Holiday – lisa·èÂíÐã Publishing and Vagrant Press lisa·èÂíÐã Publishing is the largest English-language publisher east of Toronto Thu, 27 Jun 2024 11:00:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 153484567 A Halifax Christmas Carol /store/a-halifax-christmas-carol.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-halifax-christmas-carol Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:31:36 +0000 /store/a-halifax-christmas-carol.html/a-halifax-christmas-carol It is December 1918. The old world--shaped by the values of Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens-- is gone and the new world now wallows in post-war chaos and darkness.

A veteran of the gas attacks and trenches, Michael Bell has returned home to a city traumatized by war and devastated by an explosion, where he finds work at The Halifax Herald writing about what he sees as the truth, about an age defined only by lawlessness, disease, and disorder.

Then, four days before Christmas, Michael finds his truth-telling efforts challenged by a small, one-legged boy who arrives at the newspaper office with a single, silver twenty-five-cent piece for "the kids." When the boy strangely disappears, the paper's editor, Walter Stone, sees a potential Dickensian story for a city in desperate need of hope. He assigns Michael and new reporter Tess Archer the job of finding the boy and telling his story--all before the Christmas Eve edition.

At first, Michael objects, believing such stories to be dangerous lies in the face of the dark truths. However, after a mysterious dream of his mother leads to difficult questions, he accepts the assignment, if only to prove small acts of generosity are meaningless in the face of a growing darkness. Yet, as Michael follows his leads through an array of the city's desperate people, he is increasingly haunted by the hidden meaning of his dream and soon realizes understanding will only come if he finds the boy. But for Michael and the city, time is fast running out.

Filled with a cast of compelling characters and vivid images, A Halifax Christmas Carol tells the story of a true age of darkness and the transformative power of hope.

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The Hardest Christmas Ever and Other Stories /store/the-hardest-christmas-ever-and-other-stories.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-hardest-christmas-ever-and-other-stories Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:31:07 +0000 /store/the-hardest-christmas-ever-and-other-stories Christmas is often an emotional time for many and Patrick O?Flaherty offers a most unique story about a Newfoundland fisherman trying his best to make it through a tough time. […]

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Imperfect Perfect Christmas /store/imperfect-perfect-christmas.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=imperfect-perfect-christmas Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:27:30 +0000 /store/imperfect-perfect-christmas.html/imperfect-perfect-christmas Andrea Doucette lives in a fishing village in Nova Scotia. It's Christmas Eve and everyone in her house is feeling excited and happy-except for Andrea who is feeling very gloomy. Then, a number of things take place that make Andrea wonder weather this Christmas is going to be quite fine-or maybe end up being the worst disaster of all.

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Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo /store/santa-never-brings-me-a-banjo.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=santa-never-brings-me-a-banjo-2 Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:03:13 +0000 /store/santa-never-brings-me-a-banjo-2 Santa never brings me a banjo
And I can never understand why
Every Christmas Eve I see it in my dreams
But every Christmas morning I cry...

The celebrated holiday song from multi-talented and multiple-award-winning Halifax-based roots musician David Myles is now available as a bright and fun children's picture book. Young David writes frantic letters to Santa every year, requesting a banjo, but to no avail: "How does he miss / the one thing on my list / in the letter that I sent to him?" Follow the ups and downs of the holiday season with David, his furry friends, and his family, as he pines for his most-wished-for holiday gift.

Featuring illustrations from the animation studio that created the song's well-loved YouTube music video, a special holiday message from David Myles, and original sheet music for those who wish to play along, Santa Never Brings Me A Banjo is sure to inspire many a holiday singalong.

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Christmas in Atlantic Canada /store/christmas-in-atlantic-canada.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=christmas-in-atlantic-canada Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:54:41 +0000 http://nimbus.ca/store/christmas-in-atlantic-canada Some of the most comforting and enjoyable parts of Christmas are the heartwarming traditions we celebrate year after year. But do you ever wonder where those traditions came from? Who started them, and how did they become so ingrained? From dragging trees indoors to decorate them to bundling up to take in a Santa Claus parade, prolific folklorist David Goss traces the history of the holiday in our region from its earliest celebration—possibly 1604—to modern times.

Using historical records, diaries, and old newspapers, as well as a few fictional short stories, he documents the fascinating narrative of how Christmas in Atlantic Canada has been marked, both religiously and secularly.

