The Turnip King?

When you're watching your jack o'lantern glow on the porch or table this year, you might remember that the original "jack" was actually a turnip! The legend of the jack o'lantern comes from an old Irish story in which a man named Jack thrice tricked the Devil who had come to claim his soul. When Jack finally died the Devil got his due and sentenced Jack to wander the earth forever with a lantern made from a turnip. This is supposedly why you would often see eerie green light on a moon-dark night flickering in a swamp (it was actually caused by fungi which glow in the dark).

When the Irish came to America, the light in the jack o'lantern was transferred to the pumpkin. But in Great Britain turnips are still used and the classic scarecrow, like Worzel Gummidge of book and television fame, still has a head made from a large turnip.

Christmas Music Year Round!

Ever just need some Christmas music? ("We need a little Christmas, right this very minute...")

Live365 Internet Radio - Thousands of Free Online Radio Stations

Plays on Real Player and, I suspect, Windows Media Player.

Just some of the stations:

Christmas Broadband

Christmas Notes

Christmas Radio.com

A Shiny New Christmas

Christmas at Planet Mike

Old-Time Radio Christmas (with Fibber McGee and Molly, My Favorite Husband, The Jack Benny Show, etc.)

Beautiful Christmas (Remember "beautiful music" stations with "the 36 Hours of Christmas?—this is supposed to duplicate it)

WinterScapes (emphasizes Celtic and New Age)

And since you might want music a little closer to the season we're in now <g>

Halloween Radio

Stories, Music and More

This is a site I just found, SantaSearch. There's a big collection of Christmas stories under "Santa's Library."

We Saw Our First Christmas Lights Tonight!

No, I'm not kidding, although I think it might be a case of they never took their Christmas lights down. But we did pass a house that had white lights and blinking colored lights on their bushes outside—and they weren't Hallowe'en lights, either.

We tried to go to M.C. Twinklins, a Christmas store, but the silly place closed at six. It didn't look very big, anyway, and I think we found, totally by accident, a new Christmas tree last night. It was at B.J.'s and made just the same way as "Sara," our present tree, except it's seven feet tall.

A Christmas newsgroup I'm on talks about a place called Bronners, but it's in Michigan. Now there's a Christmas store!

Friday Five

Don't Fall For It

1. What do you like or dislike about autumn?

I love autumn. It's my favorite season. It's when the weather gets cool, but not cold, and I love the colors of the turning leaves. I love the scent of burning leaves as long as they're not too close. I love the beautiful blue skies and the wispy white cirrus clouds. I love the fall foods: gingerbread and hot chocolate and pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. I love the fall holidays, even Hallowe'en, which has never been my favorite, but it's a fun dress-up day. I love honoring the brave men and women who have given of their lives to serve their country on Veterans Day. I love the reunion and cameraderie (and the turkey and butternut squash!) of Thanksgiving, I love reading about the customs of St. Nicholas Day and St. Lucy's Day even if we here don't observe them.

2. Have you raked leaves into a pile just to jump in them?

No. We never had enough leaves at our house to do that and I wouldn't jump in a pile of leaves from our yard; it probably has cat poop and mosquitoes in it.

3. Have you ever carved a pumpkin and how did it turn out?

No. My mom didn't make pumpkin pie and wouldn't have wanted to waste the innards of the pie. Besides, if you put a pumpkin out in our neighborhood, the stupid jerk kids would have it spattered all over the sidewalk in a couple of days.

4. Have you ever eaten anything made from pumpkins other than pie?

Yes, pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins. The pumpkin bread at Bob Evans restaurant (they sell it in loaves, too) is superb!

5. Where is a good spot to see the leaves change color where you live?

Not around here, maybe, except in the park nearby. It's lovely up in Chattanooga and up at Helen in the North Georgia mountains, too; I hear it's nice at Brasstown Bald and in Blairsville, too.

That Plastic World We [Have to] Live In

While searching for places that sell artificial Christmas trees in the area, I found a link to this story, "Real" Christmas Trees a Falling Trend , about Christmas tree growers' scorn for artificial ones and their purchasers.

I love real trees. I used to even love the wonderfully lopsided trees we got in the later 50's and early 60's, before they started to routinely "shave" firs and spruces to get them into that perfect cone shape. It was always a challenge to fit the worst bare spot up against the wall or in front of the window where it would be noticed less and artfully drape lesser bare spots with extra ornaments and a large quantity of silver icicles (forever known, as in many other homes, as "tinsel").

My folks quit getting a real tree when I was about eight or nine, citing the exorbitant prices of fresh ones at that time. What they didn't tell me was that it was also because of my allergy.

I realized this the one year we had a real tree, provided by some friends after we had a run of bad luck. It was a beautiful frasier fir and when James walked into the house he took a deep breath and sighed, "Now that smells like Christmas."

Three hours after the tree entered our apartment, my nose swelled up and remained that way for the next two and a half weeks. Eventually I started coughing and ended up with bronchitis.

So when the tree growers complain that artificial trees are "sucking the spirit out of Christmas" and dismiss all buyers of such with distaste, they ought to remember that it's better to have a fake tree than sit wheezing in the doctor's office waiting to be prescribed $$$ worth of medicine.

Small Wishes

It's still been pretty warm; in fact they think we might break the record today and it could be 87°F. At least it's been pretty cool at night, although it was only in the high fifties last night as opposed to in the forties Sunday and Monday night. They're saying the real chill will come for the weekend.

I hope it gets cold again for Halloween. I really would like to wear my cat costume, but it has long sleeves and is too hot for a warm day.

Well, That's Stating It a Bit Depressingly

You Are Changing Leaves

Pretty, but soon dead.

What Part of Fall Are You?

How about "You dress the tree with a blaze of color before it sleeps to awaken refreshed the next spring?"

Ho Ho Whole?

More interesting-looking Christmas books:

This one you apparently either love or you hate, as the author traces pagan practices that added to the legend of Santa Claus:

Santa Claus: Last of the Wild Men

Don't know the contents of this volume, but everyone seems to love it:

The Story of Santa Claus

And

Saint Nicholas

The Real St. Nicholas

Plus Jeff Guinn has done a sequel to his charming Autobiography of Santa Claus, starring Layla (Mrs. Claus) in Mrs. Claus Saves Christmas.

And I still heartily recommend Britney Ryan's wonderful modern-yet-old-fashioned The Legend of Holly Claus, which reads like an old Frank Stockton or L. Frank Baum story and is accompanied by the most beautiful pen-and-ink illustrations.

A Long Time Coming

Looks like summer is holding on with her clenched teeth everywhere: I was skimming the fall foliage boards yesterday and it turns out the leaves haven’t yet peaked up in mid-Vermont and New Hampshire and the temps are still too warm. (At the moment they’re being drenched.) Most new Englanders and eastern New Yorkers take advantage of the Columbus Day long weekend to go up there for some “leaf peeping,” since this is when the color ordinarily peaks in that area. One person talked about going up Mount Washington—where the winter winds blow with blizzard force almost constantly and it’s been known to get to -60°F—looking forward to some really cool temperatures and it was 62°F . He was pretty hacked!

The weather report this morning talked about how unseasonable our weather here has been; that the temperature has barely dipped under 60°F and then only twice where the average for this time of year is 53°F. We still have our air conditioning on, which is unheard of and annoying, since the bill will drop to a quarter of what it is now when we finally shut down for the season.

Of course there’ll be no respite once the heat has to go on: they’re talking about a 50 percent rise in natural gas prices this year. Thank God it isn’t electric heat!

It was, at least, chilly this morning. I’m dying for some nice crisp fall air, the kind that makes you feel alive and puts the heart back into you.

Upcoming Christmas Books That Sound Great

Given that I love history, One Christmas in Washington sounds excellent. I've never read any of Bercuson's other work, however. Maybe this will be at Sam's.

Now, Christmas on Television sounds right up my alley. I wonder if she will just cover modern shows or all of them, like Lassie and specials like Amahl and the Night Visitors? Diane Werts did some great articles about Remember WENN during the series' run. But, yow, look at the price!

And there's American Christmases as well.

Fall Lanterns

I have been in love with Chinese lanterns since I was a small girl and could only refer to them as "those cute orange flowers that look like baby pumpkins." This is why I was so delighted when we went into the Michael's store in Warwick, RI, and found not only cattails but the beautiful orangy lanterns as well. I had never seen them in either Michael's or JoAnn in Georgia. We packed some other fall flowers that we bought, but carefully brought the cattails and Chinese lanterns home on the shelf at the back of the car. I finally found a lovely terra cotta vase for them a few weeks back, but the grouping still looked a bit empty.

While I was looking around JoAnn today, I came upon a floral stem that someone had left in the scrapbooking supplies: Chinese lanterns! Sure enough, this year they had a few scant stems. Theirs were colored a bit like a candle flame, reddish at the bottom shading to yellow at the tip, but still acceptable.

By the way, I never knew until a few years ago that cattails were Biblical. Those "bulrushes" that Moses was left in were cattails.

