Back to the Lane

Advent begins November 29

Credits

Most of what you see and hear on the Lane is in the public domain: paintings, cards, films and tunes old enough to belong to everyone. Where a maker asked for credit, it is here; the worlds themselves stay free of captions so nothing pulls you out of them. 204 entries.

Voices. The character voices and story narration in Snowglobe Lane are AI-generated. We made them with JoggAI (jogg.ai) using voices from the ElevenLabs Voice Library, then chose and checked every line. They are synthetic voices, not recordings of actors. The stories are public-domain texts. Scripture is from the World English Bible (public domain).

Pictures across the Lane

Advent Windows

  • Veni, veni, Emmanuel.mid, Melodie: 15. Jahrhundert; Thomas Helmore 1856; Satz und Tondatei: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • Es ist ein Ros entsprungen.mid, Melodie: Köln 1599; Satz 1: Michael Prätorius 1609; Satz 2 und Tondatei: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • Good King Wenceslas.mid, Melody: medieval; setting & sound file: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.mid, Felix Mendelssohn. Public domain. Source.
  • O Little Town of Bethlehem (Forest Green).mid, Ralph Vaughan Williams. Public domain. Source.
  • Komm, sag es allen weiter.mid, Melody: Go Tell It on the Mountain, trad.; setting & sound file: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • The Holly and the Ivy.mid, Melody: traditional; setting & sound file: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • God rest you merry, Gentlemen.mid, Melody: from England; setting & sound file: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (Winchester Old).mid, Melody: from England; setting & sound file: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • Once in Royal David's City.mid, Melody: Henry John Gauntlett (1849); setting & sound file: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • Away in a Manger (Kirkpatrick melody).mid, Melody: W. J. Kirkpatrick 1895; setting & sound file: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • Herbei, o ihr Gläub'gen.mid, Melodie: John Reading 17. Jh.; Satz + Tondatei: Rabanus Flavus (Peter Gerloff). CC0. Source.
  • Carol first verses for the Advent windows, Nahum Tate, Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, Edmund Sears, Phillips Brooks, Joseph Mohr and John Young, Henry Longfellow, John Neale, Theodore Baker, Cecil Alexander, Christina Rossetti, John Pierpont, Dwight and others (1700 to 1895); traditional. Public domain (published before 1929 or traditional).

The Square

  • Community Christmas tree, 12/24/23 (President Coolidge lights the tree near the White House), National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress. Public domain. Source.

The Hearth

Kids Corner

  • Kids Corner stickers, snowflakes and the room (our own drawings), Snowglobe Lane. Our own drawings, made in code for this page. No third-party art or photos.. Source.
  • Playwrite DE Grund, The Playwrite Project Authors (TypeTogether), self-hosted through Fontsource. SIL Open Font License 1.1. Source.
  • Gluten, The Gluten Project Authors (Etcetera Type Co), self-hosted through Fontsource. SIL Open Font License 1.1. Source.
  • Andika, SIL International, self-hosted through Fontsource. SIL Open Font License 1.1. Source.

The Kitchen

  • The Kitchen, from A Home (26 watercolours), Carl Larsson (1853-1919), Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (photo: Bodil Karlsson / Nationalmuseum). Public domain. Source.

