Here on Berryridge Farm, John and I start making merry today, on St.
Nicholas’ feast day, and continue until January 6th, Epiphany. I unofficially begin the season the
first Sunday of Advent, getting out my three precious Advent calendars (the
same ones I’ve kept for several decades). Then, it's off to the closet to pull out my favorite holiday book: Mary Engelbreit’s illustrated collection of holiday songs, scripture and
stories. When December 6 arrives, John and I begin the holidays in earnest, with the St.
Nick from antiquity. If you’d like to add more holiday traditions to your
season, there’s plenty of fun and meaningful celebrations all the way to
Christmas Eve and Day… And beyond!
Yule Lads
To me, the absolutely most entertaining tradition (if not exactly
religious or spiritual) hails from Iceland: the Yule Lads, beginning 13 days
before Christmas. (See my 2016 holiday post.) These 13 mischievous trolls do
pranks or out-and-out wreak havoc in your house every day until Christmas…so make
sure you’re good, or you’ll find a piece of rotten potato in your shoe!
Counting down to December 25…
In Sweden, St. Lucia’s Day honors this saint on December 13. There's the
Winter Solstice—I have friends who set aside a day to observe the event with a
special gathering, which this year occurs December 21. While John and I don’t
do anything all that special for the solstice, we still rejoice to think of the light on its
way, each day bringing the blessing of few more minutes of daylight. We always
mark Hanukkah too—on the 22nd this year—so we can say “Happy Hanukkah”
to our favorite neighbors.
Tonight, we’ll start decorating the house—set up our favorite Christmas
figurines on the dining room table, bring out the other knickknacks and
candles, and hang up the two beautiful Christmas tapestries from John. It’s not
a lot, nothing like the collectors’ ginormous displays you see in magazines. It
seems to me, when every inch of someone’s house is covered with stuff, each
figurine or candle or special ornament your child made for you gets lost in the
shuffle. John will select the Best Holiday Playlist Ever—full of
traditional carols, choir music, or elegant instrumentals.
Since we like a l-o-n-g holiday season, we wait until the second week
of December to get a Christmas tree—to make sure the needles will stay on the
free well into January! Then begins the cookie baking, the holiday movie
watching, music every night, contemplating the lights and the meaning of the
season, the gatherings with friends and family… and the magic and wonder of
Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.
Christmas Letdown
If you feel a letdown at the end of Christmas day—The food! The gifts!
The mess! And the worst, Facing the mall the next day to return gifts!!—here’s
a new tradition to think about: the 12 Days of Christmas, as featured in the
old carol. The 12 days aren’t the ones leading
up to Christmas, but the ones after. Okay, in our modern time, this
stretch of days is no longer all about partridges or pear trees or golden rings
or maids a’milking (how many again?), but why not carry on with more celebrating?
Music, maybe a Kwanzaa get-together, more contemplation of the meaning of the
holidays…until the 12th day, Epiphany, January 6.
Women’s Christmas in Ireland
In Ireland, there’s an old-time tradition on the 12th day of Christmas:
“Women’s Christmas,” or Nollaig na mBan, related charmingly here by author Felicity Hayes-McCoy. The men
stay home, while females of all ages—toddlers to girls, mothers to elders—get
together for feasting and dancing. These days, you might find a Women’s
Christmas gathering only in Ireland’s rural areas. Still, you can start your
own!
New Year's Resolutions...don't start until January 7!
Even though John and I still miss our chickens, we're grateful for the time we had them and their abundant gifts of eggs...and resolve to do much better next time. So in this season of gratitude and love and abundance, why not end your holiday
season with a flourish…Forget your New Year’s resolutions, and instead, on the
12th day of Christmas, keep the tree up, bake another batch of holiday
cookies, break out the bubbly/sparkling cider, and toast the wonderfulness of life!
I hope you'll check out my website...you'll find lots of freebies and bonus material at www.susancolleenbrowne.com !
I hope you'll check out my website...you'll find lots of freebies and bonus material at www.susancolleenbrowne.com !
