The 12 Authors of Christmas — Maureen Lang

Maureen Lang has always had a passion for writing. She handwrote her first novel around the age of ten, put the pages into a notebook she covered with soft deerskin for a “hardback” cover (nothing but the best!) then passed it around the neighborhood for rave reviews. It was so much fun she’s been writing ever since.

Eventually Maureen became the recipient of a Golden Heart Award from RWA, followed by the publication of three secular romances. Life took some turns after that and she gave up writing for fifteen years, until her faith sent her in a new artistic direction. Soon she won a Noble Theme Award from American Christian Fiction Writers, and a contract followed a year or so later for her Inspirational historical fiction Pieces of Silver, (nominated for a Christy in 2007). The sequel, Remember Me, released in February of ‘07. She also has two women’s fiction novels from Tyndale House Publishers, The Oak Leaves released in May of ‘07 and On Sparrow Hill will arrive on the shelves in Feb ‘08. Tyndale will release another contemporary women’s fiction novel in the fall of 2008, tentatively titled My Sister Dilly. Maureen lives in the Midwest with her husband, two sons and their puppy, Susie. For more information visit Maureen’s website: http://www.maureenlang.com/

Tell us about your first Christmas memory?

I’m afraid this memory will give away my melancholy bend, but here goes anyway! When I was very young — preschool age — I received the most wonderful gift. It was a magic wand that sparkled all the way up to the star at the tip. Hidden at the base, just where a small thumb could easily find it, was a button that, when pressed, lit the star as “magic” was dispensed. It was truly a magical gift, mainly because I loved it so much. I remember wanting to take it with me to bed, up the dark, hardwood, uncarpeted stairway, lighting my way with the magic. Then it happened. I tripped. I was fine, not even a bruise, but my magic wand went flying and broke into pieces. It was a tragedy compared only to Heidi’s loss when the wicked nursemaid breaks the snow globe Heidi receives on that same favorite holiday. Perhaps if I’d had the wand longer than a few hours I wouldn’t have missed it all these years, but here I am, still thinking of that thing!

Growing up, did your family have Christmas traditions? Tell us how you incorporated them into your family life. Or, how you created new ones.

My family has always read of Jesus’ birth from the Gospel of Luke Chapter Two, then we light candles and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. We always have a birthday cake to celebrate His precious birth. I plan to carry on this tradition until the day I die and can see our Savior face-to-face. Wow! What a day that will be.

When do you put up your tree? At my house, it goes up when my kids’ begging is louder than my procrastination (around December 1). My husband works assembles my prelighted tree. I do the rest. Describe the decorating at your house.

The older I get, the more I intend to simplify. But year after year the same decorations seem to come out, either the day after Thanksgiving or on the evening of Thanksgiving. We actually made our own pre-lit Christmas tree! It’s seven feet tall, but Victorian style so it’s narrow enough to fit easily through doorways. We leave the branches in, the lights on, just taking off the ornaments to carry it downstairs for storage beneath the basement stairs every year. Works great, especially these days of fuses so whole light strands can be saved. We also have a Christmas village that’s a family favorite. It’s actually a hodge-podge collection that started with a set of ceramic candleholder houses, which my mother gave me a long time ago. Its value is measured only in sentiment.

What is your favorite Christmas song or album? I recently bought Unexpected Gifts and I love it! They are old favorites sung in a new way. Includes “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (Bethany Dillon); “Do You Hear What I Hear” (Nichole Nordeman); “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (Steven Curtis Chapman); and “Silent Night” (Sanctus Real).

Did I see someone not knowing who Johnny Mathis is? Goodness, his “Merry Christmas” album has been my absolute favorite since I was a kid. I was so pleased to see it’s still available, so I was able to buy my own CD of it.

But I especially love the old carols, which so sweetly convey the gospel message. It’s all about God loving us so much to send Jesus to save us, and so many of the old songs proclaim that. It’s sad, really, the way our society has secularized everything, which makes the old carols that much more precious.

Christmas morning, my parents brother and I would head over to my grandparents’ house and open all our presents there. Or they’d come to our house … so we didn’t open them until we were up, dressed, showered and fed. Relive your childhood Christmas mornings for us.

In my German household it was Christmas Eve that offered the gift exchange. When I was a kid we used to dress up for the event — new dresses for my sisters and me, ties for my brothers. We would all pile into the family car and go to my grandmother’s for a big dinner. As I recall, my father would go out and warm up the car (no garage in the early days!) and all of us kids (I’m one of six) would have to wait forever for my parents to be ready and follow us out the car.

