December is here. These are the dark days of the year when the sun rises far down in the southeast and sets far down in the southwest, making a low arc that never reaches the zenith of the sky. Sunrise comes late, around 7:20, and sunset comes early around 4:40. And we haven’t reached the very darkest days yet. The solstice won’t come until the 21st. We’re told that to the ancient peoples, the long nights and the waning of the sun were noted with dismay. They were careful watchers of the sky. When the solstice came and the sun began to wax stronger again, they celebrated. The Romans had their Saturnalia and the celebration of Sol Invictus (the unconquered sun), the Celts their Midwinter and Hogmanay, and the Germanic people their Yule. Around the fourth century A.D., the Catholic Church decided to begin celebrating the birth of Christ. The Bible didn’t give a specific date for Christ’s birth, so Pope Julius I chose December 25, a date which coincided with these pagan celebrations. Many of the pagan customs were incorporated into Christmas, the symbols being given new Christian meanings. So the pagan celebration of the rebirth of the sun became the Christian celebration of the birth of the Son. Holly, mistletoe, gift giving, wassailing, and decorating evergreen trees all come from the pagans. It doesn’t bother me a bit.
Hanukkah begins at sundown tonight. Hanukkah is another winter celebration centered on light. It celebrates the miracle that took place at the rededication of the temple at Jerusalem in 165 BC when one day’s worth of consecrated oil for the temple candelabrum burned for eight days, another triumph of light over darkness. We don’t really celebrate Hanukkah at our house, but we have a menorah that we use as a sort of Christmas decoration that also reminds us of the temple. Some years we burn candles in it, some years we don’t.
Hanukkah begins at sundown tonight. Hanukkah is another winter celebration centered on light. It celebrates the miracle that took place at the rededication of the temple at Jerusalem in 165 BC when one day’s worth of consecrated oil for the temple candelabrum burned for eight days, another triumph of light over darkness. We don’t really celebrate Hanukkah at our house, but we have a menorah that we use as a sort of Christmas decoration that also reminds us of the temple. Some years we burn candles in it, some years we don’t.
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| Our menorah. |
We had a big change at our house last week. For the last twenty years we’ve had the same dining room table, a large table with two drop down leaves. It used to be covered in layers of paint, but about ten years ago Daniel and I stripped it down and refinished it. It looked good for a while, but even so was suffering from increased wear and tear. The leaves have broken off of it a few times and had to be repaired. The leaf on my end of the table was famous for slipping, several times dumping my dinner into my lap (to everyone’s amusement but mine). For seating at the table we had long benches down the sides, also well worn and many times repaired. Well, after many years, we’ve retired the old dining room table and benches. We bought a nice dining room table and real chairs from the store Stacey and Hannah work for. We moved the old table and benches upstairs to be my new work table. Most of the activity in our home centers on the dining room table. That’s where we eat our meals, sit in the mornings to read the scriptures, and gather to play games. This new set up is very nice, but will still take some getting used to. I think it has changed the whole feel of our house. Things just look a little classier. Which is good, I think.
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| Our new dining room table. |
We had some snow during the week. Just an inch or so. Most of it has melted now except on the higher hills and shady places. We’re at that point in the year where I actually want snow. I get nervous as Christmas draws nearer and there is no snow. I like snow at Christmas.
I’ve been extra busy with barn quilt orders. Every day after school and on Saturdays I spend most of my time working on orders. I think this might be the first year we’ve had such a spate of orders for Christmas gifts.
I’ve been extra busy with barn quilt orders. Every day after school and on Saturdays I spend most of my time working on orders. I think this might be the first year we’ve had such a spate of orders for Christmas gifts.
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| One of the barn quilts I just finished. |
We’re well into our Christmas movie list now. We’ve made it through both Home Alone movies, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Bishop’s Wife, and Hogfather (yes, it’s a Discworld version of Christmas, but we consider it a valid Christmas movie). We picked up several movies from the library that we’ll watch this week – Remember the Night, Christmas In Connecticut, and The Man Who Came to Dinner. We have others on order. Some of these we’ve never seen before. We love Christmas movies.
Sarah sent us a picture of the gingerbread village she made this year. She and her boss spent over 80 hours putting it together. They do one every year and they are always amazing. It sits in the lobby of the MGM Grand there in Detroit. It will be on display for a month.
Sarah sent us a picture of the gingerbread village she made this year. She and her boss spent over 80 hours putting it together. They do one every year and they are always amazing. It sits in the lobby of the MGM Grand there in Detroit. It will be on display for a month.
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| Sarah's Gingerbread Village. |
We had a beautiful frost this morning. I find frost fascinating. It can transform the most mundane object into something amazingly beautiful. As soon as the sun came up over the hill I headed outdoors with my camera to see what I could see. The world was transformed.
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| The beaver pond. |
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| Frosted aronia bush. |
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| Quince leaves. |
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| Hemlock branch. |
Tonight is the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, one of our favorite events of the Christmas season. We love the messages from the First Presidency and the music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. It starts at 8:00 here. We will watch it over at Shillig’s house. It marks the official beginning of Christmas for us.
Today is Fast Sunday. We began our fast late yesterday and won’t break it until this evening at 5:00. That gives me a whole afternoon to try and not think about food. A nice nap will help with that, although I’ll probably dream about food. Ay, there’s the rub.
Today is Fast Sunday. We began our fast late yesterday and won’t break it until this evening at 5:00. That gives me a whole afternoon to try and not think about food. A nice nap will help with that, although I’ll probably dream about food. Ay, there’s the rub.