The Picture House

The Nativity

Story Corner

The Almanac

  • Im Lande des Christkinds (Advent calendar; the picture shows the title 'Weihnachts-Kalender'), Richard Ernst Kepler (1851-1927), German painter and illustrator. Public domain. Source.
  • Der Betsaal im rauhen Hause (the prayer hall of the Rauhes Haus), Unknown (page says author information is lacking); from Illustrirte Zeitung 7/1846, p. 237. Public domain. Source.
  • Good King Wenceslas (cropped engraving), Brothers Dalziel (engraver); crop by Commons user Victuallers. Public domain. Source.
  • Presentation of Jesus Christ at the Temple (from The Life of the Virgin), Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Source.
  • The Children's Party Book - Candy Canes (recipe page), Recipe by Helen Harington Downing; book by Marion Jane Parker; illustrations by Frances Tipton Hunter. Public domain in the United States (published before 1931). Source.
  • The Waits at Seven Dials (Christmas street musicians), Illustrated London News, H. G. Hine (1811-1895). Public domain. Source.
  • First Christmas card (Cole and Horsley), Commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, designed by John Callcott Horsley (page lists author as Sir Henry Cole). Public domain. Source.
  • A Christmas market in Am Hof, Vienna (watercolor), Carl (Karl) Wenzel Zajicek (1860-1923). Public domain. Source.
  • The Christmas Tree (wood engraving, Harper's Bazaar), John Whetton Ehninger (1827-1889). Public domain. Source.
  • The Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle (Christmas Number, Illustrated London News), Joseph Lionel Williams (1815-1877), for the Illustrated London News; scan from the Library of Congress. Public domain. Source.
  • Hansel und Gretel, no. 4 (Liebig trading card), Unknown author; issued by Liebig's Extract of Meat Company. Public domain. Source.
  • Julotta i Leksands kyrka (Early service on Christmas morning in Leksand church), pen-and-ink drawing, Pelle Hedman (1861-1933, Swedish illustrator; dates from Project Runeberg author page, opened). Public domain. Source.
  • Under the Mistletoe (from 'Christmas Throughout Christendom'), Various (illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 46, no. 272). Public domain. Source.
  • Institution of the Crib at Greccio (Legend of St Francis, scene 13), Giotto (di Bondone) (1266-1337) and workshop, Upper Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi. Public domain. Source.
  • Nußknacker und Mäusekönig, Tafel 1: Weihnachtsabend (Christmas Eve), hand-coloured print, Peter Carl Geißler (1802-1872). Public domain. Source.
  • Poinsettia pulcherrima (Curtis's Botanical Magazine, plate 3493), Curtis's Botanical Magazine (published by S. Curtis, Glazenwood, Essex); no single artist named on the file page; engraver 'Swan' signed on the plate. Public domain (an 1836 plate). Source.
  • Saint Lucy, Francesco del Cossa (Italian, c.1435-c.1477); in the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Public domain. Source.
  • The Feast of St. Nicholas, Jan Steen (1625/1626-1679), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (SK-A-385). Public domain. Source.
  • Saint Nicholas of Bari and the Three Poor Girls, Cristofano Cartaro (engraver), Metropolitan Museum of Art. CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Source.
  • The Bean King (The King Drinks), Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678). Public domain. Source.
  • The Yule Log (hauling the Yule log), Robert Chambers, The Book of Days (illustrator not named on the file page). Public domain. Source.

The Living Room (TV)

  • Valley Forge Yule Log, Gregory Purifoy, National Park Service, Valley Forge National Historical Park. Public domain (a work of the U.S. National Park Service). Source.
  • Bergensbanen NRK (part 2), NRK. CC BY-SA 3.0 Norway; NRK, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source. The poster is one frame, 23:32 into part 2 (the Finse plateau), scaled to 1280 x 720. The video itself is streamed from Wikimedia Commons, not copied. Recorded 9 October 2009, 7 hours 14 minutes, Bergen to Oslo.
  • The Farmyard on Christmas Eve, Jenny Nyström (card, public domain); motion by MiniMax H3 on OpenArt. Public domain painting; AI-animated.
  • The Road to Church, Jenny Nyström (card nb46, public domain); widened with GPT Image 2.5; motion by MiniMax H3 on OpenArt. Public domain painting; AI-widened and AI-animated.
  • A Winter Morning after a Snowfall in Dalarna, Anshelm Schultzberg (Nationalmuseum NM 1452, public domain); motion by MiniMax H3 on OpenArt. Public domain painting; the motion is generated (AI). The painting is real (Anshelm Schultzberg, Nationalmuseum NM 1452). The motion is generated with the MiniMax H3 video model. Master 2560x1440, 5.2 s. Re-encoded to AV1 (WebM) and H.264 (MP4) at 1920x1080; the poster is the frame at 0.0 s.
  • The Snowy Window, Plate made with OpenArt; motion by MiniMax H3. Generated (AI): the whole picture and its motion. Generated: the still was made with an AI image model on OpenArt and the motion with the MiniMax H3 video model. Master 2560x1440, 5.2 s. Re-encoded to AV1 (WebM) and H.264 (MP4) at 1920x1080; the poster is the frame at 0.0 s. Clip snow is faint; the site adds its own code snow on top.
  • Julotta: Christmas Morning in Church, Plate made with OpenArt; motion by MiniMax H3. Generated (AI): the whole picture and its motion. Generated: the still was made with an AI image model on OpenArt and the motion with the MiniMax H3 video model. Master 2560x1440, 5.2 s. Re-encoded to AV1 (WebM) and H.264 (MP4) at 1920x1080; the poster is the frame at 0.0 s. Indoor snow on the sills removed; window bays patched (owner caught it).

The Twelve Days

The Station

Snowbell Peak (16-bit)

  • Carol melodies played by the chiptune band (Silent Night, Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Joy to the World, Deck the Halls). Public domain compositions (1818 and earlier, or pre-1929 tunes); notes retyped, no recordings.
  • Scripture on the day card. World English Bible, public domain.
  • Day pictures (paper cut-out shapes read into pixels at boot). Made for this project.