Here's more about Chinese lanterns—I didn't know they were perennials.

"His Nose Blinks Like a Blinkin' Beacon..."

Here's something cool linked on the Rankin-Bass site: CBS's page for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's from last year, but it has some cool stuff for fans and children, including a screensaver and wallpaper, plus some pages to color.

Ornament Sighted, Grabbed Same

The Hallmark store called with news that they had an Enterprise ornament, so when we finished errands we went up to Town Center to pick it up. We walked about a bit to get exercise and also stopped at Social Expressions, which sells American Greetings cards and Carlton stuff, including the Carlton ornaments. Most of them aren't quite as...finished looking as the Hallmark versions. They tend to be a bit more garishly colored in general (but not always) and a bit more cutesy-poo in some cases. But I was surprised to see they had some really cute ornaments this year (although unfortunately they're not doing the Lassie ornaments anymore). They have a Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer ornament as well (boy, Rankin-Bass must have made a good marketing deal!). This version is Santa with baby Rudolph, and when you press the button Stan Francis sings "Jingle Jingle." They also have a Schoolhouse Rock ornament: yes, it's "Conjunction Junction, what's your function"! And a Rocky and Bullwinkle ornament, and one of Alvin and the Chipmunks (which sings "Christmas, Don't Be Late").

Oh, and to the person we know who likes those old monster movies: there's a Godzilla that lights up and roars. Thought you might be interested! (Hope your mom is better.)

By the way, Hallmark has one of the cleverest ornaments I've ever seen. It looks like a 1950s record player and even closes up with the classic little latches. It comes with three plastic "records." You put any one of them on the spindle and then move the tone arm to "play" the record. And when you do it plays the tune on the record! Too cool.

Notice that the trees are starting to turn bit by bit, although we saw a pretty little maple tree about half turned yellow this afternoon and some others in a nursery that were starting to glow red. Temps still are 60 or above at night, which means we can't shut off the air conditioner yet; it will be too warm to sleep upstairs. Sigh.

Summer Loosens Her Grip

...but will she do it before I lose mine?

She's not letting go easily. It's still going to be in the 80s for a few more days, but it has definitely become cooler. It was cloudy most of the morning and we drove around with the truck windows open and were not hot. In fact, when we were out early this morning and later tonight, the breeze coming in the window actually chilled me a little. (With the hot flashes these days, being cold is a good thing.) One could almost, almost feel that little bit of chill, the sharp scent in the air that tells you it's gingerbread and hot chocolate weather. It's hard to believe it's Columbus Day weekend again and this blog is two years old.

We went to Hobby Lobby and wound reveling in their autumn decor area: lengths and lengths of autumn leaf garlands in brilliant saffrons, pumpkins, scarlet, gold, and russet, and autumn and Halloween and Thanksgiving bric-a-brac. We emerged at the Christmas trees; as I mentioned last year, we are going to need a new tree—poor "Serendipity" is developing loose branches and is shedding needles like a real tree. I've looked at artificial Christmas trees in several places and the prices are appalling. You almost cannot find a non pre-lighted tree any longer, many of them have long needles, which neither of us like, and there doesn't seem to be any such thing as a "middle-sized" tree any longer. There are 4 1/2 foot trees and then there are seven foot trees, and nothing in between. I had been wanting a six foot tree and haven't seen one yet this year and saw very few last year.

We also checked out the new Hallmark ornaments. There were very few either of us wanted last year, except for getting the new airplane (full size and mini). This year...oh, dear. There is a Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer mini, and a Lady and the Tramp ornament, and the "Puppy Love" ornament is a West Highland White terrier...

James was excited because there is an Enterprise A this year; we've missed most of the classic Star Trek starships because we went to look at them too late (we did get NX from Enterprise). Well, they have the display copy, but we couldn't find any more on the rack. The clerk said they had a bunch of ornaments they had not yet unpacked and took James' name. Cross fingers.

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

The year 5766, by reckoning of the Jewish calendar.

I feel the urge to go watch some Brooklyn Bridge episodes...

Michaelmas

From Alice’s Medieval Feasts & Fasts:

September 29, the feast of St. Michael and All Angels or Michaelmas fell about the time of the autumnal equinox. The equinox marked the period when the nights would be getting longer and the earth would begin to die. St. Michael came to be seen as the protector against the forces of the dark and so became very popular in the Middle Ages. Many monasteries and churches were dedicated to him, usually on high places near the sea.

His feast was celebrated with a traditional well-fattened goose which had fed well on the stubble of the fields after the harvest. In many places, a there was also a tradition of special large loaves of bread made only for that day.

By Michaelmas the harvest had to be completed and the new cycle of farming would begin. It was a time for beginning new leases, rendering accounts and paying the annual dues. It was also one of the British and Irish quarter days.

What are Quarter Days?

There is also a “Michaelmas Embertide” in the Catholic discipline:

Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 14 September, are known as "Michaelmas Embertide," one of 4 yearly time periods known as "Ember Days," from the Latin Quatuor Tempora, meaning "four times." They are days of fasting and partial abstinence (voluntary since the new Code of Canon Law) intended to thank God for the gifts He gives us in nature, to teach us to use them in moderation, and to help the poor. Zacharias 8:19: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Juda, joy, and gladness, and great solemnities: only love ye truth and peace."

Note that these September Ember Days must follow a full week after 14 September.

More about Ember Days.

Also:

Michaelmas Daisies

Traditional Michaelmas Goose Recipe

"An Autumn Carol"

Oh, it's autumn, golden autumn, and the summer days are done,
The flowers in the garden ways have left us one by one;
The leaves upon the wayside trees have turned to crimson fire,
And sumac to the smoky skies uplifts its glowing spire.

Oh, it's autumn, ruddy autumn, at the turning of the year–
And winter with his snowy cloak is slowly drawing near;
The birds have hushed their singing and the butterflies are gone;
But the earth is full of beauty as the days march on!

Yes, it's autumn, golden autumn—and the air is crisp and cool.
Theres' silver frost in sheltered nooks and ice upon the pool,
And the wind that snatches red leaves and whirls them from the tree
Paints jolly crimson roses in the cheeks of you and me!

Ah, it's autumn, autumn, autumn, but although the year is old,
Still gaily in the corn-stalks sere the pumpkin flaunts his gold!
While yellow grains and mellow fruits still crown the harvest time,
For it's autumn, golden autumn, and the year is in its prime!
                                                                                . . . . . Edith D. Osborne

No Place Like Fall

I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of fall—it is still in the low 90s here. Unfortunately all that hurricane activity out in the Atlantic is keeping the high pressure systems trapped here, or something. We have usually been lucky enough to turn the A/C off by this time or perhaps a few days later, but not this year or last year. I think we had to wait till Columbus Day last year.

Even worse, you could tell fall was on its way about a week ago: although the days were high 80s, the nights and mornings would be cool and comfortable rather than steam room warm and sticky. It was sultry out again this morning and, as always when it's like that, it smells bad. I'm guessing it's because the creek is just across the street; it smells like a swamp.

Nevertheless, can't wait to pull the fall decorations out tomorrow. We were too late at Hobby Lobby last Saturday to look around at their fall stuff, but I hope to this week. A few years ago they had a lovely little fall village, similar to the Christmas villages that sprout up during the holidays, with barns, farms, country produce stands, horse-drawn wagons, kids playing in leaves, etc. It was very pretty. If they still carry them, I'd like to buy one.

Times Change

The "house without a Christmas tree" is for sale. Looks a lot different than it did in the special, eh? Thirty-two years have passed since that first broadcast...

Wishing...

The edge of Hurricane Katrina is pouring sheets of rain over us. We needed a goodie and opened the little box of Anna ginger crackers we bought at Ikea.

They smell like Christmas.

I wish summer was over. It's brought nothing but misery, even worse than usual.

At least we are safe and dry, unlike the folks in New Orleans. Surely there's a little bit of Christmas in that.

Fall Around the Corner

Stopped at the Russell Stover outlet store today and they have their fall candies out, the Halloween things, of course, but also boxes of candies wrapped in an autumn leaf motif.

Nice to see fall things everywhere. I bought some fall things: a new leaf garland, a candle ring (which you can't find at Michael's or JoAnn anymore), a tiny candle ring that was so pretty, and some Chinese lanterns (I love Chinese lanterns) and cattails (which were actually on sale as summer things). The latter two came home with us, but the fall things went with the movers. Can hardly wait until they come.

82 Days Until Fall

Michael's has their fall flowers out! Wandered the aisles with blissful abandon. They have some beautiful new bouquets this year with pumpkins and apples scattered among the leaves.

On This Day...

...in 1870, Charles Dickens died. British legend says that when the news of his death was released, he was so identified with Christmas that a small girl asked, "Will Father Christmas die then, too?"

"Spring Has Come...

the grass is riz--
I wonder where
Da boidies is."

Well, they're certainly all over our yard.

