SYDNEY: The all-new edition of “Cape Breton’s Christmas” was launched at an event in Sydney when several of the authors read their stories. This is the third year of what is becoming a Cape Breton Christmas traition.
For publisher Ronald Caplan, working toward Book 3 has given him a full year of Christmas.
“From the moment I announced that there would be a Book Three of ‘Cape Breton’s Christmas,’ a part of every day has included thoughts of how to get enough stories. After all, Books 1 and 2 were full and really quite splendid projects. But could that continue?”
Caplan need not have worried. The posters went up and the memories and stories of past Cape Breton Christmas experiences came pouring in.
Still, he did not know if he would have enough for a book. So “Christmas” was part of his every conversation for the rest of the year. On the beach, in the grocery store, on the sidewalk—in the middle of summer—Caplan would find a way to turn the talk to Christmas.
He is convinced that everyone has at least one good Christmas memory—happy or sad, even remarkable, on island or away. He would goad people by reminding them of a Christmas that failed, a Christmas that worked out wonderfully through a surprise or gesture of extraordinary kindness.
“That light would come in people’s eyes. That little laugh. And I knew I had another Christmas story.”
Book 3 of “Cape Breton’s Christmas” is a treasury of stories and memories and, again this year, sales of the book help support the CBC Radio “Light Up A Life” program. The royalties from the sale of every book are donated to Feed Nova Scotia.
It is also a valuable project in terms of capturing stories that highlight Cape Breton culture. The stories are so different. The stories in Book 3 range from an alcoholic grinch who steals his family’s Christmas to memories of a father handmaking all the gifts. For one family, Christmas is just not Christmas unless they repaint the interior of the house. Elke Ibrahim remembers when a fingerful of butter was a precious gift, and Tom Gunn remembers Christmas at L’Arche in Calcutta. Mark Eyking describes the year he and his brothers needed the gift of hair dryers for Christmas. And throughout the book, there is some marvelous writing by Linden MacIntyre, Sheldon MacInnes, Paul MacDougall, Steve Sutherland, Mike Finigan, Dolores Campbell—and many more.
The book launch party and signing for Cape Breton’s Christmas, Book 3 was held in Sydney on November 23. Many of the 51 stories and memories in “Cape Breton’s Christmas” were read by their authors.