Tinpot Hill (1936)

  • Titan One, Latin subset, title-card capitals. SIL Open Font License 1.1. Source.
  • Damion, Latin subset, the script word on the title card. SIL Open Font License 1.1. Source.
  • Limelight, Latin subset, the small Art Deco capitals of the producer line on the opening title card (used nowhere else). SIL Open Font License 1.1 (Copyright 2010 Sorkin Type Co, per the LICENSE file shipped in the package). Source.
  • Christmas Comes But Once a Year (Fleischer Studios, Color Classic, released 4 December 1936), shown on the Bijou screen from 7.6 s (the title card), bottom 7 percent cropped to hide the restorer's mark. Public domain (copyright not renewed), per the Commons file page. Source.
  • Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (Leon Jessel, 1897): chorus and verse melody, synthesised in the browser. Public domain (composition 1897; the 1922 US publication is public domain since 2018).
  • Words and tunes of the carols on the bouncing-ball slides (first verses). Public domain: all first published before 1923. Tunes already in src/scripts/audio.ts are reused..
  • Verses on the film-tin slides come word for word from src/data/advent.ts. World English Bible, public domain.

Pinchbury (clay)

  • A still of the Thumbprint Square, captured from this world's own live three.js scene at 1600 x 1000 (146 KB, retaken 2026-10-02 after the review fixes).. ours.

Dickens

  • Mr Fezziwig's Ball - A Christmas Carol (1843), frontispiece - BL.jpg, John Leech. CC0 (British Library scan). Source.
  • Marley's Ghost - A Christmas Carol (1843), opposite 25 - BL.jpg, John Leech. Public domain (British Library scan). Source.
  • Scrooges third visitor-John Leech,1843.jpg, John Leech. Public domain. Source.
  • The Last of the Spirits-John Leech, 1843.jpg, John Leech. Public domain. Source.
  • Christmascarol1843 -- 184.jpg (Scrooge and Bob Cratchit, The End of It, wood engraving), John Leech (engraved by Swain). Public domain. Source.
  • Charles Dickens-A Christmas Carol-Title page-First edition 1843.jpg, John Leech. Public domain. Source.
  • Old Standard TT, Alexey Kryukov. SIL Open Font License 1.1. Source.
  • Pinyon Script, Nicole Fally. SIL Open Font License 1.1. Source.
  • Texturina, Omnibus-Type. SIL Open Font License 1.1. Source.
  • Marley's Ghost - A Christmas Carol (1843), opposite 25 - BL.jpg (the ghost's head only), John Leech. Public domain (British Library scan). Source.
  • New Zealander (YCBA London a Pilgrimage 07.jpg), the rocks in the foreground, Gustave Doré, engraved by Adolphe François Pannemaker, from London: A Pilgrimage (1872). Public domain (Yale Center for British Art scan). Source.
  • Bell Rock light house during a storm from the North East (Stormy Weather.jpg), Drawn by J. M. W. Turner, engraved by J. Horsburgh, frontispiece of Robert Stevenson, An Account of the Bell Rock Light-House (1824). Public domain. Source.

The Globe Shelf

  • Square crop (560 x 560) of the farmhouse, fence and road, for the Christmas Farm globe, Enköpings museum, EM16080:18. Public Domain Mark 1.0 (per the DigitaltMuseum record). Source.

Market Square

  • City hall, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany, 1890s (photochrom). Public domain; Detroit Publishing Co., under license from Photoglob Zürich; Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, ppmsca.00103. Source.
  • Old Market, Altstadt, Dresden, Saxony, Germany (photochrom, 1899). Public domain; Library of Congress Catalog: http://lccn.loc.gov/2002720580. Source.
  • UnifrakturMaguntia. SIL Open Font License 1.1 (@fontsource/unifrakturmaguntia, weight 400).
  • Libre Baskerville. SIL Open Font License 1.1.
  • Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. SIL Open Font License 1.1.
  • three.js r186. MIT.
  • UnrealBloomPass, OutputPass, EffectComposer, GTAOPass (off by default). MIT (three.js examples).

Storybook

  • No. 9458. God Jul! (24207703498), Jenny Nyström (1854-1946). No known copyright restrictions (Flickr Commons). The artist died in 1946 and the card was published in 1915, so it is public domain in Sweden, Norway and the EU, and in the US (published before 1931).. Source.
  • Seamless paper tile. Made in this project: a plain paper tile, toned to match the paper of the card above.

