Fifty-second installment from the diary of my great-grandfather’s sister Alise, written during the First World War. When the diary starts, she is living just a few miles from the front lines of the Eastern Front, and is then forced to flee with her husband and two young daughters to her family’s house near Limbaži as the war moves even closer. Her third child, a son, was born there in February 1916. The family has now relocated (again) to a home near Valmiera, and the Russian Revolution is in full swing. For more background, see here, and click on the tag “diary entries” to see all of the entries that I have posted.

If there is mention of a recognizable historical figure and event, I will provide a Wikipedia link so that you can read more about the events that Alise is describing.

December 25, 1917

Christmas is here! The angels provided for us once again and sent us a tree with many presents. The tree was very bright and the mood was good. The children were dears, pleasing us with their songs. Dagiņa is three years old and she sang “O Come Little Children” so beautifully. Our three old ladies showered us and the children with gifts. We discussed what kind of conditions we’ve celebrated Christmas in in different years, and who knows where it will be next? Not here, we hope!