When a train jumps the rails near Wylder during a blizzard one December night, mountain man Nick Robinson rushes to the rescue. It's only a few days before Christmas, and the young boy he saves from the wreck is convinced his rescuer is St. Nick. Since the frightened child is crying for his ma, Nick figures the best thing he can do is go back and rescue her, too. Ella Fielding is instantly captivated by the man who carries both her and her boy to safety. St. Nick or not, she'd like nothing better than to claim such a strong, gentle man for her own. But Ella carries a secret she dares share with no one, not even when Nick asks her to trust him with her heart.

A poem about the visit that Santa Claus pays to the children of the world during the night before every Christmas.

Daughter of a Viking berserker and a Celtic slave, Gyda Tolljursdottir is part warrior and part Seer. When her Sight gives warning of darkness and danger coming from the sea, she vows to defend her Faroe Island home, whatever it takes. Norse shaman, Lodvar Haraldsson has come from Iceland seeking his destiny, and the woman who has long whispered to his heart. Though he neither trusts nor respects the jarl he follows, he'll trade far more than his conscience to find her. When old hatreds flare, can their love endure? Will Lodvar choose to make the ultimate sacrifice for Gyda's sake?

Much of the modern-day vision of Santa Claus is owed to the Clement Moore poem "The Night Before Christmas." His description of Saint Nicholas personified the "jolly old elf" known to millions of children throughout the world. However, far from being the offshoot of Saint Nicholas of Turkey, Santa Claus is the last of a long line of what scholars call "Wild Men" who were worshipped in ancient European fertility rites and came to America through Pennsylvania's Germans. This pagan creature is described from prehistoric times through his various forms--Robin Hood, The Fool, Harlequin, Satan and Robin Goodfellow--into today's carnival and Christmas scenes. In this thoroughly researched work, the origins of Santa Claus are found to stretch back over 50,000 years, jolting the foundation of Christian myths about the jolly old elf.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.