The old Harbour's been neglected of late; just too much happening too fast and too damn much to do. The Bradford pear trees look like egg-shaped snowballs once again and flowering plum, cherry, and forsythia add pink, purple, and yellow to the mix. Quite Easter-y.

I had the depressing task of taking down all the winter things yesterday and putting up the spring ones. I have to admit the new wreath for the front door does look nice. The base wreath has had grapevine leaves and grapes on it for the past few years, but it was shedding prodigiously. I bought two "floral stems" composed of several shoots of what look like bluebells in blue and purple and clipped them apart, then attached them to the now-clear base wreath with floral wire. It took awhile to get each individual stem to fall properly, but it was worth it.

Next to go up will be the Easter tree and the seasonal turnover will be complete.

Belated Christmas

I've reached the point in my project of dubbing off VHS tapes to DVD that I'm working on some Christmas things. Today I transferred two things that I did not have a chance to watch this year.

The main feature was The Gathering, a 1977 film starring Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton. Asner plays a stubborn businessman who has been estranged from his wife and family since his youngest son decided to escape to Canada instead of participate in the Vietnam War. Then he discovers that he has only a few months to live and realizes how much he has lost due to his attitude. With the help of his wife (Stapleton), he asks his children to gather at the family home for Christmas (without telling them about his condition). This is an award-winning movie that has been absent from television for too long--and which should be on DVD. Bootleg copies sell on e-Bay for about fifty dollars!

(Interestingly enough, the producers of this film were Hanna-Barbera--which is why you see a stuffed Yogi Bear briefly. A film further away from Jellystone Park you can hardly imagine.)

To fill in the rest of the DVD I placed the well-loved Christmas episode of the 1968 series, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, starring Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare. This was one of two episodes that appealed to the 'shippers of Carolyn and Captain Gregg's romance, the other being "The Medicine Ball." I discovered looking through my tape index that, of all the half-hour television episodes having to do with Christmas, the only one I've saved on tape is this one! (Well, there are the Lassie Christmas episodes with Timmy, but I already have those on professional DVD.)

In the meantime, I am reading another of Robert Brenner's Schiffer Christmas collectors' books. This is Christmas: 1940-1959 and covers the ornaments, lights, and other home decorations used in those years. As I've said before, I like the Schiffer books because they are not just endless pages of photos of things with prices on them. Brenner talks about the different decorations and how they were used and adapted around wartime shortages during not only World War II but also during the Korean War.

The text portions also include photos of real homes decorated for the holidays and people gathered around the tree. The later 1950s photos reminded me vividly of my childhood home--especially the awful wallpaper! (I didn't see the paisley pattern we used to have in our living room, though.) I found out that the yellowed plastic Santa and reindeer with the one broken runner that my mom still puts on the tree probably dates back to the 1940s and that our manger figures were probably from Japan (our Mary and Joseph are pictured in the book, although our Jesus was in a real wooden manger with straw in it rather than on a ceramic base that looked like hay that is shown). We used to buy the figures by the each at Woolworth's or Grant's in bins for each figure. You started with your basic figures--the Holy Family, the Three Kings, a shepherd or two--and then added extras: more sheep, a sheep dog, the camel driver, a flutist, a farmer carrying eggs. We even still had rubber figures--two of the three camels and a sheep--that you stuffed with newspaper and Kleenex to give them more of a solid look.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

She's 88 years old today.

Just think: when she was born some people still had gas or kerosene lighting in their homes. Some vehicles were mechanized, but there were still horses on the street pulling milk wagons, ice wagons, the rag man's cart, etc. Rich folks still had carriages and funeral hearses were pulled by dark horses with black plumes on their heads. (There were a lot of funerals: Children died in infancy. People died of pneumonia, tuberculosis, typhoid, rheumatic fever, scarlet fever--even measles and chicken pox.) People had iceboxes rather than refrigerators. Most folks had wood or coal ranges and their homes were heated with wood or coal. Back then you put a sign in the window to show the iceman how much ice to deliver or how much coal you needed.

The only "modern" entertainment was the movies, and they were silent; you saw Charlie Chaplin and Ben Turpin and Mabel Normand and the Keystone Kops. Some folks went to the vaudeville theatres the way we go to movies. Kids then had chores to do, but when the chores were done they played outside, happy noisy games like baseball and stickball, hopscotch, tag, potsy, kick the can, "johnny on a pony." They made go carts out of scraps, played dolls using bushes for homes and rocks for furniture.

The boys wore knickers or short pants and often shoes with reinforced toes. Girls wore skirts and high button shoes. Everyone wore long stockings held up with garters. (There were even garters made for babies to hold up their stockings.) For treats they had popcorn and toffees and caramels and the very first Hershey bars. Some kids were lucky enough to own books, but the rest of them patronized the libraries and read romantic tales like The Prisoner of Zenda and If I Were King and magazines like St. Nicholas and the Youth's Companion.

In school you wore your best clothes (boys had to wear ties to school then) and sat up straight and dipped your pen in the inkwell when you needed to write. When the teacher called on you, you stood up to "recite." Memorization of "pieces" (poems or orations) and mental arithmetic were popular. You walked home for a hot lunch with your mother, who had probably just finished ironing (her irons heated on the stovetop) or scrubbing the wooden floor with Fels Naphtha soap and a big scrub brush.

A big treat was going to the drugstore for penny candy or a dime ice cream soda. If you were lucky, one Sunday papa and mama would take you to the ice cream parlour for a big cone of ice cream. If a summer Sunday was particularly hot, you might pay your nickel and ride the trolley to the nearest beach, or lake, or park, and cool off under a tree or in the water--no air conditioning to relieve the heat them! In the winter, clad in long underwear under your clothes, you built snow forts and had snowball fights and coasted down the hill on a sled or even a garbage can lid or part of a box.

While Mom was still in her cradle America joined the ongoing fray in Europe and young men marched off to "make the world safe for democracy." As always in wars, many of them didn't come home.

She grew up during a century of change: she went to school, survived the Depression and yet another world war, married, had a child, ran a home and went to work, lost a husband. In the end she is still at war herself, against cancer, and in that she's the bravest person I know. I could only hope and pray to be so courageous.

Love you, Mom.

Not to Curse the Darkness

Traditionally the day when all the candles to be used during the year (specifically the candles in church) would be blessed. While that sounds like an odd custom, quite understandable in an era when candles or lanterns were the chief source of illumination. I'm sure part of the blessing would be that the candle would burn brightly against the darkness without setting fire to something. It always seems appallingly dangerous to me that people left fires burning in the fireplace at night and often left lighted candles or lanterns in the window while they were asleep to lead stranded travelers homeward. I'm surprised more people didn't lose their homes in those days!

Here are some links explaining the holiday in both Christian and pagan orientations:

Candlemas

Celebrating Candlemas

Imbolc

Part of the Candlemas tradition is that pesky groundhog:

Official Groundhog Day Site

General Lee: the Southern Groundhog

It's a sure bet "Beau" isn't seeing his shadow today. Wish we could swap forecasts with Phil!

Super Historical Site Has Returned!

I couldn't get to The Antique Christmas Lights Site all during the Christmas season, which I found strange, as updates were published in November and December. However, creator and webmaster George Nelson says he did a major upgrade in November; perhaps that was the problem.

This is a fabulous site about the origins of Christmas tree lights and their history from 1900 through 1950. Mr. Nelson collects antique sets (not for sale!) and the site includes photos of the original wooden boxed sets with fabric cord and ceramic bases through the cardboard box era, from the original "light bulb" type lamps to the "big lights," the C-7 nightlight-sized bulbs of my childhood.

He even has photos of the C-6 "cone" bulbs which were also used in Christmas tree light strings (called "festoons" back then), but which I remember using for our window "candoliers." We had two eight-candle candoliers that took the ribbed bulbs shown. According to Nelson, there were also plain bulbs in this size, which I never saw; I remember instead versions which had a twisted ribbing on them, presumably to make the bulb look more like a flame.

Oh, those beautiful old candoliers! They were made of heavy plastic that you didn't worry about falling off the windowsill, and the "candles" themselves, complete with fake "drips" near the top, were slimmer, graceful versions of the modern chunky candoliers (when you can find them), looking more like the taper candles they were mimicking. The C-6 bulbs looked more like flames as well, and many of the older people kept the look by using only the yellow (they were sometimes closer to orange) bulbs in their windows. We used all four colors (yellow, red, blue and green) in pairs, but the yellows were the most popular back then. Red was also used a lot to imitate candles.

I think Mom still has them in her attic, although we had to stop using them long ago (the fat five-unit candoliers we bought as replacements were never the same). Probably they still work fine, but they quit selling the replacement bulbs long ago and we eventually didn't have 16 lamps that still worked.

Upcoming: www.oldchristmaslights.org, to debut sometime in 2005, about Christmas lights from 1950 onward, with sections about bubble lights and aluminum Christmas trees.

How Appropriate...