Includes 50 images. Features a foreword by Gerry Bowler, author of Santa Claus, A Biography and The World Encyclopedia of Christmas.

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Winter /store/winter.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=winter Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:49:21 +0000 /store/winter.html/winter Some Canadians greet winter with a cold shoulder, while others celebrate the snow and ice. One thing we can all agree on: winter brings ideal reading weather. Spanning decades, this collection from author and anthology editor Dan Soucoup (The Finest Tree) shares the inherent warmth of the chilly season in a uniquely Atlantic Canadian way--with grit, good humour, and moving sentimentality.

From Thomas Raddall's 1910 story of a young widow lost in a snowstorm on a frozen river to Alden Nowlan's retelling of a Mi'kmaw legend about a man who loathed winter, these stories explore every face--good and bad--of the wintry season. A blend of fact and fiction spanning the region, from Labrador to Yarmouth, Winter: Atlantic Canadian Stories brings voices old and new together to celebrate the season of natural storytelling.

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Vintage Christmas /store/vintage-christmas.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=vintage-christmas Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:48:06 +0000 /store/vintage-christmas Travel back in time to when Christmas was a simple affair: children were content to receive an apple, an orange, or a piece of barley candy in their stockings; clothes, meals, and decorations were all homemade; and it was time spent with family--not expensive gifts--that warmed hearts during the holiday season.

This nostalgic collection recalls Christmas celebrations of the 1930s, '40s, '50s, and '60s, transporting readers to the unheated farmhouse bedrooms, thrilling "big­city" department stores, and cozy barn stalls of rural Prince Edward Island. It turns out one thing has not changed: the most memorable part of any Christmas cannot be bought and sold.

Includes eighteen non­fiction stories, collected and retold by scriptwriter, playwright, and historical author Marlene Campbell.

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Mary Morrison’s Cape Breton Christmas /store/mary-morrisons-cape-breton-christmas-2.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mary-morrisons-cape-breton-christmas-2 Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:47:49 +0000 /store/mary-morrisons-cape-breton-christmas-tp.html/mary-morrisons-cape-breton-christmas-tp The Halifax Chronicle-Herald calls award-winning comedian Bette MacDonald "a superlative actress, a polished ad libber...making the audience howl with delight by a lift of her eyebrows, a shift of elbow or a single word."

For years, Bette has delighted audiences with her irreverent and lovable Cape Breton character Mary Morrison. Now Mary is here to entertain readers with her stories and memories of the Christmas season. Mary Morrison's Cape Breton Christmas is a treasury of all things holiday, including Mary's advice for coping with family, gift-giving dos and don'ts, and even her favourite seasonal recipes. This new softcover edition of the popular books is a hilarious and colourful collection of Cape Breton Christmas humour.

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The Finest Tree /store/the-finest-tree.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-finest-tree Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:44:48 +0000 /store/the-finest-tree.html/the-finest-tree Celebrate the holiday season with over twenty tales—true and make-believe—of Atlantic Canadian Christmases, past and present.

Edited by Dan Soucoup (A Short History of Halifax), The Finest Tree showcases memories, traditions, and stories from all four Atlantic provinces. PEI’s L. M. Montgomery brings Christmas to a group of train-bound strangers, while Gary L. Saunders turns to Christmastime to escape September writers’ block in Newfoundland; Beatrice MacNeil details her magical journey to Christmas Mass in Cape Breton, while in rural New Brunswick Michael O. Nowlan and his father take their annual trip to town. Featuring these stories of homespun Christmas tradition and cheer from Atlantic Canada’s finest authors, and plenty more, The Finest Tree will warm your heart on the coldest winter nights.


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To Every Thing There is a Season /store/to-every-thing-there-is-a-season.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=to-every-thing-there-is-a-season Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:42:15 +0000 /store/to-every-thing-there-is-a-season.html/to-every-thing-there-is-a-season It is Christmastime in Cape Breton, and a young boy describes the anticipation his family feels toward the holiday and most of all, to the homecoming of his older brother, Neil, working in Ontario on the "lake boats."

To Every Thing There is a Season was first published in 1977, yet its impact remains powerful to this day. This new softcover edition features 20 of Peter Rankin's splendid illustrations, a perfect complement to a classic Canadian Christmas story.

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