Welcome
to the Blue Ridge Highlander Library of Holiday Tales. We hope you enjoy the stories
we have created for your entertainment. Below is a photo and short description about each story, click the photo or title to go to the
full story. New stories will continue to be added, so check back occasionally to enjoy the new additions.
 This Christmas tale is several stories in one, our purpose is to take you back to the true essence of Christmas.
Christmas can be the most wonderful time of the year where truth and love can set you free, as the fictitious character George Bailey of Bedford Falls discovered in, "It's a Wonderful Life." Like ole' George found out, the holidays can be trying for those who are burdened with heavy responsibilities, challenges or troubles.
We know that this is a very busy time of the year for everyone, but if you take the time to read the entire story, you will be happy you did. It might just change how you view the holidays and bring a new light and joy to your life. read on... |
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The Christmas program at Fort Loudoun offers us a vintage look at “Christmas Past.” A view of a more simple and humble time for those isolated far from home and country. No light shows, no fancy decorations, no grand hoop-la just the Spirit of a sacred time, a time of giving and reflection.
Living history makes Fort Loudoun not only a unique historical stage but also an educational theater concerning the lifestyles of Early Americans. |
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 Smoky
Mountain Lights....Traveling
north on highway 441 we leave the valleys and mountain ranges
of the Blue Ridge interior behind. Drifting along the pavement, we wind
our way close to the banks of the Oconaluftee River. It
was nearing midnight when we entered the Smoky Mountain National
Park in Western North Carolina and too late for sightseeing.
The wonders and beauty of the
Smokies were shielded from us by the night’s darkness with
only the highway as our guide, the road was lonely of travelers,
we spotted just a couple of vehicles during our half hour climb
up the steep mountain slope. Reaching the Newfound Gap
at the crest of the Smokies, Mrs. Highlander and I glided into
the observation parking lot and took a midnight break. |
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 Christmas
at Biltmore Estate...is
a rare journey back in time, the opulence of the Gilded Age
taking the idea of a festive holiday seasons to even greater
heights. Biltmore Estate is the largest private owned residence
in America, which makes it the perfect showcase for this
expression of Christmas past.
The celebration at the
Biltmore House flows from day into night with the Candlelight
Christmas Evenings. Guest may view decorations by candlelight
with a backdrop of holiday music preformed by choirs, quartets,
and other musicians throughout the house. |
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A New Beginning...the Promise ...There
are signs of greater life all around. I find myself continuously
being drawn outdoors, not just for the sake of working in the yard,
but a chance to explore and experience. Spring is a time to reflect
on new hopes and dreams, a time to plant new seeds. Although, it
takes more than skilled hands and a sharp wit, to plant these seeds. 
Christmas
Throughout the Mountains .....Crowns of white
ice follow the skyline along mountain ridges, welcoming the
season of holiday joy. In the central to northern Blue Ridge
Mountains, snow will fall bringing ski enthusiast to the
mountain towns and slopes, to the south the mountain winter
climate is tempered with mild weather, with only an occasional
dusting of snow.
The Grove Park Inn, a Holiday Journey...As
I strolled across the cobblestone driveway, I found myself imagining
the sounds of horseshoes clicking down the uneven red pavement’s
gentle slope. A mountain of boulders stood before me, obstructing
my view of an endless horizon. This must be a monument, placed here
by giants. The crudely cut boulders were stacked and fashioned into
what appeared to be an enormous building that seemed to have risen
out of the imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth.
Winter
Solitude...a Holiday Tale...It's
late December, a time when peace becomes a focus to reach
for, yet seldom achieved. I like to do a little wood carving
during these quiet times, nothing fancy. It helps me reflect
on the months that seemed to have passed by so quickly. A
time to take my thoughts away from a world of material goods
and a chance to look into the spirit of the human soul, its
goals and purpose.