Skip to main content

'Tis Christmas Eve in the Grand Duchy. . .

An old seasonal favorite of mine.  You don't see magical Father Christmases like this anymore sadly.

 

The ground is 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 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 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 sure to unfold before Christmas Day and continue through New Year's Eve.

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 Young Master Paul I (now 11 years old) 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 2021 Wargamer's Annual?  Or simply winter quietude and the company of those nearest and dearest to you.   

Tangible things 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.  It has been a difficult year to put it mildly.  That notwithstanding, let's strive for the spirit of the season to fill our hearts and lives for the coming year.  Dare I say, all of us could use more of that good will more often.  
 
-- Stokes 
 
 
Merry Christmas from the three of us here in the Grand Duchy of Stollen!

Comments

Peter Douglas said…
Great holiday pic. Have a Merry Christmas.
A Merry Christmas and a Good New Year to you all , Tony
Rob Young said…
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.

As for the idea of Santa in a green costume - have to admit I've always thought them to be a bit more cheerful than red! Something to do with thoughts of Spring in a couple of months? I quite accept that red should feel more cheerful to me!
Ed M said…
Merry Christmas, Stokes--and may the serenity of the season in the Grand Duchy herald better times in our own lands.
tradgardmastare said…
Lovely picture. Merry Christmas to you and yours !
marinergrim said…
Could not agree more. Merry Christmas.
Der Alte Fritz said…
Best wishes to you and your family, real and imaginary, for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thanks also for all of your wonderful blog posts (on both of your blogs) this past year. See you at the next VWC meeting in January.

Jim
Whiskers said…
All the best from General Whiskers.
Have fun, keep well.
Gallia said…
Merry Christmas and many blessings for you and your lovely family. Thank you for the compelling story too.
Respectfully,
Bill P.
Marvin said…
An enormously enjoyable read as usual. Merry Christmas and my very best wishes to you all for the New Year.

Marvin
Wellington Man said…
Merry Christmas Stokes
Best wishes
Matthew
Eric Turner said…
Merry Christmas Stokes. Been great to finally meet you via the VWC. Best to you and your family.

Cheers;
Eric

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!

Taking Stock Part II: The (As Yet) Unpainted but Planned OOB. . .

  Two companies of Reichsarmee grenadiers painted back in 2017 or 2018.  Minden Austrians of course. A lovely early autumn day here in the grand duchy.  Bright sunshine and a light breeze with cool temperatures will make for some very pleasant late afternoon lawn mowing in a little while.  But first a bit more discussion of painting plans for the future. Last time, I looked back at the various and sundry units, support troops, and civilians that I've managed to paint in the last 17 years as the Grand Duchy of Stollen project has developed.  So today, let's look into the seemingly bottomless Drawer 'o' Lead to my left for a clue to the new direction.  Be forewarned, it's not going to be a quick job getting everything painted and based, but there we are. The following plans are based on the pile of unpainted figures already here.  Any future purchases will be limited to small things that might be needed to fill out the envisioned units (the odd few officers mounted o

Having a "No Day". . .

  F or the almost 20 years that she lived in Mexico, one of my late mother's Irish friends frequently mentioned having a "No Day."  A day with no social obligations, chores, tasks, or other work that interfered with whatever personal interests took one's fancy on the day in question. Since today -- a gray and chilly Saturday -- is Mom's birthday, the Grand Duchess is out with friends, and the Young Master is ensconced on the sofa in the TV room with a cold, yours truly is taking his own such No Day.  I think Mom would approve of my decision to make the world go away, as the old Eddie Arnold song intoned, even if only for a little while. So, I will spend Saturday afternoon focused on that first squadron and small regimental staff of Eureka Saxon cuirassiers.  These have stood waiting  untouched over on the painting table for almost three weeks while we skied and otherwise gadded about with snowy, winter outdoor activities. I hope to share a painting update Sunday a