I did put the tree and all the decorations back in hibernation by bedtime last night. Pidge looked a bit askance at my taking away the paper angels that fly from the crossbeam in the den during the holidays. Evidently he had gotten used to their being there.

I expect to find one decoration that we have forgotten to put up. There's always one...

So the library is back to its autumn color scheme again.

BTW, I discovered yesterday's tree ceremony was quite appropriate, as January 13 is St. Knut's Day.

From almanac.com:

Is your Christmas tree still standing? This year, start a new tradition in your family by taking it out in style, just as people in Sweden do on January 13.

In Sweden, January 13, St. Knut's Day, is the traditional day to discard the Christmas tree and end the season's festivities. A children's party is the favored way to strip the tree of its decorations, after which the children are free to "plunder" the edible treats and small gifts placed on the tree especially for the occasion. Finally, everyone "dances" the tree out the door. Singing special songs, they pick up the tree and toss it out into the snow. Swedish children look forward to this dancing-out party almost as much as Christmas itself -- and what better way to combat the post-Christmas blues?

Learn about St. Knut's Day and other January celebrations (did you know it's National Oatmeal Month?) at Web Holidays.com or take a peek at The Farmer's Almanac website.

Nothing Like Good, Old-Fashioned After-Christmas Depression...

I'm a slug; I haven't yet finished getting the tree down. Everything else is ready to go into its storage box except a couple of garlands wayyyyyy up that I'd rather have James reach for me. We've had bad weather approaching for a couple of days now and my knees are aching horribly; just doing the stairs is bad enough.

I have an excuse: a writing project I finished last night (all but the printout, that is).

I do have the "winter table" set up downstairs and it looks quite pretty. There is a bouquet of white and silver flowers (and a touch of blue) in a small white vase flanked by two small stuffed snowmen. In the front of the table is a wintry branch with snow-spotted pine and cones and wispy weeds and a little arrangement of woodland creatures--a fox, two squirrels and two rabbits--with two snowy trees. These are set on a dark blue towel with silvery snowflakes on it and a snowman in the middle, and I have scattered "snow confetti" that I found at Michael's all over the table. These are flakes about 3/4 inch long in white, silver, and opalescent, transclucent blue/green which looks pink at certain angles.

Plough Monday

Traditionally the first Monday after Epiphany, when the men headed back to work--in those agricultural days, their plowing.

(Who plows in the winter? Well, from what I understand, snow has always been called "poor man's fertilizer." After a light snowfall, the average farmer back then might hitch up his oxen or horses and plow the snow into the soil, adding nitrogen. This was also a practice of dryland farming, to capture moisture in the soil.)

St. Distaff's Day

Traditionally this is when the women got back to their spinning (hence the "distaff") and weaving after Christmastide. Wish I'd had the leave to take all Christmastide off--oh, well, got to go on vacation and see my mom instead!

I have the decorations in my cubicle traded out for winter ones: a green garland with silver threads to look icy, a bouquet of winter greens with a little holly to give it color, a vase of snow-flocked holly, and nice snowy winter pictures all around, including the January entries from old Linda Nelson Stocks calendars and two other calendar photos I have kept: a tree-lined approach to a red barn, all covered in snow, and a snowy stone mill, with the water on the millwheel frozen.

I have a small calendar picture of Boston I keep up all year round (especially during the summer) to remind me there are more civilized seasons. It's a shot of Beacon Hill, with the brownstones, cars, street, vegitation, and the cast iron fence covered in snow.

Wish it could cool off the hot flashes... :-)

French Hens or Virtues?

The Twelve Days of Christmas are probably the most misunderstood part of the church year among Christians who are not part of liturgical church traditions. Contrary to much popular belief, these are not the twelve days before Christmas, but in the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th).

The Twelve Days of Christmas (includes the supposed Christian meanings behind the different gifts).

In traditional Christian churches Christmas, as well as Easter, is celebrated as a period of time, a season of the church year, rather than just a day. The Season of Christmas begins with the First Sunday of Advent, marked by expectation and anticipation, and concludes with Epiphany, which looks ahead to the mission of the church to the world in light of the Nativity. The one or two Sundays between Christmas Day and Epiphany are sometimes called Christmastide.

Epiphany

"The Journey of the Magi"

by T.S. Eliot

"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter."
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.


All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

Twelfth Night

"On the twelfth day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...twelve drummers drumming
"eleven pipers piping
"ten lords a'leaping
"nine ladies dancing
"eight maids a'milking
"seven swans a'swimming
"six geese a'laying
"five gold rings
"four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

Or maybe not.

There are two schools of thought about how to count the days between Christmas and Epiphany. One school says that Christmas is the First Day of Christmas, which makes January 5 Twelfth Night, with Epiphany as a separate day.

The other school says that Christmastide is for merrymaking and that Christmas is a holy day and should not be included. So Boxing Day/St. Stephen's Day would be the First Day of Christmas, leaving January 6 as Twelfth Night. (This is talked about below in the link from Woodland School.)

Either way it means Christmastide is just about over. Time for the tree and the ornaments and the garland and the tinsel to start wending its way into storage for another year. (Yes, time for good old-fashioned post-Christmas depression.)

In England today one of the features of the celebration is a Christmas cake, a fruity, spicy concoction with white icing. Earlier tradition has the cake for Twelfth Night, which was an evening of merrymaking. An uncooked bean would be included in the cake and the person whose slice it was in became the leader of the festivities for the evening, deciding which games would be played. (Sometimes a raw pea was included, and the man with the bean became the king and the woman with the pea became the queen.) In some places little charms were baked into the cake for fortune-telling purposes. A ring meant you were to be married, a thimble meant a woman would remain a spinster, etc.

Traditional British Twelfth Night cake

Colonial Williamsburg Twelfth cake recipe

School of the Seasons' Twelfth Night page

Woodland Junior School's Twelfth Night page

This last is a great site, produced by a British school, about British customs. Here's the main link.

Eve's Day

"On the eleventh day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...eleven pipers piping
"ten lords a'leaping
"nine ladies dancing
"eight maids a'milking
"seven swans a'swimming
"six geese a'laying
"five gold rings
"four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

If you're wondering what Adam and Eve have to do with Christmas, it's not all that odd: it is said that the Christmas tree derives from the "paradise tree" used in medieval religious plays. Most of the population could not read, so Biblical stories were presented to them in the form of plays. The paradise tree was hung with apples or other fruit in illustrating the story of Adam and Eve--it's just a few steps from there to the decorations on the Christmas tree.

I can't remember where I was reading it, but it was in a discussion of best/worst liked Christmas songs; someone took umbrage to the line in "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "...and presents on the tree" with a sarcastic "What's that all about?"

Well, hon, way, way back people didn't give big gifts for Christmas (unless they were rich and had money to toss away on pony carts and diamond lavallieres). You received one or two gifts at most and gifts were usually for children. Stockings or a classic-sized Christmas tree (tabletop size) held the gifts--that's originally what the tree was for. (If the tree was at a church or school--many people in the 1800s didn't have personal trees but saw them at social gatherings--it might be tall to fit all the needs of the congregation.) Anyway, presents were hung on the tree, and so were cookies and fruits and boxes of candy. The fun of Christmas was getting to "plunder" the tree.

So, yes, "presents on the tree" is correct; the song was written during World War II, by someone who probably was old enough to remember the original custom.

Speaking of old customs, for history buffs Christmas in the Old West is fabulous. Republished are diaries, newspaper articles, magazine stories, and illustrations of holidays past. (By the way, the folks who think the use of the word "holiday" is a recent politically correct term to avoid saying "Christmas" ought to take a peek at this book. "Holiday" was used quite frequently in these 1800s/very early 1900s store ads, possibly because some of the older people and the Scots were still in the habit of giving gifts at the New Year, not at Christmas. "Holiday" covered both customs nicely.)

Adam's Day

"On the tenth day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...ten lords a'leaping
"nine ladies dancing
"eight maids a'milking
"seven swans a'swimming
"six geese a'laying
"five gold rings
"four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

Well, in our case it was Fred's day. :-) It was our annual New Year's [a bit late] viewing of Galaxy Quest. We first went to see it on New Year's Day 2000 and it's become a bit of a tradition.

I had a nice surprise today, my copy of Christmas in the Old West came today. I saw it at full price and blanched, then found a remainder copy for less than half price even with postage. It's not a history, but, as the author calls it, a scrapbook of holiday memories of the pioneers, starting with the trappers and continuing through the era. The last half of the book is sprinkled with ads and articles from period magazines, including my beloved St. Nicholas, which was part of the draw.

The biggest surprise was that I ordered it on Wednesday afternoon and got it today; what service!

Dancing Day

"On the ninth day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...nine ladies dancing
"eight maids a'milking
"seven swans a'swimming
"six geese a'laying
"five gold rings
"four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

We finished the last of the pumpkin bread we bought on vacation today with more than a sentimental sigh. We still have the sugarless candy and the chocolates from Sweenor's and the "analog" photos we took are at Sam's being developed, but the pumpkin bread somehow had come to symbolize those wonderful two weeks of freedom.

