Christmas Village

Christmas Village

Tuesday 6 January 2015

Twelfth Night

There isn't total agreement as to whether Twelfth Night should be celebrated on 5th or 6th January.  I have my own ideas, but they are not really relevant - the important thing is to mark it in some way.

For many people it is the day when the Christmas decorations are taken down and packed away, although the superstition that leaving decorations up after Twelfth Night brings bad luck originally applied to decorations left after 2nd February - the real end to the full Christmas season.  As I mentioned last year, I follow a tradition set by my great grandmother and keep some decorations until after 8th January, my mother's birthday.

Yesterday evening, as I drove through the local market towns, the Christmas lights were still on.  This evening they were off, although some individual shops and houses still had their festive lights.

We still haven't finally settled on our Christmas 2015 theme, but all will be revealed very soon!  In part the delay is because we found that the post Christmas sale at the major craft shop chain we visit was rather disappointing this year.  However, we have short-listed three possibilities and I think we have a distinct leaning towards one of them.


The photo is of some of our Christmas greenery - which, in a centrally heated house, can't last the full Twelve Days without being renewed!

Sunday 4 January 2015

A bit of a moan

In spite of all I see to the contrary, it is still Christmas!

I can understand people who have packed away their decorations this weekend.  While many of us were working between Christmas and New Year and on Friday, there was then a distinctly festive atmosphere, which will not be present tomorrow. Plus, the weekend gives people time to take down and pack away their decorations, which is important when you have a lot to do.

Where I do have a bone to pick, is with shops that want to pack away Christmas on Boxing Day.  While I may have some sympathy with price reductions on Christmas wrapping paper and similar such items, the disappearance of Christmas food before Twelfth Night is not so forgivable.  It is still the Christmas season, and get togethers this weekend should still be able to feature mince pies and other such festive foods without the need to have bought them on Christmas Eve!

So the photo that goes with this post is one of three tree decoration made by my mother. Each depict one of the three Kings - who haven't yet arrived …