Surprise! I decided to create an extra special holiday chapter!

So, happy holidays and enjoy the chapter!

Giulietta cleared her throat patiently while she waited for her children to settle on the floor in front of her. Today was

Christmas and she had promised to tell them the story of Christmas after supper.

Once the children were calm and not fidgeting anymore, Giulietta began.

“A long, long time ago, there was a man named Joseph who dearly loved a young lady named Mary. It so happened that

Mary had been told by God that she was to bear his son.

“One day they received news that the king wanted all citizens to return to the city of their birth in order to be officially

counted. Mary, who was great with child, and Joseph made the long journey to his home town only to find that there were no rooms at the inns. Seeing how tired Mary was, one innkeeper

offered them the use of his stable for the night.“Mary and Joseph accepted the offer, glad they did, for the

baby Jesus was born that very night. Wrapping him in swaddling clothes, Mary placed the infant in the manger.

“That, children, is why we celebrated today. Today, the twenty-fifth of December is the day that Jesus was born.

“As you all know, we are going to Isabetta’s house in twelve days to celebrate Epiphany. That is the day we celebrate the Magi who brought gifts to the young Jesus by following the

star.”When Giulietta finished, all eyes were on her. Even members

of the house that had previously departed had paused to listen to the story.

Niccolo, Caterina, and Giuseppe all thanked their mother for the story. It had been told that night during church, but mass was in Latin so they hadn’t understood a word. On the way home, their mother promised to tell it in Italian for them so

they would understand what the celebrations were for.

“Time for bed, children!” Giulietta announced. Obediently, the children rose from the floor, said goodnight and started for the

stairs.

Maddalena and Lucrezia followed close behind. While today’s festivities were over, they knew there was another day of

feasting in the near future to look forward to.

“That was a wonderful story.” Piero said as he pulled his wife towards him.

“Thank you dear. It did go rather well, didn’t it?” she answered, giving him a small kiss.

They snuggled close in front of the fire until it died down to coals and they could barely keep their eyes open.

Twelve days later, a grand feast had been prepared at the Costa house. The kitchen staff had toiled for days on end to create a spread of food unlike anything they had ever made

before.

Soon, all of the guests had arrived and settled around the table which groaned under the weight of all the delicacies.

Even little Leonardo was given a place at the table. While he was normally too young to join the guests at the table, an

exception was made in honor of the holiday and a small chair was fashioned just for him to sit in.

Antonio, Marco, and their father even put their differences aside and the Costa patriarch came to the feast.

Dinner went smoothly and all of the guests enjoyed themselves immensely.

After dinner, they all gathered around the hearth to make a heartfelt toast to the holy family and the joys of the season.

Thoroughly stuffed with food, the party-goers adjourned to the parlor to mix and

talk among themselves.

While some were nice…

And others were naughty…

All were allowed to gather around the tree and exchange gifts.

The decoration of a tree with candles and ribbon was a strange, new, pagan idea, that had recently been made

popular by protestants, but Isabetta thought it added a touch of merriment to the festivities. Besides, it provided a good place to store the presents and the children just loved it.

Even Leonardo was given a box to open that contained some brightly painted blocks for him to play with.

After the presents were opened, Maddalena sat down at the piano to play some songs. The rest of the family gathered

around her and began to sing the carols that had been popularized by St. Francis of Assissi a few years back.

To end the night, the tree was carried outside. Despite of the snow, a bonfire was lit and the tree tossed into it, as was the

traditional way of disposing of the Christmas tree.

When the feast was over, the Morettis walked back to their house. The kids were sent upstairs to say their prayers and get

ready for bed, but Giulietta paced around the parlor, saying she didn’t feel well.

The family was shocked and surprised to see that the baby was coming that night.

A healthy baby boy was delivered that night. It was decided that he would be christened Christoforo for it means bearer of Christ and he was born on a day celebrating the holy child’s

birth.