The New Year's carol

Nestled among the green meadows and towering Alps of a quiet Swiss village, a modest cottage shelters a widowed mother and her two young children. Joseph’s early death leaves Afra to tend a tiny herd, mend worn clothes, and keep the hearth warm against an early, snow‑laden winter. The landscape—shaded nut trees, a babbling brook, and a distant ivy‑clad tower—offers a gentle backdrop to the family’s humble, hard‑won routine.

When the cold threatens their scarce supplies, the bright‑eyed boy Barty discovers an old tradition: a New Year’s carol that might bring hope and a little extra bread. Determined, he practices the simple, pure melody, urging his sister Franzelie to join his voice. Their shared song becomes a promise to lift their mother’s spirit and perhaps win a small kindness from the village, setting the stage for a heartfelt winter adventure.