As a child, the things I remembered and loved most about Christmas were the scents and smells of the holiday, but I think the one thing I love most as an adult is that it gives us the opportunity to create traditions we can give as gifts to our loved ones””memories that will remain with them long after that iPhone has left their pocket, long after the soles on this year’s pair of shoes wears thin.

As for that Santa guy, I think I always knew who he was. I was one of those too-curious kids who didn’t know how to stop asking questions. I’ve always been fascinated with the history of traditions and I tend to explore those in all my books. Highland Fire gave me a great opportunity to explore a culture whose mysterious end eludes us, but whose culture lives on even in our everyday lives through our superstitions, our song, and yes, even some of our traditions.

This year, we did our very first “solstice walk.” Some of my friends and neighbors got together and before our walk through the snowy woodlands, we broke bread from a circular loaf and stood in a circle to give a few words of thanks for the bounty of our year. And then thirty deep, we marched through Winter Wonderland””literally, for what else could you call a pristine landscape, dressed with snow, under a glowing moon? Fat flakes fell through the trees, and for a moment, dangling in time, I could almost forget that yards away there were paved tracks for motorized vehicles and bright neon lights lining the drives. Out in the woods, the evergreens didn’t need any artificial lights to have the look of Christmas. Their tips dusted in white, and illuminated by the nearly full moon, gave new meaning to lines of a Christmas poem I learned as a child:

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,

Gave a lustre of midday to objects below”¦

I whispered the words from rote, like a prayer, and looked around at the gift of life here on Earth. All that was missing was Santa’s sleigh sweeping across the northern sky. Now this was a moment when I could almost believe in Santa “¦

There’s also a nod to the big guy in red and to Clement Clarke Moore’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas in my book Mischief and Mistletoe. See if you can find it in this passage:

At the stroke of midnight, Lucien slipped out of his room and made his way toward Emma’s room.

All the lights had been extinguished for the night, but the house was aglow with something far more brilliant””the light of love. It shone here in this home, where the folks were far less sober than those he had encountered throughout his life. Whatever he had set out to accomplish when he’d set out from London, it wasn’t this, he realized, but as certain as that freshly fallen snow he had traipsed through this afternoon, and the laughter they’d shared over dinner, he knew that Emma was the woman he was meant to spend the rest of his life with.

He couldn’t imagine another in his bed.

Halfway down the hall he froze as a door opened and closed at the end of the corridor.

Holding a candle before him, Andrew Peters, dressed all in red with a matching nightcap, froze before his bedroom door when he spotted Lucien.

He straightened, and after a moment, came walking toward him, though he spoke not a word until he stood before Lucien. And then, laying his finger aside his nose, he considered Lucien a long moment.

It was only in this light, without the trappings of his formal attire, that Lucien could see how truly youthful Peters appeared. He could be no more than five years Emma’s senior. He squared his shoulders and met Lucien’s gaze and for the longest time, the two men simply stared at one another. After a long moment Andrew set his shoulders straighter and asked, “Will pistols be necessary at dawn?”

“Only if you intend to keep me from the altar.”

Each man assessed the other.

Peters seemed to think about his response a moment, and apparently, satisfied, gave him a nod. “Carry on, then,” he said, and walked on by, cradling his candle before him, explaining, “I have cookies to eat.” His buttery light moved on down the hall, casting dancing shadows wherever it passed. Still Lucien waited, half expecting him to turn about and shout at him like a mad man, but he didn’t “¦

Merry Christmas everyone! May you be hugged by the memories of Christmas Past and find joy in the spirit of Christmas Future.

Tanya is giving away three audio copies of Once Upon a Kiss. If you would like to win this great audio book leave a comment.