Little did we know they were getting everything ready for the BIG RETURN after dinner at my grandmother’s. Since there were so many of us, gifts spilled out far beyond the widest branch of even the biggest Christmas tree (always fresh, with those multi-colored, large old-fashioned lights and silver tinsel). I think I was around twelve when my brother brought home the gospel and started the tradition of reading from the Bible, something that was readily accepted by our entire family. We’d stay up until midnight and hear the church bells ringing for midnight mass, although we always went in the morning. Christmas Day we’d wake up whenever we wanted, play with the toys we’d received the night before, watch my mother bustle around to cook a huge dinner for us and a variety of relatives who would come and see what we received.

Seems to me snow and Christmas go together, and in Montana that’s almost a given! Tell us about your Christmas setting?

Snow!!! I don’t want to get into a big discussion about the natural warming cycle we seem to be experiencing in the Northern Hemisphere, but it does seem to me when I was a kid all of my Christmases were white. Not so true as I’ve gotten older, but then it may be that I’ve idealized my childhood memories so they were always perfect. (Well, except for the one when I broke my magic wand!)

It’s Christmas Eve… Describe your day and evening.

As I mentioned above, this is the day all the kids were most excited about in my family. We still go to my mother’s, grandmother to my kids nowadays, and share a big family meal the way I used to do at my own grandmothers. But we’ve always stayed late at my mother’s house because of one schedule or another, so as an adult I’ve raised my kids with gifts from grandmother on Christmas Eve, and those from my husband and I are opened on Christmas morning. But my father passed away last year and my mother is too frail to host things the way she used to. We all contribute and pretend nothing has changed, my dad’s just in the other room, my mom is healthy, but times-they-are-a-changin’ and so I envision Christmas will soon be with my own kids coming to my house for Christmas Eve, and they’ll be in their own homes for Christmas morning. Well, except for my handicapped child, my insurance against an empty nest. We’ll go to the Christmas Eve service at our church, I’ll make a special meal, play Christmas music or movies in the background, we’ll read from the Book of Luke, have a birthday cake and sing with candles . . .

Confession time. Shop on line or at the mall?

I’m a mall shopper. I like to see what I’m purchasing – except for books. I get most of my books online, and my daughter always has several of those on her Christmas list.

Christmas grows more and more commercial every year. Setting the hustle and bustle aside, what does Christmas really mean to you?

It’s Jesus’ birthday! We exchange gifts in honor of his incredible grace, the gift of Himself to us. As I mentioned, I love the old Christmas carols because they’re so full of the truth, of God’s love for us. They really help to remind me what this season is all about.

It’s Christmas day… what’s for dinner? Do you make cookies or other traditional foods?

We usually have a small ham and a turkey breast, with all the fixings that go along with that. Lots of vegetables, crusty rolls, and of course homemade Christmas cookies! I start baking weeks in advance and freeze them for the special day (if any are left by then!).

Tell us about your favorite Christmas memory.

It’s hard to pick just one! I suppose I would have to go back to my childhood. I think a lot of grown up life is spent comparing life now to how it was as a child and some of the wonder seems to have worn off, or at least it’s changed. I’m probably more aware of the spiritual nature of the holiday now that I’m not as intent on what toys I might receive, but things everywhere seem to have become so overwhelming that it’s hard for just one thing to seem wondrous any more.

But as far as favorite Christmas memories… I remember one time my sister and I saw Santa Claus down the street from our house. I know it was real because my sister and I saw him at the same time! I also remember having my parent’s drive us along Candy Cane Lane. I was very young, and this was back in the day when most houses just had a tree in the window, maybe a wreath on the door. Lights weren’t nearly as common as they are these days! But every year Candy Cane Lane in Chicago would light up as bright as any downtown street. Every house had a candy cane, bigger than me, propped up alongside of the curb. It was so beautiful, partly because it was so unusual for the time.

What are you plans for this season?

This year we’ll gather with family as always, but we’re meeting the night before Christmas Eve because one of my brother’s, who is a Pastor, moved so far away. He has a Christmas Eve service and so we moved up our family gathering by a day in order to have him with us. Which means, for the very first time but no doubt not the last, I’ll be having only my immediate family gather around our very own Christmas tree this Christmas Eve after church. We’ll have a big meal, read from St. Luke, sing Happy Birthday and have cake…

Any final thoughts on Christmas?

Only this: we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus for a reason, but the older I get the more I realize the gift Christ gave of Himself was so incredible nothing else can compare. This is a season of giving – because Christ first gave to us. That means thinking about others first, putting them before ourselves. Maybe this is the best season of all to consider what Jesus would do in every situation, and as the busyness threatens to take over maybe that’s the best time to slow down just long enough to thank the Lord for all the gifts He’s given us.