Nice to see a good smattering of folks who still have their lights and trees up. The tree on Northside Hospital and on Stone Mountain and in front of Lockheed presumably have their last hurrahs tonight before the workweek comes to sweep them away unless there are Christmastide devotees around.

St. Basil's Day

"On the eighth day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...eight maids a'milking
"seven swans a'swimming
"six geese a'laying
"five gold rings
"four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

Time for the Tournament of Roses Parade again...as always absolutely gorgeous. Apparently California is in the midst of a series of rainstorms--it rained two inches there yesterday, and the forecast is for rain the rest of the week--but the sun broke through today to present a perfect blue-and-gold day to march down Colorado Boulevard. Ironically, it was warmer here than in Pasadena: when we left the house at 1:45 p.m., it was 64°F here and only 51°F in Southern California. Bizarre.

I am presently in the midst of reading Brittney Ryan's The Legend of Holly Claus. I've been attracted by the cover since it came on the market, but beautiful covers do not a good book make. The reviews on Amazon were splendid except for one, so I splurged.

This is a wonderful book. If it was printed 100 years ago it would have probably been serialized in the pages of St. Nicholas magazine--it has that air of being one of the old classic late 19th century/early 20th century fairy tales written by people like L. Frank Baum and Frank Stockton. (In fact, it reminds me a little of Baum's Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.) The descriptions are breathtaking and if that wasn't all, there are absolutely exquisite pen-and-ink, meticulously detailed illustrations by Laurel Long. Like those old-time fairy tales, this book does not shy away from the ugly realities of life--no Barney the dinosaur/Strawberry Shortcake sweetness-and-light nonsense--and there are some deaths and scary transformations. Still, it is a beautiful tale for imaginative children.

Happy New Year!

Played Scrabble tonight for the first time in years and did respectably well. That was at our first party. The second was more crowded and noisy, but the company was wonderful. I used my new cell phone to call my mom at two minutes till midnight and counted down with her, and then everyone wished her a happy new year. I hope I cheered her up a bit. She was home alone tonight with a sore eye and a tongue aching from the radiation treatments.

Been watching Boomerang all day and evening--they're doing a Jonny Quest marathon again. They did one on Christmas as well. So we've had a "Jonny Questmas" and a "Hadji New Year"!

St. Sylvester's Day

"On the seventh day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...seven swans a'swimming
"six geese a'laying
"five gold rings
"four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

Been a busy day--got some things to take to the parties tonight, bought some groceries, visited Borders...am now home watching The Poseidon Adventure, which takes place on New Year's Eve/Day. For many years Fox Movie Channel has shown this film on New Year's Eve. One year they had the full-screen version, widescreen version, and a version with popup facts. Last year they showed it with a documetary about Poseidon Adventure fans.

This year there are other films on, in respect, I will assume, for the victims of the tidal wave in Indonesia. The photos and stories coming from that part of the world are heartbreaking. If you're an Amazon.com customer and are looking for a quick way to give the relief effort some help, you can do a one-click payment via Amazon. Or visit www.redcross.org.

Thursday Threesome

::Taking the Lights Down...::

Onesome: Taking-- --some time off? Are you on holiday schedule tomorrow? ...or is it just another day in the mines? How about a party in the evening? No?

When a holiday is on a Saturday, you get the Friday off where I work. But since I had Friday off anyway, I got Thursday off as well...and then we had the power failure on Wednesday which sent us home before noon. So even though I had to work this week (I had no leave left, after taking two weeks of vacation), it was a nice short one! (It's actually not bad working between Christmas and New Year's...no one else is at work! You bring a book and enjoy yourself.

Twosome: the Lights-- Hey, is this the weekend all the decorations come down? When do you "de-Christmas" your place?

After January 6th, which is when the twelve days of Christmas are over. This is the feast of the Epiphany, when it is said the Wise Men reached the location of the Baby Jesus.

Threesome: Down-- --time... Are you getting any relaxation time this weekend? ...or are you all wrapped up in parties and events? ..and for the students: are you done with down time? When do you have to go back?

We have two New Year's Eve parties tonight, but hopefully it will be fairly quiet afterwards. We have to rest--we have a Twelfth Night party next Saturday.

Churching Day

"On the sixth day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...six geese a'laying
"five gold rings
"four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

The titles that I'm giving to the Twelve Days of Christmas, BTW, are from a novel called The Thirteen Days of Christmas, a medieval tale about a wealthy man who gives his intended bride the twelve days of gifts (no, this isn't the sarcastic version in letters) to convince her he's not staid and unimaginative. The children in the Kitson family conspire with the suitor to get their bossy sister Annaple married off because they hate her cooking! It's very funny.

Another visit to the past today: A Louisa May Alcott Christmas, short stories from various 19th century magazines. This volume cheats a bit--two of the stories are Thanksgiving tales, but the merrymaking is Christmasy enough. (There's another volume, A Louisa May Alcott Christmas Treasury, which purports to contain "all Alcott's Christmas stories," but only about half of the stories and poems are duplicated between the two books.) Alcott Christmas was marketed as a children's book, but at least two of the stories are adult domestic dramas with Christmas framing. The cover makes it look too cute for words.

St. Thomas of Canterbury Day

"On the fifth day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...five gold rings
"four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

A freebie today, as the power went out at work. I spent the blackout time reading Paul Davis' The Lives and Times of Ebenezer Scrooge. If you're a fan of A Christmas Carol, you'll enjoy this examination of how readers' interpretations of this simple book have changed in the 140 years since it was written. To the early Victorians it was a plea for charity at the Christmas season, to the late Victorians a celebration of family and children (up to the exclusion of Scrooge). In one era it was treated as a children's story, in another an indictment of economics. A great examination of changing social mores.

Childermas (Holy Innocents Day)

"On the fourth day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...four calling birds
"three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

Anyone interested in the history of Christmas customs in the United States should get a copy of Karel Marling's Merry Christmas! The history of Christmas customs has been chronicled in many other books, but Marling's fresh take is informative and interesting. Do you know why we wrap Christmas gifts, when the first gifts were actually distributed unwrapped and hung on the tree? Did you know those ubiquitious Christmas villages lit from within by electric bulbs weren't the creation of Hallmark or any other Christmas merchant, but derive from old European custom? Do you know how Santa Claus evolved from an aesthetic bishop to a "right jolly old elf" to the "six foot God Emperor of Christmas" (complete in red and white, Coca-Cola's colors)? Marling's book tells you all this, and more, from the evolution of "White Christmas" to the celebration of the holiday in foreign climes. Highly recommended!

Tuesday Twosome

1. Do you make resolutions and why (or why not)?

No, I don't keep them.

2. What two things do you want to change about yourself or your lifestyle in 2005?

Lose weight and get more sleep.

3. What are two important events that occurred in your life in 2004?

It'll have to be four: My budgie Bandit died, I had surgery to remove an ovarian cyst and had a hysterectomy, I adoped Pigwidgeon, and I bought a new car.

4. If you could change two things/events of 2004, what would they be?

Most importantly my mom's cancer not getting worse would have been the best thing to happen.

That dippy woman in the SUV who hit me could have slowed down and missed me, too.

5. Are you going to "Partay" on New Year's Eve or just "chill"?

"Partay" with friends, but most of us don't do that drinking thing, and those that do, don't do it to excess. I don't even know if I could drink, even if I liked to, because of my heart pills.

St. John's Day

"On the third day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...three French hens
"two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

I finally had a chance to put on my "Happy Holiday Hearth" DVD tonight. This is a version of WPIX's beloved "Yule Log" with a fire crackling onscreen. You can watch it with the fire crackling, with Christmas carols, or with both.

There are several versions of video fireplaces, of variable quality. This one is pretty nice; generic singers doing the carols, pretty traditional. There's one fireplace set that actually has non-Christmas music to it so you can use it all year 'round.

I was ambivalent about the existence of video fireplaces, but I kind of liked it last night as I was reading, with the crackling of the fire in the background. It must be a visceral, instinctive thing, being attracted to the snap and crackle of the flames.

(Of course I could go upstairs and listen to the real fire, but it leaves Pidge alone; I spend so little time with him weekdays that I hate to do so.)

Monday Madness

1) Which holiday do you celebrate this time of year? (If necessary, modify the following questions to suit your holiday.)

The Christmas season, through Epiphany. (And Advent, of course.)

2) Do you begin shopping for gifts earlier than Thanksgiving, looking for the perfect gift? If not, when do you begin?

I shop for gifts all year long. I know what the people whom I buy presents for like and when I see an appropriate gift, I buy it.

3) Do you only purchase gifts that you know are perfect for the recipient and if you don't find that gift, do you just get anything?

I still try to get a gift that's appropriate. I had particular trouble with one friend this year, but found something in that person's sphere of interest at the last minute. I would have preferred something a little more personal, but this was quite close.

