For me there is a little bit more to a Christmas Village than just a childhood memory. The Village Mom began building every Thanksgiving evening held a secret, about which I'm unsure my brothers or their children never knew. Mom told me the year my parents were married, Dad's father Alexander Wroblewski gave them a present comprised of five hand carved cottages, a hand carved church, a hand carved bridge, and several hand carved trees. Grampa Wroblewski had painstakingly carved replicas of the sections of a town in Russia where he and Grandma  Angie had once lived.

     He said he wanted my parents to "remember that all things are connected and begin as small roots that can neither stand or grow on their own."

     When my husband and I moved into our new home, the one thing I wanted to do for the family we created together was build a Christmas Village so to carry on the tradition. When my children and my daughter's roommate gave me a Village for Christmas, it brought my childhood full circle.  :)I will cherish the gift always, and grow it as large and as long as room will permit. 

      My Mom's Christmas Village was some of the foundation upon which the Aurora Kingdoms and the Orphic Forest was formed. Please visit our gallery to see our Christmas Village.