains a wife through a mail-order bride society, but feels he must hide his past and his recent wealth from his new wife. When their secrets are revealed, will their fledgling marriage survive?

MRS. MAYBERRY MEETS HER MATCH by Susan Page Davis
Amelia Mayberry’s rewarding career as a matchmaker is winding down. She’d like to close shop and spend her sunset years in peace. There’s only one unfinished piece of business—an unsatisfied customer for whom she needs to set things right. The question is: will Lennox Bailey allow her to make amends?

• • • • • • • •

Christmas Roses painted by Lizzy Mack, 1880

"Christmas Roses"
A Trusting Heart takes place in 1880, the same year this painting was made.

In Carrie’s novella, “A Trusting Heart”, the heroine’s family comes from Sweden, so she brings Swedish Christmas traditions with her when she travels to Wyoming and shares them with her new family. Here are two articles about Swedish Christmas traditions.

Swedish Christmas Traditions
from Christmas World/WorldofChristmas.net
In Sweden, Christmas begins with Saint Lucia ceremony on 13th of December. Lucia was a Christian virgin who is remembered for her devout faith in Christianity in the 4th century at Syracuse. The ceremony is held in her honor and is quite recent and is often associated with the traditional thanksgiving for the return of the sun. On this day, the youngest daughter from each family puts on a white robe with a red sash before dawn and wears a crown of evergreens with tall-lighted candles attached to it. Then she wakes her parents accompanied by other children and followed by star boys in long white shirts, pointed hats and carrying star wands, and serves them with coffee and Lucia buns.

Similar to Scandinavia, Swedish people move in procession to the church with lighted candles in hand. At home, mothers lights the candles on Christmas Eve. Christmas trees are set up in Sweden two days before Christmas and are decorated with candles, apples, straw ornaments Swedish flags and small gnomes wearing red tasseled caps. Christmas home decorations include red tulips, Pepparkakor or the heart-star and goat-shaped gingerbread biscuit. Christmas Eve is known as Julafton in Swedish. Traditional Christmas Eve dinner includes smorgasbord or a buffet may also be arranged featuring Julskinka or Christmas ham, pickled pigs feet, lutfisk or dried codfish and variety of sweets.

A popular Christmas tradition is to serve Risgryngrot, special rice porridge with a hidden almond. Anyone who finds the almond in his or her bowl is believed to marry in the coming year. After the festive Christmas Eve dinner, a friend or family member dresses up as Tomte or Christmas gnome who is believed to live under the floorboards of the house or barn and used to ride a straw goat known as Julbok. Tomte wears a white beard and red robes and carries a sack with gifts in it. He gives out the gifts and presents, often accompanied by funny rhymes, hinting at the contents of the package. Previously, it was Julbok who gave out presents and then Tomte or Santa Claus came in. Today, Tomte and Julbok are no longer associated together though a little brownie known as Jultomten, helps Santa Claus to give gifts to good children in Sweden. Modern American figure is quickly catching up in Sweden and Tomte is losing his original identity.

Holiday Traditions of Sweden
from Mayaco Marketing website
The biggest and longest holiday of the year is the magical Christmas of Sweden. The excitement begins the first Sunday of Advent with the lighting of the first Advent candle. Each Sunday prior to Christmas, another candle is lit with growing anticipation.

Feasting and celebrating begin on December 13 with Lucia Day, which legend says is the longest night of the year and a time when man and beast need extra nourishment. A Lucia (Queen of Light) is chosen from each home, club, school, etc. She is dressed in a white gown with a crown of candles in her hair. She brings coffee, rolls, and ginger biscuits. She is generally accompanied by a train of white-clad attendants. The girls wear glitter in their hair and the boys wear tall paper cone hats decorated with stars. While delivering their precious fare, they sing traditional Lucia carols.

The Swedish Christmas tree is not brought into the home until one or two days before Christmas. It is decorated with gaily wrapped candies, glass bulbs, and often straw trinkets, with electric lights or candles.
But the height of the Christmas celebrations is December 24, Christmas Eve. No work is to be done on this day except feeding the livestock and last minute preparations for the splendid Christmas meal. This is the famous Swedish “Smorgasbord.” Dishes such as ham, jellied pigs feet, “lutfisk” and rice porridge are traditional. “Lutfishk” literally translated means “lye-fish” and actually is foaked in lye to make it soft and palatable. The rice porridge is made with an abundance of cram, sugar and cinnamon and whoever finds the whole almond in their porridge is expected to be married within the year.