4) Did you receive or give any "obligatory" gifts this year?

I dunno if it's an obligatory gift--the nice fellow who cuts our lawn gave us an amaryllis plant. I wish he wouldn't; I killed the one he gave us last year. We really don't have anywhere to keep it and I'm allergic to flowers.

5) Do you decorate your tree as evenly as possible or do you skip the areas that are not visible?

I put the older ornaments in the back of the tree. (You can tell; they're faded.)

6) Do you like multi-colors on your tree or do you prefer monochrome?

The tree and front door wreath are multicolor; the rest of the lights are blue. Both James and I love the ethereal look it gives to the house. If we ever get a plug put into the front of the house we can put up more lights...

7) Did you bake "traditional" cookies, frost them and decorate them? or did you cheat and buy the ready to bake kind? (like I tried)

Frosting? Ugh! I did make traditional cookies, Italian wine biscuits. This is what my mom used to bake, along with almond bars and molasses cookies and butterballs. The butterballs had powdered sugar on them; that's as sweet as we got. (Frosting...shudder...)

8) Are you the host of a holiday gathering? which one? family, work, friends?

We have a Twelfth Night party on the closest Saturday to January 6. I've never done the cake, though. (You're supposed to put a bean in it and the person who gets the bean will have good luck throughout the year.)

9) With whom do you spend the holiday?

Sometimes we are invited to friends' homes, but this year we had Christmas on our own. We went to see James' family on Christmas Eve.

10) How did the holiday turn out? Perfectly? funny mishaps? miss anyone?

We had a nice quiet day which was quite relieving for this year! We had vacation at Thanksgiving and the week after and then two weekends where we did nothing but run off our feet doing errands and repairing things. We slept late, had presents, spent a quiet afternoon with the animals, had turkey for dinner and made turkey soup.

Boxing Day/St. Stephen's Day

"On the second day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...two turtledoves
"and a partridge in a pear tree."

We ended up not going down to the Fox at all. We had the usual weekend errands to run since we'd played hooky for the rest of the time. The usual tiresome run for groceries, of course, and the ubiquitous washing of the clothing. But now we have Christmas cards for next year and have stocked up on some soda for our Twelfth Night party.

We discovered that if we want to see the World War II exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, we're going to have to make tracks there next Sunday since the Center is closed New Year's Day. January 2nd is the last day.

Looking a the calendar and watching those last few days of 2004 clock down.

Sigh. Another year gone...

Anticipation is the Best Part...But Can't We Make It Last?

I found this beautiful passage in Kate Seredy's The Open Gate:

Christmas never comes all of a sudden. It shouldn't. It has to be hoped for and waited for with joy. It is like a beautiful, bright, glowing comet that one can see from very far away. It floats closer and closer, growing more beautiful as it comes. The few days before it finally envelops the whole world in a shining, warm light are perhaps the best part of Christmas. They mean secret smiles at bulky, strange objects trying to hide in closets and under beds, or anywhere, where people are not supposed to look, but, because it's Christams, always do. They mean wonderful, spicy odors all through the house. They mean whispered conversations that suddenly stop when one comes into a room unexpectedly, and the bubbling feeling inside one that comes from the knowledge that there is another surprise being talked over and plotted with such secrecy that one can't help but know about it. That is the best part of Christmas; the waiting, the preparing, the hoping for the joy to come."

We wait so long for this time of year--why rush it when it comes? As Kris Kringle said in Miracle on 34th Street," Christmas isn't a day, it's a state of mind. But yet somewhere tonight trees are being undecorated and "Christmas is over."

What happened to letting the Christmas season at least go through New Year's Day? Even the stores tear down their decorations where they used to last until New Year's. There are twelve days of Christmas, and, even though most of us poor working class drones must go back to work on Monday, why not keep the season going as it should and parcel a bit of fun through each of the days? Enjoy the decorations and the movies and the scents and the colors and the plays of the season! It's all yours to celebrate--don't let it slip away so easily!

There's No Christmas Like a Home Christmas

"On the first day of Christmas
"My true love gave to me...
"...a partridge in a pear tree."

Woke still feeling a bit under the weather; at this point I still have a nagging headache. However, the animals are overjoyed: Pidge is running riot with his new bird toys and chirping at the top of his lungs and Willow is clinging to her daddy happily. We had presents late this morning and then breakfast; then James popped a new network card in his new computer--and viola (as Snagglepuss would say), now everything works, so it looks like the network card was the culprit. He's happily downloading new versions of Firefox as we watch holiday window and yard decorations on HGTV.

Up in the kitchen the turkey necks we bought are simmering into turkey soup and our dinner, turkey legs and wings, are brining ala Alton Brown before cooking, the living room stereo is playing carols, and the tree glows over the small cache of gifts, mostly books and DVDs. Since we didn't make it out to the real movies (we were planning on seeing The Aviator), we'll probably watch one of the DVDs in a bit: Robin Hood: Men in Tights (which we had to order from England).

I Spoke Too Soon

The trip to church has been abandoned. I seem to have had a bad reaction to something I ate and am sticking close to the bathroom. But there's Christmas music here and a warm fleece wrap and Pidgie singing a bird carol.

35 minutes till Christmas...

Ho, Ho, Ho, the Festivities are Just Beginning

We drove down to Warner Robins today to visit James' mom, sisters, and niece. Before arriving we stopped to exchange gifts and vist with our friends Clay and Marianne and their two mini dachshunds, Rupert ("Ripper") and Jenny. At James' mom's home we had a buffet lunch and chatted and exchanged gifts under the tree and showed them our vacation pictures. James' mom has an enormous Christmas village that covers one corner of her living room. I haven't counted the houses, but there are several dozen of them, and sleighs and skaters and horses and all sorts of village goodies. On the sideboard and in the dining area are little Santa and other Christmasy statues. It's a veritable Christmas wonderland.

We left about seven and rode, as we had on the way up, to the Christmas songs on the radio. At the beginning of the season I programmed the three Atlanta FM stations doing Christmas music into the buttons on the radio. I'm mainly listening to Lite 94.9, but when they start yakking I just press the buttons for another station. WABE (Public Radio) was doing some carols as well.

We got home in time to have a bowl of warm soup and play (or in Willow's case, cuddle) with the animals a while. Disappointed: HGTV is not doing Christmas Across America this year! They've done it for all the time I've been watching HGTV, I think, and this year nothing. Darn. It was fun to watch all those different town and home decorations.

And of course we checked in on Santa's progress on the NORAD site! He's over Newfoundland and Labrador at the moment, with a two-fighter escort courtesy of the Canadians. We're waiting for you, Santa!

But right now we're off to Midnight Mass at the Church of Our Saviour in Virginia Highlands. Our friends the Taylors go to this church and we love their Midnight Mass. The highlight is when they turn down the lights and the choir sings "Silent Night" with candles. I always end up crying.

One hour and 35 minutes until Christmas!

Gerald Toner's Christmas World...

...packaged with love in A Cozy Nook.

Airborne Christmas

Sat down to watch Christmas specials last night: Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol first of all; this is the first Christmas special I ever remember watching, except for Amahl and the Night Visitors. The score is so memorable it was in my head years later when Magoo wasn't broadcast for so long. I wanted to see Broadway someday just because of that opening song!

We also watched the Hill Street Blues Christmas ep, "Santa Claustrophobia." There are a lot of memorable scenes in this one, including Furillo talking to a resentful boy and Renko's "Oh, Lordy God, it's Christmas Eve and I'm going to be shot dead in a moose suit" (he's just finished a hospital benefit where he's been dressed as a reindeer), but our favorite scene is where raucous drunk "Buck Naked" exposes himself to Fay Furillo so he'll get arrested and sent to the Michigan Avenue Complex for a turkey dinner. Fay wails (Fay was always wailing) "Can't someone arrest this man?" and Lucy Bates, after gazing at the fellow's "attributes," says drily, "Insufficient evidence, Mrs. Furillo."

By far, however, James' treat of the night was Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771, a television movie from 1993. Scott Bakula plays Jay Parkins, a rather feckless pilot whose wife wants him to settle down now that they are expecting a baby, but he doesn't want to be trapped in a 9 to 5 type job. To make some money, he and a friend take a job shuttling two crop dusting planes from San Francisco to New Zealand. At Pago Pago, his buddy's plane is disabled, but Jay, needing the cash, flies on, not knowing his instrumentation is damaged. Soon he realizes he's way off course and lost.

Enter an Air New Zealand flight enroute to Auckland. Pilot Gordon Vette is determined not to let the young man die and convinces his crew, passengers, and air traffic control to allow him to help find the plane. By a series of rather unorthodox tricks in a computerized age, Vette locates Jay's plane and is able to guide him through one last obstacle, a violent thunderstorm.

This is a suspenseful movie, despite the fact our leads are stuck in aircraft seats for 3/4 of the movie. Bakula is great in the lead, but it's Robert Loggia's irascible Vette who really shines.

