1 1/2 cups semisweet or white chocolate chips, 9 oz. 1 tsp. oil 36 pretzel rods snowflakes sprinkles, sprinkles, crushed candy, and any other candy
DIP PRETZELS:
Line baking sheets with wax paper. In microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and oil; microwave on High in 20-second intervals, stirring, until melted and smooth.
Dip each pretzel halfway or three-quarter way into chocolate, spreading with small spatula or back of spoon and allowing excess to drip off.
SPRINKLE COATING:
3. Immediately sprinkle pretzels with sprinkles, or candies. Place on baking sheets. Let dry, about 1 hour.
In a food processor, combine the olive oil, garlic cloves, rosemary, salt, paprika and pepper; cover and process until the garlic is coarsely chopped.
With your fingers, carefully loosen the skin from both sides of turkey breast. Spread half the garlic mixture over the meat under the skin. Smooth skin over meat and secure to underside of breast with toothpicks. Spread remaining garlic mixture over turkey skin.
Place turkey breast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325º until a thermometer reads 170°, 12-2 hours. Let turkey stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Discard toothpicks.
How the wind blows tonight!” said father after supper. “It whistles around the corners. It nearly whistled off my hat, when I came home.”
“I should think that you would wear a cap,” said mother.
“Fur caps will be needed soon,” father said. “The cold weather is here to stay. No more warm weather until next spring. Let’s celebrate, this evening.”
“I know what celebrate means,” said Polly. “It’s what we do on the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
“Birthdays, too,” said Peter. “I had a birthday party.”
“That is so,” Polly said. “But what shall we celebrate tonight?”
“Let us celebrate winter,” father said. “Let us give Jack Frost a party. Come now and begin.
“First we will light the fire in the fireplace. Light your end, Polly. Light your end, Peter. We will see which end burns brighter.
“Mother will fix the chairs while I am down in the cellar. You two look out for sparks. That kindling wood is snapping.”
In a few minutes, father was back. Can you guess what he brought?
A pan full of apples. They came from a barrel in the cellar. They had grown out in the orchard.
Besides, he had a bag with ears of corn in it. And he had another pan, and a corn popper.
“Oh, oh, oh!” cried Peter and Polly. “How could you carry so many things?”
Father put down the pan of apples. “We will each roast one,” he said. “Pick yours out, children. Now we will put our apples on the bricks near the fire.
“Peter, you may watch them. After a while, you must turn them around. Do you know why?”
“What shall I do, father?” asked Polly.
“You may shell some corn into the popper. We cannot pop it jet. We must wait for the flames to die down a little.” “Next week is Thanksgiving,” said mother. “Won’t it be fun to go down to grandmother’s for dinner? I wish that we might have a snowstorm before then.”
“I am thankful right now,” said Polly. “I am thankful for you and father and Peter and grandmother and this fire. I shall be thankful for popped corn, when I get some.”
“We will try it now,” said father. And he began to shake the popper over the coals.
Pop, pop, pop, pop went the corn. The white kernels hopped up and down. They seemed to be trying to get out.
“It is nearly done,” said Polly. “See! The popper is full.”
Just at that minute the corn caught fire.
“Oh, oh!” cried Polly. “It will all burn up! It will all burn up!”
It did not. Father quickly blew out the flames. Some of the kernels were black. He poured the others into the warm pan. Mother put in salt and melted butter.
Polly shelled more corn, and father popped it. Soon the pan was full. Did anything ever taste so good as that hot, buttered popped corn?
At last father said, “This celebration is almost over. I believe that it is long after bedtime.”
Polly said, “I am sure, now, that I am glad winter has come. I was not sure before. I have had a good time at our winter party.”
“So have I,” said Peter. “I am going to kiss everybody goodnight. I have had such a good time that I have lots of kisses in my face.”
“Pass them around then, my son,” said father. “Then run upstairs to bed. Jack Frost’s party is finished.”
Mother, may I go to school to meet Polly?” asked Peter. “Tim has gone away. I have played with Wag-wag all the afternoon.”
“Why, yes,” said mother.
“Then may Polly and I take a walk? We will not go far.”
