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| Of the many vintage images of Saint Nicholas/Father Christmas/Santa Claus collected during the last 20 years or so, this one has to be my favorite. |
The ground is once again white with fresh snow east of the sun and west of
the moon in the far off Grand Duchy of Stollen. Billowing, silvery drifts are
piled throughout the country. The rivers and lakes are frozen solid. The woods
are still but for the distant jingle of sleigh bells in the bracing air. The
sky is slate grey, and heavy coal smoke hangs over the villages and towns. It
is Christmas Eve here in the Grand Duchy, somewhere very near to the easternmost reaches of Frederick’s
Prussia, sometime during the
mid-18th century.
Citizens of Krankenstadt bustle to and fro through snow-covered streets of the
small capital city of the Grand Duchy, running last minute errands before the
Christmas festival begins in earnest. The red brick North German Gothic
storefronts feature special Christmas items and treats like the marzipan for
which the city is known, and the happy faces of children peek in through the
frosty windows at the cheerful seasonal displays. Street vendors peddle
their wares in the town square, shouting loudly above the din of shoppers,
their voices forming puffs of steam in the wintry air.
In the streets leading from the busy riverfront to the city center, the
colorful, gabled merchants’ houses are warmly lighted by candles in each window
as year-end business is concluded in the ground floor offices. Music and song
emanate from the Lutheran and Catholic cathedrals on the town square as their
choirs rehearse one final time for their respective Christmas services this
evening. The notes and tones coalesce, spiraling up above the old city as
organists and choirs rehearse their respective parts for the coming
celebration. And in the side streets, local tea shops, coffee houses, and
taverns provide a welcome respite from the biting Baltic cold along with hot
beverages to warm the palates of many a weary patron.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II, his trusty English manservant
Hives, and the palace staff are busy preparing for their midday
departure. The Grand Duke and Hives are joining his aunts Hiltrud,
Irmgard, and Waltraud, who, unbeknownst to to him, have decided once more,
after failing yet again to procure an understanding with a young woman of
suitable marrying age and family, that the time has come yet again for an end
to all of this shilly-shallying. Irwin-Amadeus II must settle down and
marry!
Apropos their collective aims, the three formidable old ladies are once
again hosting a large house party and Christmas Eve ball in their nephew's
honor at Aunt Hiltrud's home. Besides a host of suitable young women,
including the charming Lady Clothilde de Badinage, the house party guest list
reads like a veritable who's who of Krankenstadt society, including the
unlikely gambler and cardsharp Bishop Sivert Tiburtius, the Prince von Boffke
and his wife the Lady Leonora Christina (nee von Grandin), and the terminally
hungry Prussian ambassador to Stollen, Herr Heinz von dem Salat, as well as the
inveterate gossip and society columnist Katrina-Bettina von Heffelfinger.
Other guests on the list of people joining the aunts for the Christmas festival
include the crafty General Leger de Maine, the overly accessorized General von
Tschatschke, the hypochondriac General von Bauchschmerzen and his leaky hot
water bottle as well as the ponderous and not-quite-yet outgoing English
ambassador to Stollen, one Lord Huffington-Blather, who is eventually due to be
replaced in the new year by the libidinous Lord Algernon Fortescue de
Rumpier-Pumpier, whose reputation precedes him. Poor Irwin-Amadeus
II! Without doubt, a madcap ballroom farce is yet again sure to unfold
during Christmas Week and continue through New Year's Day.
At half past one in the afternoon, the ornate coach into which Irwin-Amadeus II
and Hives have at last nestled beneath bearskin blankets rolls away from
the palace entrance on its way to Aunt Hiltrud's house. The fresh snow
squeaks and crunches beneath the coach wheels as the team of six horses drawing
it trots across the courtyard toward the gate. The Grand Duke's coach
next passes a detachment of the the blue and yellow uniformed Corps of
Pontoniers, led by the fabled Oberfeldwebel Klatschen of the Leib
(Grand Duchess Sonja's Own) Grenadiers. The grizzled old NCO spies
the grand ducal coach, shouts to the men in his charge to form up and give a
salute to their monarch.
And in the spirit of the season, the gruff Klatschen throws caution and
protocol to the chilled wind, wishing his Grand Duke the compliments of the
season and "Frohe Weihnachten!" (Merry Christmas!) in a loud
voice, hardened by much tabletop campaigning. The unwitting and befuddled Grand
Duke nods and waves cheerfully, returning the wish through a coach window,
bidding the marching troops well as the carriage pulls through the gate and out
of the courtyard on it's journey to Aunt Hiltrud's country house several hours
journey north of the city just outside Riga.
Returning to the present for a moment, wherever in the world you might find
yourself this Christmastime, as you drop by the Grand Duchy of Stollen for a
cup of warm holiday cheer during the next several days or so, the
"real" Irwin-Amadeus II, the fetching Grand Duchess Sonja, and the
now 16-year-old Young Master Paul I bid you warm season's greetings.
We would like to
wish each and every one of you a safe, happy, and joyous holiday season. May
you discover oodles of your preferred brand of figures in your stocking
Christmas Morning, and perhaps a recent Charles Grant title or two beneath
your tree. Maybe the latest issue of your preferred wargaming
magazine, either vintage or current. Perhaps the 2026 Wargamer's
Annual? Or simply winter quietude and the company of those nearest
and dearest to you.
Tangible items notwithstanding, may your Christmas Day and the week following
be filled with peace, joy, and the good cheer of close friends and
family. Even if via Zoom or otherwise at a distance. Once again, it
has been a difficult year to put it mildly. Whatever challenges
face us moving forward, however, let's strive to keep the spirit of the season
in our hearts and lives for the coming year. Dare I say, we could all use more of that kindness, empathy, and good will.
In the mean time, Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings everyone!
-- Stokes, the Grand Duchess Sonja, and Young Master Paul
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