If you're able to see the movie, look for two men cheering and hugging each other in the tower when the plain lands; one is very tall with light hair and the other is shorter. These are the real Jay Parkins (real name Jay Prochnow) and Gordon Vette.

Vette, I didn't realize until "googling" him, is quite a "name" in commercial aviation. He wrote a classic book, Impact Erebus, on the Mount Erebus air disaster in which a New Zealand flight crashed into a mountain in Antarctica.

Here's a great review of the movie at Air Odyssey, which includes the differences in the film and the real life story. (Also an image link to something that looks like a DVD cover, except the movie's not on DVD; a great pity.)

I also found Mayday in December, an account of the incident and how celestial navigation was used to locate Prochnow's plane.

Curled Up by the TV With A Christmas Book

Finished Ann Hodgman's I Saw Mommy Kicking Santa Claus. This is pretty much a funnier version of The Christmas Survival Book. Hodgman talks about the unrealistic Christmas expectations we make for ourselves. The most amusing part of the book are the anecdotes that pepper its pages from individuals remembering their worst holiday memories (from the cat knocking over the tree to rude relatives and botched gifts).

Also read Ben Logan's Christmas Remembered. Logan, the youngest of four boys, grew up on a Wisconsin farm in the 1920s/1930s. His earlier nostalgic book, The Land Remembers, is a fond account of the hardships and happiness of farm life back before labor-saving devices and electricity. His Christmas book is as lyrical and absorbing: accounts of two farm Christmases, plus his later Christmases serving in World War II and postwar living in Mexico. His account of family life during a blizzard will make you long to be snowed in.

Christmas Fun...and Aggravation

I slept late, so I was in a good mood when I set out this morning: was headed for a couple of places at Town Center--mainly Barnes & Noble to get the latest copy of my favorite cross-stitch magazine, Quick & Easy--and expected it to be crowded. But it was a Friday and I expected many people to be at work. They weren't. I finally blew off going to JoAnn Etc and dropping in at Media Play, made a U-turn on Barrett Parkway, and drove back down to the Cumberland Mall area where everything was much saner.

Most of the crowd up on Barrett was going to the mall; it was jaw-dropping. It continually astonishs me every year how many people leave Christmas shopping till the last minute--and how much importance they put on the excursion. I know we are bombarded from October onward with this buy-buy-buy mentality, but it's extraordinary. And I know why these people hate Christmas. To me Christmas is a nice, friendly holiday. You listen to special music, put up colorful decorations, visit friends and family, make goodies you don't ordinarily make during the rest of the year, and buy a small, appropriate gift for certain people that you like. But so many people make it a contest: give the most gifts (and max your credit card out on them), put up the prettiest decorations, cook the finest meal, make the most cookies...for cryin' out loud, you're supposed to be having fun here! It's like sports: they're supposed to be for fun, and people make it into this life-and-death thing and harass their children who don't win.

I'm sorry so many children are getting initiated into this "you get expensive things or nothing" lifestyle. Looking back, I remember getting many nice gifts at Christmas: a television one year, a tape recorder another, the crowning glory--my typewriter--yet another. But not one of my special Christmas memories has anything to do with a gift! It's scents and colorful lights and family gatherings and Italian baked goods and sometimes snow and going to church on Christmas Eve and the surprise on Mom and Dad's face when I gave them a present.

In that vein, I bought a new book at Border's, I Saw Mommy Kicking Santa Claus, which is supposed to be a humorous book about how to cope with all this crass materialism and competition at Christmas.

And it didn't matter that I skipped JoAnn at the end: I got some bits and pieces at Michael's and one at the Dollar Tree to do what I wanted: gather some things for a winter exhibit after Christmas. I have a little blue gateleg table in the den that right now holds our ceppo with the little Christmas tree full of Hallmark miniatures, plus a candy dish and some other Christmas decorations on some cotton batting. In the fall I had a fall bouquet and some autumn leaves and a little stuffed scarecrow on it, and before that it was a bouquet of lilacs and some little games (I don't decorate much for summer; it's a season I'd rather forget) and in the spring I had the Easter tree on it. I wanted a winter exhibit: I have a silver and blue bouquet and a stuffed snowman, and today bought some silver and blue branches and some pine needles and cones, a couple of statues of animals in the snow and little pine trees, and another stuffed snowman. It will look nice during January and February and the first part of March.

Parakeets, Purses, and Pumpkin Pie...All In One Place

For some reason the lights on the Christmas wreath had quit working when I put it up (they were fine when I put the wreath in the closet last year), so we had to buy another set.

Christmas lights are everywhere these days: you can get them in drugstores and supermarkets and craft stores, and from Sears to Kmart (almost hard to believe that over 100 years ago you needed a "wireman"--electrician--to set up Christmas lights on your tree; the darn things were $20 for a set of 16, or something like that). And I knew that.

But the first thing I said was "I miss Woolworths."

I did an online search on "Woolworths" last night and found it very depressing when all the British, Australian, German, and New Zealand stores showed up–to know that here in the US, where Mr. Woolworth pioneered a new type of store, it's no more.

Okay, who out there remembers Woolworths? Not the Woolco department stores, nor the last-gasp Woolworths of the 1980s, but "the five and ten," Woolworths, the one you walked into and smelled the good hot coffee and simmering soup from the lunch counter on one side of the store plus the fresh popcorn offered in the candy department. Where you could literally order soup–at the lunch counter–to nuts–canned Planters, in the candy department. Where you didn't have to buy candy in measured containers, but could order it freshly scooped by the candy lady in as little or as much as you wanted. Where the parakeets chirping from the pet department accompanied the whirr of the demonstrating fans in the summer and the low hum of the heater in winter. Where you could get anything from hardware to inexpensive toys to sewing thread to dry goods, and the aisles were packed with all sorts of goodies, from toy cars to candy bars to ladies' makeup and shoe polish.

Oh, there were Valentines aplenty in February and too many marshmallow chicks and chocolate rabbits to count at Easter and flags flying and picnic sets for Independence Day, but it was at Christmas that Woolworths came into its own. After all, Frank Woolworth sold the first glass Christmas tree ornaments imported into the United States from Germany in his stores. At Christmas Woolworths became an explosion of color. The store was draped in garlands–tinsel garlands and accordion foil garlands and holly garlands and pine garlands--and lights, and Christmas decorations popped up everywhere from the front windows to the lunch counter. The waitresses wore Christmas corsages and the checkout clerks donned red-and-white Santa hats. Woolworths had their own line of Christmas decorations and lights and artificial trees. To the scent of popcorn was added the delightful odor of peppermint. The aisles bloomed with net Christmas stockings, holiday-wrapped Whitman samplers, and Elizabeth Arden gift sets, plus cards, bows, ribbons, wrapping paper, tissue paper, stickers (anyone remember Christmas stickers, the things that held your wrappings together before adhesive tape was popular?), and tags. There was always a train, however small, set up someplace, with some type of Christmas boxcar (this year's newest design), or a flatcar full of Christmas trees. They were usually too small to have a Santa Claus like the department stores, although some Woolworth Santas did exist, but there was a Toyland, filled with all the latest dolls and trucks and other coveted playthings.

In certain parts of the country, in the basement with the Christmas decorations, you could find bins filled with different figures for the family creche scene. One started out simply, with the Holy Family. Then the Three Kings could be added, and some shepherds and of course an angel. In subsequent years you could add the ox, and the donkey, the camels and the camel boy, other people offering gifts, sheep, a goat or two, a sheepdog. A crudely-made stable could also be purchased, as well as miniature straw bales, so that an entire Bethlehem scene could sit under the tree or on top of the big box-shaped television for the kids to move about and re-inact the Christmas story. The traditionalists didn't put the Baby Jesus figure into the manger until Christmas Eve and started the Kings and their camels in the kitchen, slowly following the star until finally arriving at the manger on Twelfth Night or the day of Epiphany.

Among this forest of Christmas fantasy were all the ethnic goodies that made the holidays so memorable. The Woolworths in our neighborhood sold torrone and panettone along with German stollen, and we knew in the Spanish and Portuguese neighborhoods those folks were able to buy their own favorites at their Woolworths. It was one of the few non-specialty stores where you could find Hanukkah fixings: small menorahs, blue candles, plastic dreidels, and net bags full of chocolate Hanukkah gelt. Jewish kids would tease us that they got eight days of gifts and we only got one.

Plus there were those hard candy fruit slices in orange, lemon, and tangerine flavor that only were sold at Christmas, and the little candies whose wrappers looked like strawberries and which were strawberry-flavored inside, and red and white popcorn balls and of course candy canes of every stripe, and spheres and disks of chocolate covered with Christmas-themed foil.

Oh, for a time machine, if just for one day before Christmas...

On the Christmas Track

I've read the reviews of David Balducci's The Christmas Train on Amazon.com. And all I can say to a few of them is...did we read the same book?