“Yes,” said mother again. “Be home before dark, please. It grows dark very early now. Next month will come the shortest days of the whole year.”
Peter went over to the schoolhouse. The children were just coming out.
One of the big boys said to him, “Hello, Peter. Did you think that you would come to school again? Have you grown big enough now? “
Peter only said, “I am waiting for Polly and there she is.”
“Polly, Polly,” he called, “come with me. Mother said that we might take a walk. I know where to go.”
“Where?” asked Polly.
“To the place where the brook runs under the road. Let us go under the road today. Will you?”
“All right, I will,” said Polly. “I always meant to. But I forgot about it. It will be fun. Isn’t it cold?”
“Yes,” said Peter. “My fingers are cold. But I do not care. Only I wish that I had on my new mittens.”
“Look at this,” said Polly. “Come out in the road. See how it is frozen into ruts. I am going to walk on the ridges.”
“That isn’t very much to look at,” said Peter. “It has been that way for a few days.”
“Yes, it has,” said Polly. “But look in the ruts. There is ice. It is thin. Let us step on it. Hear it crack.”
“There is a puddle,” said Peter. “It has ice on it, too. See me step on that.”
“Keep off the middle,” said Polly. “You do not know how deep that puddle is. If the ice lets you down, you may get your feet wet.”
“All right,” said Peter. “There is the blacksmith’s shop, Polly. Do you think that the blacksmith is inside?”
“Perhaps he is, Peter. See! He has closed his big door. That is because it is cold weather.
“He has it closed in winter. I like it to be summer better. Then I can see into the shop.”
“Here is the brook, Polly. Let us climb down the bank and look under the road.”
“There is ice on the edges of the brook, Peter. I think that the boiling spring is colder than ever now. Let’s break off pieces of this ice.”
“Can we walk through under the road?” asked Peter. “I told Tim about it. He said that we could not.”
“I think that we can,” said Polly. “Come on. We will try. Keep close to the wall. Do not step into the water.”
“It is quite dark,” said Peter. “I am glad that it is not far.”
“You must bend down now, Peter. I have to bend down. Do not push me. I shall slip in, if you do.”
“Oh, there is the end,” said Peter. “I can see the field. I do not like this place. It is hard walking on the stones. It is cold here, too.”
“I am out,” shouted Polly. “Come on, Peter. Oh Peter, Peter, Peter!”
“What, what?” called Peter. “Have you fallen in?”
“No, no!” shouted Polly. “But look at this! Don’t you know what it is?”
“A snowflake, a snowflake!” cried Peter. “And here is one on my sleeve, too.”
“There are more in the air, Peter. See them! See them! Do you suppose that it will be winter right away?”
“Of course it will, Polly. It is winter when the snow comes. Let us run home and get our sleds. You may take my new one part of the time.”
The children were at home before it was dark.
At supper time, when father came, Polly said, “Will you please get our sleds out for us tomorrow, father? How much has it snowed now?”
“Not much,” said father. “You see, that was just a little flurry of snow. We shall have many such before there is a good storm. You must wait a little longer for your sliding.”
George Washington was fighting to set this country free. But the army that the King of England sent to fight him was stronger than Washington’s army. Washington was beaten and driven out of Brooklyn. Then he had to leave New York. After that, he marched away into New Jersey to save his army from being taken. At last, he crossed the Delaware River. Here he was safe for a while.
Some of the Hessian soldiers that the king had hired to fight against the Americans came to Trenton. Trenton is on the Delaware River.
Washington and his men were on the other side of the Delaware River from the Hessians. Washington’s men were discouraged. They had been driven back all the way from Brooklyn. It was winter, and they had no warm houses to stay in. They had not even warm clothes. They were dressed in old clothes that people had given them. Some of them were barefooted in this cold weather.
The Hessians and other soldiers of the king were waiting for the river to freeze over. Then they would march across on the ice. They meant to fight Washington once more, and break up his army. But Washington was thinking about something too.
He was waiting for Christmas. He knew that the Hessian soldiers on the other side of the river would eat and drink a great deal on Christmas Day.
The afternoon of Christmas came. The Hessians were singing and drinking in Trenton. But Washington was marching up the river bank. Some of his barefoot men left blood marks on the snow as they marched.
