How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas (40 page)

But when Sara was nineteen, she met a farm boy named Robert. Suddenly, I could tell, she dreamed of something other than travel and adventure. A home and a family of her own became what Sara truly wanted. She married Robert, and they had five children, four daughters and a son. I knew then that I could never ask Sara to come join us. She would not want to be separated from her husband and children. I settled, over the next forty years, for watching her whenever I could. I personally delivered Christmas presents to her son, Michael, and to her daughters. The three youngest were Elizabeth, Gabriella, and Rose. The oldest girl, the first child born to Sara, was named Layla.

Sara lived a fine, full life, using her many talents to benefit others. She was a loving wife and mother, and a doting grandmother when her children married and had families of their own. As I watched her grow old, I couldn't help regretting what might have been. How I would have loved to have had my girl with me forever! But I had no right to force what I wanted on Sara, just as Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans had no right to force the abolition of Christmas on England. Instead, the most important thing was that Sara was happy. I reminded myself of this in late 1699, when she was buried in a Canterbury cemetery. More than a thousand people came to the service, many of them middle-aged women she had taught to read and write. After everyone else had left, I approached her grave and left on it a brightly colored candy cane. Then I booked passage on a ship to America, where I rejoined my husband, Nicholas, in 1700 after eighty years of separation. Until now, only he and Arthur knew about what really happened at the Canterbury March—and about Sara.

Now you have heard the story, too, and I want to ask you to do something. If you love Christmas, if you really cherish the hope and joy that the day can bring to everyone, spend just a moment each December 25 remembering those who made great sacrifices to preserve the holiday despite the efforts of its misguided enemies to destroy it. Instead of scorning someone who makes fun of Santa Claus and gifts and Christmas carols, invite him or her into your home to share genuine holiday happiness. Christmas will never be a perfect holiday, because people are not perfect. But, celebrated in the right spirit, it is as close to perfection as anything on this earth can ever be.

And, perhaps, when you see a candy cane, you will think of Sara and the Canterbury Christmas March. I always do.

 

 

This is a perfect holiday dessert, and everybody's favorite here at the North Pole. Besides being delicious, it's quick and very easy to fix.

1. Bake a pastry shell in an 8- or 9-inch pie plate. We use a refrigerated pie crust we pick up at the North Pole Grocery, and bake according to directions on its package. If you like, feel free to use your own favorite pie crust recipe. Place the cooked and slightly browned pie shell on a cooling rack. Lower your oven temperature to 350° F.

2. While the pie crust is cooking, crush the candy canes into very, very small pieces and set aside for use later. We use a food processor so there's less mess, but you might have more fun placing them inside a strong, sealed food storage bag and crushing them with a rolling pin or even a small hammer.

3. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a small saucepan and the whites in a medium mixing bowl. Set both aside.

4. Add the sweetened condensed milk to the egg yolks in the saucepan. Stir the mixture over medium heat until it begins to thicken—which should happen before it boils! The longer you heat this mixture, the firmer your pie filling will be. Remove the mixture from the heat.

5. For the pie meringue, beat the egg whites in a bowl until soft peaks form. With your mixer still running, add the cream of tartar, then slowly add the sugar (about one tablespoon at a time). Now beat until stiff peaks form. Finally, beat in the vanilla extract.

6. Fold about two-thirds of the candy cane pieces into the egg yolk mixture in the saucepan. Don't overstir. If you do, the candy pieces will dissolve, which is all right, but the pie looks niftier when it's speckled throughout with little bits of candy cane. Now, pour this mixture into the baked pie crust.

7. Pile the meringue on top of the pie, being careful to seal the edges by spreading the meringue to the edges of the crust. Sprinkle the remaining candy cane bits on top of the meringue.

8. Bake the pie for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the top of the meringue is lightly browned. Let the pie cool before eating.

If you have extra candy canes, you can always serve this pie with a candy cane garnish! And here at the North Pole, we all agree it tastes best with a cup of coffee or a glass of very cold milk.

 

 

 

 

 

THANKS ABOVE ALL , as usual, to Sara Carder, my editor. I'm also grateful to Andrea Ahles Koos, researcher
extraordinaire
; Jim Donovan, a fine literary agent; Joel Fotinos; Ken Siman; Katie Grinch; Robert I. Fernandez; Larry “Lars” Wilson; Carlton Stowers; Doug Perry; Felix Higgins; Charles Caple and Marcia Melton; Mary and Charles Rogers; Marilyn Ducksworth; Steve Oppenheim; Michael Barson; Elizabeth Hayes; Brian McLendon; Frank and Dot Lauden; Jim Firth; Del Hillen; Mary Arendes; Molly Frisinger; Sophia Choi for special inspiration, unintentional though it might have been; and Iris Chang, a brave, brilliant woman whose memory will always inspire those who were lucky enough to know her.

Everything I write is always for Nora, Adam, and Grant.

Let me offer my sincere thanks to everyone who read
The Autobiography of Santa Claus
and enjoyed it enough to also read this sequel. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, this year and forever.

YOU CAN READ MORE about Oliver Cromwell, King Charles I, the British Civil War, Blue Richard Culmer, Avery Sabine, the London Apprentice Protest, and the Canterbury Christmas March in lots of history books, many of which should be available in your local library. Layla's story includes all the basic facts. Dates and the events taking place on them are accurate. You can get a good start by finding and reading
The British Civil War
by Trevor Royle (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2004);
Elizabeth's London
by Liza Picard (St. Martin's Press, 2003);
The Struggle for Christmas
by Stephen Nissenbaum (Vintage Books, 1996), and that favorite tool of so many historical novelists, Gorton Carruth's
The Encyclopedia of World Facts and Dates
(HarperCollins, 1993). If you don't own a copy, treat yourself to one. Every page is fascinating.