Enter Christmas

 

Here we are nearing the end of November! A month has flown by since I posted last, despite the best of intentions. My house has transformed itself for the Christmas season, although it still waits for a tree. Lights and candles twinkle everywhere, ushering in the seasons of Advent, Hanukkah, and Solstice. Leftover pie shows up on breakfast plates, extra Thanksgiving food is to be found in the oven, because I insist on eating stuffing and cranberries for at least a week straight...

Seasonal picture-books are moved to the top of the pile. Chocolates and holiday baubles sit on the coffee-table, goodies are slowly spirited away to the freezers. One entire room of my house is off-limits to all but head-elf (me) as it is filled to messy brim with presents and wrapping paraphernalia of every description. Christmas music of all kinds pour from record-player and speaker, and the Christmas movies have begun their procession. Most notably, we've given White Christmas its first viewing of the season, and both local-school plays have been delightfully seasonal: Frozen and Elf; adding much to the festive community spirit!

 

I've also been reading lots of books, doing daily Yoga with Adriene, planning and buying gifts, making pies, and thinking of my dear ones in hospital, as I make my own rounds in a quite different hospital. All my many potted plants from outdoors and my summer conservatory had to be brought in from the cold, frost, and snow. Most of our snow has melted, and today was relatively mild, but the frosts are deep most nights, and the geese can be heard early in the morning, flying south with speed.

 

So now my shelves and sills are loaded with plants, vines, and flowers. Freshening the air, and bringing the feeling of life and growth to the cozy interior. I've readied my Advent calendars to be opened once December breaks upon us, begun reading poems for Advent, and singing songs of the Maccabees.

Advent Sunday

 by Christina Rossetti

 

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh: go ye out
With lighted lamps and garlands round about
To meet Him in a rapture with a shout.

It may be at the midnight, black as pitch,
Earth shall cast up her poor, cast up her rich.

It may be at the crowing of the cock
Earth shall upheave her depth, uproot her rock.

For lo, the Bridegroom fetcheth home the Bride:
His Hands are Hands she knows, she knows His Side.

Like pure Rebekah at the appointed place,
Veiled, she unveils her face to meet His Face.

Like great Queen Esther in her triumphing,
She triumphs in the Presence of her King.

His Eyes are as a Dove's, and she's Dove-eyed;
He knows His lovely mirror, sister, Bride.

He speaks with Dove-voice of exceeding love,
And she with love-voice of an answering Dove.

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh: go we out
With lamps ablaze and garlands round about
To meet Him in a rapture with a shout.

 

This year I made my own Christmas wreaths from the greenery collected in my own yard and gardens,

I decorated with my old collection of decor (a small amount for a house this size) supplemented with new finds, and boosted with a bunch of homemade bits and bobs, garlands, and snowflakes.

Timelessness is a strong component of my aesthetic all year round, and no less in this season. A bit like a time-travelers home, I like to use cozy aspects and ideas from many eras, with higgledy-piggledy abandon. Blessedly grateful for electricity for all the fairy-lights (and I've even taken to use scores of battery-candles), nevertheless each room has a bit of a vintage feel. I am especially inspired by the war years, the combination of the imaginative frugality of wartime with the undeniable glamour of old hollywood.

How are you staying warm and hygge this time of year?

What holiday tradition can you not wait to jump into?

Is there a Christmas treat you're longing to bake?

Are you a fancy-holiday-dress type, or the ugly-Christmas-sweater kind, when invited to a party?

 

I'll see you here again soon, my friends! Pass the Christmas spirit, and remember that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!