The men and cannons were put into flat boats. These boats were pushed across the river with poles. There were many great pieces of ice in the river. But all night long the flat boats were pushed across and then back again for more men. It was three o’clock on the morning after Christmas when the last Americans crossed the river. It was hailing and snowing, and it was very cold. Two or three of the soldiers were frozen to death.
It was eight o’clock in the morning when Washington got to Trenton. The Hessians were sleeping soundly. The sound of the American drums waked them. They jumped out of their beds. They ran into the streets. They tried to fight the Americans.
But it was too late. Washington had already taken their cannons. His men were firing these at the Hessians. The Hessians ran into the fields to get away. But the Americans caught them.
The battle was soon over. Washington had taken nine hundred prisoners.
This was called the battle of Trenton. It gave great joy to all the Americans. It was Washington’s Christmas gift to the country.
For some time after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary stayed with him in Bethlehem. The little baby was not kept long in the stable sleeping in a manger; for after a few days they found room in a house; and there another visit was made to Jesus by strange men from a land far away.
In a country east of Judea, and many miles distant, were living some very wise men who studied the stars. One night they saw a strange star shining in the sky, and in some way they learned that the coming of this star meant that a king was soon to be born in the land of Judea. These men felt a call of God to go to Judea, far to the west of their own home, and there to see this new-born king. They took a long journey, with camels and horses, and at last they came to, the land of Judea, just at the time when Jesus was born at Bethlehem. As soon as they were in Judea, they supposed that every one would know all about the king, and they said:
“Where is he that is born king of the Jews? In the east we have seen his star, and we have come to worship him.”
THE SHEPHERDS IN THE FIELD—And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night…. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’—(Luke 2: 8-10-11.)
But no one of whom they asked had ever seen this king, or had heard of him. The news of their coming was sent to Herod the king, who was now a very old man. He ruled the land of Judea, as you know, under the emperor at Rome, Augustus Cæsar. Herod was a very wicked man, and when he heard of some one born to be a king, he feared that he might lose his own kingdom. He made up his mind to kill this new king.
He sent for the priests and scribes, the men who studied and taught the books of the Old Testament, and asked them about this Christ for whom all the people were looking. He said: “Can you tell me where Christ, the king of Israel, is to be born?” They looked at the books of the prophets, and then they said: “He is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet, ‘And thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come forth one who shall rule my people Israel.'”
Then Herod sent for the wise men from the east, and met them alone, and found from them at what time the star was first seen. Then he said to them:
“Go to Bethlehem; and there search carefully for the little child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, so that I also may come and worship him.”
The wise men went their way
Then the wise men went on their way toward Bethlehem; and suddenly they saw the star again shining upon the road before them. At this they were glad, and followed the star until it led them to the very house where the little child was. They came in, and there they saw the little one, with Mary, its mother. They knew at once that this was the king; and they fell down on their faces and worshipped him as the Lord. Then they brought out gifts of gold and precious perfumes, frankincense and myrrh, which were used in offering sacrifices; and they gave them as presents to the royal child.
That night God sent a dream to the wise men, telling them not to go back to Herod, but to go home at once to their own land by another way. They obeyed the Lord, and found another road to their own country without passing through Jerusalem where Herod was living. So Herod could not learn from those men who the child was that was born to be a king.
And very soon after these wise men had gone away, the Lord sent another dream to Joseph, the husband of Mary. He saw an angel, who spoke to him, saying:
“Rise up quickly; take the little child and his mother, and go down to the land of Egypt, for Herod will try to find the child to kill him.”
Then at once Joseph rose up in the night, without waiting even for the morning. He took his wife and her baby, and quietly and quickly went with them down to Egypt, which was on the southwest of Judea. There they all stayed in safety, as long as the wicked king Herod lived, which was not many months.
King Herod waited for the wise men to come back to him from their visit to Bethlehem; but he soon found that they had gone to their home without bringing to him any word. Then Herod was very angry. He sent out his soldiers to Bethlehem. They came, and by the cruel king’s command they seized all the little children in Bethlehem who were three years old, or younger, and killed them all. What a cry went up to God from the mothers in Bethlehem, as their children were torn from their arms and slain!