Storybook: the Farmyard

  • farm-plate.webp, farm-plate.avif, farm-plate-1200.webp, farm-plate-1200.avif, farm-girl.webp, farm-girl-shadow.webp, Enköpings museum, EM16080:18. Public Domain Mark 1.0 (per the DigitaltMuseum record). Source.

Storybook: Christmas Morning

  • The farmyard before dawn (Christmas postcard, about 1900 to 1915), widened, Jenny Nyström (1854 to 1946), the card in the middle. The left and right sides are generated (AI). The card: Public Domain Mark 1.0 (Enköpings museum, EM16080:18, on DigitaltMuseum). The widened sides: generated (AI), made for this site. Source. Partly generated. The middle of the picture is the real card. About half of the width, on the left and on the right (the outbuilding, the road past the spruces, the far cottages), was generated with an AI image model (GPT Image 2.5 on OpenArt, 2026-10-03) to make the picture wide enough to ride through; the real card was laid back on top. In the card itself the figure in the hayloft window was painted out with an AI image editor (Nano Banana 2). Two versions, lit and dark, each in two sizes.
  • The road up to the church: cover of Julklockan, 1924, Jenny Nyström (1854 to 1946). Public domain (published in Sweden in 1924; the artist died in 1946). Source.
  • The family in the horse sleigh, cut out of the cover of Julklockan, 1924, Jenny Nyström (1854 to 1946). Public domain (published in Sweden in 1924; the artist died in 1946). Source.
  • Inside the country church before dawn, Generated (AI) for this site. It is not a painting by Jenny Nyström or by any other painter. Generated (AI): the whole picture. Generated. The whole picture was made with an AI image model (GPT Image 2.5 on OpenArt, 2026-10-03). The four window bays were redone with a second AI model (Nano Banana 2) to take snow off the inside sills, and the rod joining the two chandeliers was painted out. The candle flames and their light are drawn in code. Two versions, lit and dark, each in two sizes.
  • The road to church in the first light (God Jul card, 1925), widened and moving, Jenny Nyström (1854 to 1946), the card in the middle. The widened sides and all of the motion are generated (AI). The card: public domain (Nasjonalbiblioteket, the National Library of Norway). The widened sides and the motion: generated (AI), made for this site. Source. Partly generated. The real card sits in the middle at about 70% of the picture's width. The sides were generated with an AI image model (GPT Image 2.5 on OpenArt) and colour-matched to the print; the falling snow and every other movement were generated with an AI video model (MiniMax H3) and laid over the still. The same clip is the Living Room channel The Road to Church. The poster is its first frame.
  • A candle flame and its glow (a small light layer, 165 x 125 px), Made for this site. Made for this site. How it was made was not written down, so it may be generated (AI). A small picture of one flame, drawn over the visitor's candle. on 2026-10-12 it could not be matched to any of the plates.

Storybook: Christmas Morning, sounds

Tinsel (1959)

  • three.js. MIT. Source.
  • Yellowtail (script). SIL OFL 1.1. Source.
  • League Gothic (condensed gothic price heads). SIL OFL 1.1. Source.
  • Newsreader (catalog body copy). SIL OFL 1.1. Source.
  • Playwrite DE Grund (pencil). SIL OFL 1.1. Source.
  • Libre Baskerville (the Scripture face). SIL OFL 1.1. Source.
  • Atkinson Hyperlegible Next (the constant UI face). SIL OFL 1.1. Source.
  • Scripture, World English Bible. public domain.
  • Carol melodies (Silent Night 1818, Jingle Bells 1857, Deck the Halls, Joy to the World, We Wish You a Merry Christmas). compositions in the public domain; synthesized in the browser, no recordings.

Shape Street

  • Paper grain, tiling, laid over the whole picture (neutral black ink, about 6% darkening on average). none needed: made in this repo.
  • Slow gouache blotches with brush-direction streaks, tiling (neutral black ink, about 7% darkening on average). none needed: made in this repo.
  • A dry-brush stroke used as a luminance mask for offset colour blocks. none needed: made in this repo.
  • A broad dry-brush band mask for sky and street washes. none needed: made in this repo.
  • Bible verses on the day cards.
  • A Visit from St. Nicholas (lines 1 to 8).
  • Good King Wenceslas (verse 1).
  • Carol words on the lead sheets: Silent Night, Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
  • Other pageant lines (Gift of the Magi, Nutcracker, Shoemaker and the Elves).
  • Christmas Eve reading, Luke 2:8-14.
  • Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. OFL, via @fontsource (already in the repo).
  • Libre Baskerville. OFL, via @fontsource (already in the repo).
  • Yellowtail. Apache 2.0, via @fontsource (already in the repo); stands in for Mr Dafoe, which is not installed.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible Updated (public domain).