Through the centuries, the good folk in Ireland have grown pleasant traditions and habits to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child during Christmas. However, Christmas in Ireland does not just celebrate one or two special days; Christmas lasts 12 days .. and perhaps even a little bit longer. In "An Irish Christmas and the Storyteller," set in 1894, introduces one of the many country villages in Ireland and the eager villagers' preparations to get ready days and weeks ahead. Delicious edibles were prepared like the barm brack, a yeasty nut bread with secret surprises. Other tasty treats would be made and set aside, and the little stone houses would be decorated with fresh strewn holly tree branches and laurel. Some traditions were copied practices of their American cousins like roast turkeys and secrets on Christmas morning, and the good folk of the Irish villages shared their feasts and music, dancing and legends with those less fortunate neighbors and friends. This is the story of the O'Farrell family's Christmas, and most especially of their daughter, Kathleen ... who just might believe in Christmas miracles.
About the Author: Helen Walsh Folsom was born in Armourdale, Kansas, on a snowy morning the day after All Hallows Eve in the house of her great-grandmother, Lizzie Walsh Smith. Helen knew she was part Irish and she grew up delighting in both Irish and Scots-Irish music, theater, and characters. When she left community-service work several years ago, Helen knew there was one thing she most definitely wanted to do: research Irish history and write books. She studied, and the more exhaustively she studied the more enchanted she became with Ireland's legends and whimsical characters, as well as the isle's most prominent figure, Saint Patrick. Helen found so many quirky and fun-filled little facts about Ireland, she wanted to share them. She published her first book, St. Patrick's Secrets: 101 Little-Known Truths and Tales of Ireland, in 2002. However, as charmed as she has been, Helen also understood the battle against injustices that the Irish people have had to endure. It is not surprising that her next book was Ah, Those Irish Colleens!, published in 2003. It helped to explain the history of Ireland as seen from the women who affected it. This book was listed for several years on the bestseller list of the former Irish Books and Media. Helen has visited Ireland and still remains enchanted with the country, its ancient history, and charismatic people. Many times she met friendly, down-to-earth people who loved her American heritage and were not too shy to inquire, "Are you spending your money?" Helen published her next book, Fianna: The Dark Web of the Brotherhood, which was released in 2012. It is part of a fictional series where she developed characters in the Fitzmichael family that, to her, represent the different types of Irish people-strong and knowledgeable, smart and stubborn, but always with a flair of independence. Brandeen, In the Shadow of Captain Moonlight, the second book in the series was released in 2014, and Kells, The Risin' of the Rebellion, 2015, is the story of the start of the Fitzmichael Freighting Co. and how it all began and focuses on one of the most horrific eras in Irish history, 1798. One of Helen's favorite limericks about the Irish is from G. K. Chesterton: For the great Gaels of Ireland, Are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry, And all their songs are sad.