He took his wife and baby and went down to Egypt
But all this time, the child Jesus whom they were seeking was safe with his mother in the land of Egypt.
Soon after this king Herod died, a very old man, cruel to the last. Then the angel of the Lord came again and spoke to Joseph in a dream, saying: “You may now take the young child back to his own land, for the king who sought to kill him is dead.”
Then Joseph took his wife and the little child Jesus, and started to go again to the land of Judea. Perhaps it was his thought to go again to Bethlehem, the city of David, and there bring up the child. But he heard that in that part of the land Archelaus, a son of Herod, was now ruling, and who was as wicked and cruel as his father.
He feared to go under Archelaus’ rule, and instead took his wife and the child to Nazareth, which had been his own home and that of Mary his wife before the child was born. Nazareth was in the part of the land called Galilee, which at that time was ruled by another son of king Herod, a king named Herod Antipas. He was not a good man, but was not so cruel nor bloody as his wicked father had been.
So again Joseph the carpenter and Mary his wife were living in Nazareth. And there they stayed for many years while Jesus was growing up. Jesus was not the only child in their house, and he had many other playmates among the boys of Nazareth.
Soon after the time when John the Baptist was born, Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth had a dream. In his dream he saw an angel from the Lord standing beside him. The angel said to him:
“Joseph, sprung from the line of king David, I have come to tell you, that Mary, the young woman whom you are to marry, will have a son, sent by the Lord God. You shall call his name Jesus, which means ‘salvation,’ because he shall save his people from their sins.”
God’s people had had several kings. Some of them had been selfish and cruel, but Jesus was to be a new kind of king, one who would save, not destroy men.
Soon after Joseph and Mary were married in Nazareth, a command went forth from the emperor Augustus Cæsar through all the lands of the Roman empire, for all the people to go to the cities and towns from which their families had come, and there to have their names written down upon a list, for the emperor wished a list to be made of all the people under his rule. As both Joseph and Mary had come from the family of David the king, they went together from Nazareth to Bethlehem, there to have their names written upon the list. For you remember that Bethlehem in Judea, six miles south of Jerusalem, was the place where David was born, and where his father’s family had lived for many years.
It was a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; down the mountains to the river Jordan, then following the Jordan almost to its end, and then climbing the mountains of Judah to the town of Bethlehem. When Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem they found the city full of people who, like themselves, had come to have their names enrolled or written upon the list. The inn or hotel was full, and there was no room for them; for no one but themselves knew that this young woman was soon to be the mother of the Lord of all the earth. The best that they could do was to go to a stable where the cattle were kept. There the little baby was born, and was laid in a manger, where the cattle were fed.
On that night, some shepherds were tending their sheep in a field near Bethlehem. Suddenly, a great light shone upon them, and they saw an angel of the Lord standing before them. They were filled with fear, as they saw how glorious the angel was. But the angel said to them:
“Be not afraid; for behold I bring you news of great joy, which shall be to all the people; for there is born to you this day in Bethlehem, the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord, the anointed king. You may see him there; and you may know him by this sign: He is a new-born baby, lying in a manger, at the inn.”
They were filled with fear
And then they saw that the air around and the sky above them were filled with angels, praising God and singing:
“Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace among men in whom God is well pleased.”
While they looked with wonder, and listened, the angels went out of sight as suddenly as they had come. Then the shepherds said one to another:
“Let us go at once to Bethlehem, and see this wonderful thing that has come to pass, and which the Lord has made known to us.”
The baby in the manger
Then as quickly as they could go to Bethlehem, they went, and found Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, and his young wife Mary, and the little baby lying in the manger. They told Mary and Joseph, and others also, how they had seen the angels, and what they had heard about this baby. All who heard their story wondered at it; Mary, the mother of the child, said nothing. She thought over all these things, and silently kept them in her heart. After their visit, the shepherds went back to their flocks, praising God for the good news that he had sent to them.
When the little one was eight days old, they gave him a name; and the name given was “Jesus,” a word which means “salvation,” as the angel had told both Mary and Joseph that he should be named. So the very name of this child told what he should do for men; for he was to bring salvation to the world.
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