I don't, anymore, rally myself around the season. We do celebrate Solstice though. My pagan ancestors live on in my bones and I find their worship of visible objects much more logical to my analytical brain.
But this year I hauled out some small bits and pieces and am readying myself to make more of a go of it. You wouldn't believe the lashings of decorations in my building. The word excess doesn't do it justice.
With that in mind I bought some flowers and took the time to arrange them in my mother's old jug, I say old, the thing must be well over a 100 years old, formed on this earth out of clay and bone-ash or whatever went into jugs back then.
Not stopping with this huge effort (I was in a lot of pain as I lurched around) I spied these chrysanthemums and grabbed them. Why not? I sez to myself.
And my Christmas cactus decided to show her multiple faces recently:
I thought I would reinstate my Women's Christmas this year on January 7th. A long standing tradition in my home county of Cork, Ireland, which Covid and other health issues has prevented me from hosting. You can read all about it in this previous post from 2021 I am amazed at how many times that post has encircled the globe and has instigated the tradition as far away as Australia and New York and even Paris.
Once my little itty bitty corner of seasonal decor is completed I will post a few pics.
Women's Christmas sounds like a WONDERFUL tradition to have/to create to me.
ReplyDeleteI love your living decorations too.
Thank you EC, if you lived closer you'd be on my list. My youngest attendee will be 8. It's so wonderful to have the girls a part of this. Grandgirl was only a few months old at her first one.
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A one hundred year old jug belonging to your mother is something rather special to have. I am sure you don't put it in a dishwasher. You look well prepared for a jolly old time.
ReplyDeleteI will be Andrew, I'll ease into it all.
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Than you for that post about Women's Christmas. I had never heard of the custom, but it was a wonderful idea.
ReplyDeleteIt really is CM and I am so pleased it's getting more popular around the world now.
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Oh I so agree about the excess I see in yards this year. And all these cartoon characters. I wish there was more emphasis on Pagan rituals and reverence for nature and the elements. So much more grounded and so called holy to me. I am much more connected to old things, as well. Mary
ReplyDeleteYes, we can feel the call of deeper, more tangible elements in our natures Mary. All that plastic is just mindboggling. All that disposable crapola. I often envision landfills and what horrors they contain, most of which has centuries of afterlife, poisoning our very life-sustaining groundwater and earth.
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L think f;owers are the best way to ce;ebrate and wish you a lovely time in January!
ReplyDeleteThank you , e.
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I love your old jug and the cactus. So pretty.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if I can incorporate Womens Christmas into my new year....
Worth a try Kylie, it's great to have a gathering of women and reflect on the year past.
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I like the Christmas cactus. Good that you can reinstate Women's Christmas. There's a lot fewer Xmas decorations in our neighbourhood than there were last year. I guess people are cutting back on Christmas spending because of the cost of living crisis.
ReplyDeletePlus the cost of the electricity to light up the neighbourhood with their lights, Nick. I see cutbacks here too from prior years. COL is frightening, and over here it's the grocery chains and their obscenely record profits.
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I think it was Covid lockdowns that dampened our Christmas spirits the last few years. This year, I thought I'd skip the tree, etc., and then my husband and I looked at each other, hauled it out, lit it, and festooned it with ornaments. I bought a garland at Trader Joe's, arranged some candles, bought two little poinsettias, and at night, WOW. The Christmas spirit came roaring back. Even without children!
ReplyDeleteI'm finding the same, Jadie. I emptied my knitting shelves and decorated them with ribbons, cards, wrapped gifts and candles, put the Chieftains Christmas album on and bingo, it all returned.
DeleteLove the low lighting and my red lamps.
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My sister's dil celebrates Little Christmas each January 6th out on the town in Dublin with her friends.
ReplyDeleteHer husband, my eldest nephew, is such a thoughtful modern man that he carries on being just that but I've read that part of the day the husband is expected to take on the normal wifely duties and that for some, cooking, washing and childcare are a completely new experience!
Have a wonderful Christmas Mary and a peaceful New Year. XX
What a great tradition! Bravo! From me to you, from Ontario to Newfoundland, all the very best for Christmas and a fabulous 2024. David xo
ReplyDeleteNo decorations here, I got rid of them when we downsized. I did really want a plant thingy with the smell of Christmas, but didn't find one. Truthfully, I didn't look too hard.
ReplyDeleteI really must get myself a Christmas cactus!