Christmas Village

Christmas Village

Saturday 7 January 2017

Twelve Traditions for Twelve Days

The last trio of traditions take me from the beginning to the end of the main festivities.

10. The hall and the table are always decorated in the theme of the year, so this year it was The Holly and the Ivy.  This will include decorations, garlands, napkin rings etc.

This is one of this year's napkin rings.  My sister crocheted the holly and ivy leaves, added beads for berries and sewed on the ribbons to tie round the napkins.

11.  We watch the New Year's Day Concert broadcast from Vienna.  The music of the Strauss family has always been a part of our Christmas and New Year festivities.

12. Twelfth Night.  While we don't always celebrate it on the actual day, we usually have a family gathering to put away decorations and celebrate my mother's birthday (8th January).  This mirrors our gathering together just before Christmas. The meal is a simple buffet and we use all the year's themed elements, which first made their appearance at our pre-Christmas get together, for one last time.

So - Twelve Traditions for Twelve Days!




Wednesday 4 January 2017

Christmas Greens

The next three of my family Christmas traditions involve the use of greenery.   Over the years from my childhood onwards, various parts of the family have lived in houses with easy access to good holly, ivy and other greenery and we've usually had access to mistletoe too. This has made decorating our houses with seasonal foliage very easy.

7. An Advent wreath.  Many years ago I bought a simple metal Advent wreath form with 4 candle holders mounted on it and I can wrap greenery round the form.



8. We always have holly wreaths on our doors.  I now buy mine as making one takes me a long time and I find working in the gloves I need to protect my hands too difficult.  However, my mother always made hers until a stroke and loss of much of her sight meant she too now buys one.

9. Holly.  We always have holly (with berries) over the mantelpieces and on, near or over the front doors.   Some years we remember to put net around some of the holly to ensure that the birds leave us some with berries, but even when we forget there is usually enough!