Patina, what a fascinating story about Christmas traditions.  Having just passed through the holiday, and having relieved a few of my own, the idea was especially captivating before the entire holiday season gets away for yet another year.  

I think the Christmas traditions you gave the Cartwrights were just perfect.  I was a little confused by the bonfire at first, but I understood by the end of your story.  Thank you for all of the information at the end.  It was a longer look at some interesting holiday customs I was not so familiar with.  

Your prequel was perfect in that all of the brothers seemed in character to me.  I could picture all of them quite well.  Joe was just Joe - smaller, more inquisitive, and just as talkative as he grew up to be.  Hoss had a growing appetite, and Adam had already perfected a deep sense of patience with his brothers.  Also - it showed that Ben and Marie were deeply in love, something that is always lovely to read about.  

Thank you.   

A sweet Christmas story.  Little Joe is just the way I picture him as being as a child. Nice characterizations of all of the Cartwrights.

I enjoyed this story very much. Little Joe is so cute, and Adam and Hoss are such good big brothers. 

That was really really lovely

Cool story with the wooden wagon.  Joe was always a handful.

Magic and love = great Christmas story.

I started my day by reading this selection and must say that Little Joe's excitement brought me right into the story. His youthful delight of Christmas was the first feeling had about what would happen in the story.

I like how you brought us into winter with the concept of Marie's discomfort and how you gave me a warm setting with the "fire roaring all winter long to warm the house." Expertly done.

The flashbacks were an excellent way to give me some of those traditions without trying to do it all at once. I could picture young Adam and Ben in New Orleans. And poor little jealous Marie wondering if Ben had courted Linda. Too cute.

I especially love how you captured the spirit of Christmas with Adam. It's as if he gets to relive the excitement through Little Joe's eyes. The same goes with Marie, she also gets to have the perfect Christmas now that she and Ben are together. And what a man is Ben, he makes certain that everything is just as it should be. I love how you blended Hoss and Hop Sing into the story. I can imagine Hoss following Hop Sing around the house and what a pest he might have been during the preparation of the family holiday dinner. Your descriptive word choice and dialog are on the mark for each character.
The only thing that I can think of to have made this better was to make it longer. To be a full episode we might have some drama with the lad who was paid to watch the bon fire. While there wasn't anything unique about how a family might have celebrated Christmas back in the day, your approach to the concept was absolutely engaging.

A very sweet Holiday story. Well done.

Such a lovely, seasonal story filled with childhood wonder and Christmas magic.  I truly enjoyed reading it.   

A beautiful Christmas story, thank you.

What a lovely story.  I really appreciate your attention to detail 

Wonderful story and a great one for Christmas Thanks for sharing.

This was a sweet family story that i think captures all of the characters in their youthful days of Christmas just as we can picture them. Thank you for sharing.

This story should become a Christmas classic for all Bonanza lovers. Oh, how I would have loved to be there with them on that Christmas morning. Incredible job, patina.

Great story Patina. You do such a good job of capturing the Cartwrights when they were young. I enjoyed being transported back.

Patina, thank you so much for this Christmas present.  In my mind's eye I could see the events happening just as you described them.  I love the way you put Cartwright employee, friends and relatives in your prequels and I understand better the animosity Carl felt toward Adam and the family.  This is another winner...I love your prequels.

What an interesting story about family traditions. It was satisfying to see the reactions of all the Cartwrights, including Hop Sing, to their gifts--and touching to know that Ben would soon lose Marie considering the last line.

And, My gosh, no wonder neither Hoss nor Adam wanted to sleep with Joe---what a chatter box--and if I were Adam, I would have been tempted as well to slip him some of that cough syrup---it probably contained codeine. Thanks for a great story.