Skip to main content

Merry Christmas to the World from the Grand Duchy of Stollen!

Picture this scene east of the sun and west of the moon. The ground is white with snow. 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 almost Christmas here in the far-off Grand Duchy of Stollen, somewhere to the northeast of Frederick’s Prussia.

Stollenians bustle to and fro through snow-covered streets in the capital city of Krankenstadt, running last minute errands before the Christmas festival begins in earnest. The North German Gothic red brick storefronts feature special Christmas items and treats, 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 squares, shouting loudly above the din of shoppers, their voices forming puffs of steam in the wintry air.

The colorful, gabled merchants’ houses are warmly lit 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. 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 coffee houses and taverns provide a welcome respite from the biting Baltic cold along with hot beverages to warm the palettes of many a weary patron.


As you drop by the Grand Duchy of Stollen for your own cup of warm holiday cheer during the next several days, the jolly Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeus II and fetching Grand Duchess Sonja would like to wish each and every one of you, as well as your near and dear ones, a happy and joyous holiday season. May you find oodles of Stadden, Willie, Spencer Smith and RSM figures in your stocking and an "old school" book title or two beneath your tree on Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to one and all!!!

Comments

tradgardmastare said…
I'll visit asap- sounds super!
David Morfitt said…
And season's greetings to you all from the frozen citizens of Tippelbruder as they huddle round their braziers on the icy ramparts of the town, waiting for news that the Stagonians have arrived at last! Not to mention the troops of the Alliance as they curse and gather round their camp fires, singing part-songs and drinking warm punch to ward off the chill winds, waiting for the alarm signal from the outposts.

Merry Xmas!

David von Tippelbruder.
Bluebear Jeff said…
Competition is fierce in the Principality of Saxe-Bearstein as each regiment, whether of foot of mounted readies it's best singers for the annual caroling competition.

Each unit will send its carolers around to town after town. There are no "hard" prizes . . . but the approval and opinions of the citizens of the Principality will dominate many a conversation over pints and warm fires.

May you discover that the Grand Duchess has another wonderful surprise for you this Christmastime and may all of your times be joyous ones.


-- Jeff of Saxe-Bearstein
A J said…
A Merry Christmas to you and yours too, Stokes, from the snow-bound Duchy of Hetzenberg.

War may be looming on the horizon for the doughty Duchy but for now, peace reigns, the Duke and Duchess take gifts to the poor and needy, and old soldiers sit by blazing barrack room fires, drink too much and tell tall stories about their youthful deeds.

Happy Holidays!
marinergrim said…
A very Merry Christmas to you too Stokes.
Der Alte Fritz said…
Merry Christmas to you Stokes and to the Duchess Sonja. Thank you for a highly entertaining year on your blog. I look forward to hearing how your painting marathon went.

Popular posts from this blog

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

And It's the End of September!!!

  Saxony's Ploetz Cuirassiers, an illustration lifted from the Kronoskaf website, which has thus far guided my spectacularly glacial painting of 30 28mm Eureka Saxon cuirassiers purchased all the way back in October 2016. A gray, cool Saturday here in Mid-Michigan with rain in the forecast. The Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it's just "The Boys" here at home. The Young Master (almost 15) has retreated to his room for something or other following breakfast while I have stolen back down here to Zum Stollenkeller (masquerading as my office) with a second mug of coffee and both cats comfortably ensconced nearby. Enjoying the late morning and still in my pajamas! Not much planned for today beyond designing a couple of promotional flyers for workshops my department is presenting (small parties we will throw?) in October and November.  With maybe a bit of on the next podcast script. More important,  I am toying with the idea of returning for an hour or...

Happy September 2nd!!!

    T his weekend, the question of what, precisely, constitutes an "imagination" came up in an online forum of which I am a part.  To be fair, the issue originates from further afield in a Facebook group that I am not a member of, but I weighed in with my own view.  The following was in response to the question posed yesterday (Sunday) morning by an exasperated member of my own rather more gentlemanly town square, who had been met with a strident response to information he shared about his (admirable) hobby activities on said FB group.  Here is, more or less, what I wrote: To my mind, the concept of imagi-nation(s) is a broad one.  It can range from historical refights or what-if scenarios/battles/campaigns between armies of a particular era, to completely made up combatants operating in a quasi-historical setting, to the rather generic red and blue forces of the Prussian Kriegspiel that examine a particular tactical problem, task, or exercise.   ...