After the meal, the “Tomte” comes. He is the Christmas elf who lives under floorboards of the hours or barn and looks after the family and livestock throughout the year. “Tomte” often brings presents and children graciously leave a dish of porridge for him during the night.

By tradition, Swedes attend church in the vary early hours of Christmas morning. Occasionally, as in olden days, the trek to church is made by horse-drawn sleighs. The ride often becomes a race to the church. It is believed the winner will have the best harvest in the coming year.

The Christmas spirit and enjoyment linger until January 14—Knut’s Day—the day appointed to discard the Christmas tree and devour all the edible decorations. This is quite an occasion, especially for the young who occasionally dress as “Old Knut” and play practical jokes and chant as they fling the old tree into the snow, with a promise to reunite with their beloved pine in one year.

St. Lucia Day Bun Recipe
from King Arthur Flour Company
St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated in Sweden on December 13. According to legend, Lucia died a martyr’s death and was later made a saint. Today, a small girl dresses as St. (Santa) Lucia during town celebrations and joins the singing ceremonies of the day. The key figure in the celebration, St. Lucia dresses in a white gown, and wears a crown of candles on her head -- sometimes the candles are real, sometime battery-operated, for obvious reasons. St. Lucia symbolizes the promise of the sun’s return to bring Sweden from its wintry darkness.

In Swedish homes on Lucia’s day, young girls in the family dress as St. Lucia and present their parents with breakfast in bed. That breakfast tray usually includes a pot of tea, some milk, and some St. Lucia Buns or Lussekatter (Lucia Cats). The yeasted saffron buns get their names from the whimsical shapes they take while being made: figure-eight shaped “cats,” “S” shapes, for saffron, or pretzels.

1 cup (8 ounces) milk
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 cup (4 ounces) butter
1 tablespoon instant yeast (SAF Gold or Fermipan Brown, if you have it)
4 1/2 cups (19 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) potato flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

GLAZE

1 1/2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons water OR 4 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) toasted slivered almonds

In a small saucepan set over medium heat, heat the milk and saffron to a simmer; remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Set the mixture aside to allow the butter to melt, and for it to cool to lukewarm.

MANUAL/MIXER METHOD: In a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer, whisk together the yeast, flours, salt and sugar. Separate one egg, and set the white aside. Pour the lukewarm milk and butter mixture over the dry ingredients, and mix well. Beat in 2 eggs, the extra yolk and the vanilla or Creme Bouquet Flavoring. Beat for 10 to 15 minutes. The dough will be quite soft, but should lose its stickiness and become shiny as it’s being beaten. This is hard to accomplish by hand, but easily done in a stand mixer or bread machine.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat, then cover and let rise for 1 hour. For ease of handling, and to develop flavor, refrigerate the dough for 2 or more hours (overnight is fine).

BREAD MACHINE METHOD: Place all of the dough ingredients, including the lukewarm milk mixture, and the butter, into the pan of your machine. Program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. Take a look at the dough about 10 minutes before the end of the final kneading cycle, and adjust its consistency with additional water or flour, as necessary, to produce a smooth, supple dough. Allow the machine to complete its cycle.

SHAPING: Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if it’s been chilled). Knead it briefly to expel excess carbon dioxide, and divide it into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a thin strip about 12 inches long; shape the strips into pretzels, or the shape of your choice.

Place the shaped rolls on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets; cover them lightly, then let them rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, till they’re quite puffy. (If your kitchen or house is colder than normal, the rising may take up to 3 hours. Don’t despair!)

Beat the reserved egg white with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush it over the rolls; if you choose not to use the glaze after baking, a sprinkling of pearl sugar atop this egg white wash is very nice.

BAKING: Bake the rolls in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, just until they’re very lightly browned. Remove them from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

GLAZE: Near the end of the baking time, prepare the glaze by mixing together the sugar, vanilla and water or heavy cream. Brush the rolls with the glaze, and and sprinkle with the almonds. Yield: 12 buns.

Nutrition information per serving (1 bun, 122g): 386 cal, 12g fat, 9g protein, 39g complex carbohydrates, 23g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 75mg cholesterol, 296mg sodium, 221mg potassium, 107RE vitamin A, 1mg vitamin C, 3mg iron, 48mg calcium, 129mg phosphorus.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. XII, No. 1, Holiday 2000 issue.