The Christmas Train is the story of reporter Tom Langdon, who, having been banned from flying in the continental US after an unfortunate contretemps in security, takes the train from Washington, DC, to LA to be with his current girlfriend who he doesn't have much of an emotional attachment to. His great love was Eleanor Carter, a fellow reporter, who walked out on him in Tel Aviv many years earlier--and who, coincidentally, turns up on the same train with a movie producer and his assistant, a pair of lovebirds who plan to be married enroute, a priest, a rather overweight woman who's friends with all the train staff, plus a hoard of friendly train employees and unusual train travelers.

The reviews decry Train as not being like Baldacci's other books, as being a commercial for Amtrak, for being like a romance novel. Folks, did you even read the description of this book? It is a romantic story, and it is an unabashed paean to the good old days of train travel--what did you expect in a book taking place on a train with a plot about a man writing about the romantic side to train travel, a commercial for Delta?

I won't claim this book is perfect. There are almost too many eccentric characters--doesn't anyone normal travel by train? (I guess those are the people we don't get names for, who are also on the train; they're too normal to figure in the story.) Also, there's not one Amtrak person who doesn't like working on the train (or if there is, we don't meet them). This is sort of a book version of a good old Hollywood Christmas film like White Christmas, or one of the classic Lassie and Timmy Christmas episodes and should be savored as such; if sentiment isn't your bag, pick up a Jack Higgins thriller. But please don't criticize The Christmas Train for being something it's not supposed to be.

(And for heaven's sake don't make the mistake of thinking it's like John Grisham's excruciating Skipping Christmas. While Balducci's book makes me want to take a train trip and be nice to people, all Grisham's book makes me want to do is murder the Kranks' neighbors.)

BTW, several folks comment that "Mark Twain is mentioned several times for no reason." In your haste to read this book looking for murder and mayhem, you completely missed the explanation that Tom Langdon was related to Olivia Langdon, Twain's wife.

Detractors of The Christmas Train will probably be turned off by the beautifully illustrated The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, which I also purchased this weekend. It's the simple, sentimental story of an embittered woodcarver who takes on the job of carving a new nativity scene for a widow and her little boy. The detailed illustrations make you want to leap into them and live within.

Happy St. Lucy's Day!

In Scandinavia, many people still follow this old custom: the eldest daughter in the household rises first and serves her family coffee and a special coffeecake, called Lucia cakes. Traditionally, she wears a crown of lighted candles, but I wonder how many families follow this seemingly-dangerous custom these days! It does sound lovely, however: imagine the young woman coming in the door in a probably dark or dim house, crowned with bright candles!

Here's a web essay by Margarette Connor about celebrating St. Lucia's day.

O Christmas Tree!

I'd like to say I had a joyous, happy time decorating the tree on Sunday, but I had a backache that had started before we had to get together and fix the fence (see today's "Yet Another Journal" entry about the fence), and then I fought for about an hour with the string of lights before abandoning it for another string. (I'm having a problem with light strings this year: first the one on my mom's tree, then the one on the wreath--which still isn't fixed--and now the tree lights. They worked fine when I took them down last year!)

The lights go first, of course, then the ornaments, and finally the icicles. I wonder how many other folks still put on "the tinsel"--even my mom has abandoned the custom since it's just too much for her arthritic fingers. When I finished I watched the silvery threads floating in the breath of air from the furnace.

I remember reading one of the books about the old-style icicles, the original version made from lead foil. Of course they were banned in the late 60s when all the data came in about lead poisoning in children. It seems to me, though, that even in my childhood we had the lighter mylar tinsel (perhaps in the 50s we had the older sort that you had to throw away every year because it tarnished). This book went pretty hard on the mylar stuff because the lead foil hung like real icicles from the tree while the mylar blows and vibrates in every breeze and holds a static charge.

The latter is a pain in the neck. One of the reasons I won't let the dog near the tree is because tinsel follows her like crazy; she's very "magnetic." But it's funny, the other reason that the author dislikes mylar icicles is the very reason I like them: the way they move when a slight draught eddies about the tree. It is almost as if the tree is alive when they move, like the light fur on an animal or the leaves on a tree. In the end it is what you've grown up with, I suspect.

Grinch of Another Color

A couple of months ago I lucked out on a used DVD sale at CD Warehouse; got PBS's Seabiscuit, White Christmas, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas at a good price.

Watched the Grinch last night: since this was in a paper case and not a keep case I figured it was just basic special and that's it. To my surprise, I discovered it had commentary on it by animator Phil Roman and voice artist June Foray (who was "Cindy Lou Who, who was no more than two"). I can't say it was the most informative commentary I've ever heard, but it was quite pleasant. There are also two short documentaries about the music and TNT's "Making of the Grinch" special with the late Phil Hartman (who I don't find as funny as everyone else does).

The Grinch isn't my favorite Christmas special, but it's fun and I love the "Welcome Christmas" song.

I see there's a furor going on in the Amazon.com reviews about the DVD version: yes, the Grinch is yellowish in the first part of the story on DVD. I have no idea why. I thought I was seeing things. Oh, well, I'm sure someone will do a super-colossal release of the story some day. And a yellow Grinch is infinitely preferable to a Jim Carrey Grinch of whatever persuasion.

In the meantime, we Chuck Jones fans would like more of his productions out: what about the three Jungle Book stories from the early 80s, "The White Seal," "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," and "Mowgli's Brothers"? Or all three of the Chester Cricket specials, which includes A Very Merry Cricket?

"And God Bless Us...Everyone"

A few years ago I found Michael Hearn's The Annotated Christmas Carol on the remainder counter at Border's. Let me say simply that I love annotated books. You not only get a text you want to read, but histories and explanations that enhance its meaning. Since I love history it's as if you've gotten a bonus.

The Carol annotations are superb. Hearn starts with a history of Charles Dickens up to the writing of the book, chronicling its conception and publication, the "rip off" versions--even Dickens had trouble with plagarism--and reviews of the day. Then all the referrals in the text are footnoted: not just allusions to other literature, but explanations of terms that were common in Dickens' day that are unfamiliar now: what is the "'Change" Scrooge is known on, for instance, or what a Sir Roger de Coverly dance is. It was an embarrassment of riches.

Earlier this year I found out Hearn had done an expanded edition for 2004. The mind boggled. The introduction now included reviews of the Carol, there were additional footnotes, and the book also included the edited version of the story that Dickens employed when he did live readings. It was pricey, so I decided to bide my time to find a reasonably-priced edition.

Well, I walked into Borders yesterday to get the newest magazines and there to my astonishment was the new edition on the remainder shelf. Ohboy! (And yes, it's as wonderful as I thought it would be!)

Home to Nebraska

Even though we had watched it last Friday, I came home the other day and put The House Without a Christmas Tree on once more.

I love this story so much. It's a combination of everything: the characters, the storyline, and the setting. I especially appreciate the setting as so many period pieces are so obviously trumpeting "this is a period piece and look at all the neat costumes/props we have from the era." The 1940s postwar era is portrayed in this story as ordinary life: there is no trumpeting--that's just the way it is. And what a homey (or "homely," as the British say) setting: the kitchen and living room remind me of many of my relatives' homes before they were remodeled. Look at the hoosier cabinet in the kitchen, the stove, James' easy chair, the fireplace...it's truly like going home.

I adore Addie. She reminds me somewhat of myself, with the drawing and enjoying school, but I could only have wished for this child's self-confidence and assertiveness. I delight in her creativity. It would have been so easy to make her father the villain--I'm certain a modern production of the story would have--but instead one can see his own pain beneath his gruffness and occasional cruelty. What he can't express in words he does in small things: leaving Addie a cupcake from his lunch, teaching her physical and mental skills. He is a marvelously complicated character.

The schoolroom is perfect. I would have loved to attend Miss Thompson's classes, warm with steam heat, with the memorable scents of chalk and wood and the traces of sweet pea perfume, learning vocabulary and music and history.

Even the theme music is memorable, as well as the collage commercial segues. On tape they divide the story into acts like a classy stage play.

The sequels are also good, especially the first (Thanksgiving Treasure), but nothing quite equals this lovely Christmas story. A pity it isn't on DVD. Anyone listening out there at CBS???? (Or are we simply to drown in CSI clones for the rest of our lives?)

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

If I were still living at home I would be going to church today: it's a Holy Day of Obligation.

It took a while for some kids to get it once we learned about the facts of life. "If Jesus was born in December," they argued, "how could Mary get pregnant with him in the same month? Was she pregnant a year?"

The Immaculate Conception has nothing to do with Jesus. It is rather the Virgin Mary who was immaculately conceived without sin in order to be the mother of Jesus.

Here's the doctrine from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Very Merry Reading

I picked these all up on vacation:

It's a Wonderful Christmas, Susan Waggoner. I saw this before we left; for some reason, I found it in Borders Books in the Collectables area. It's not a collecting book with prices, however: it's a delightfully nostalgic look at Christmas in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s by use of text with reproductions of old advertisements, toy and Christmas ornament boxes, magazine and book illustrations, wrapping paper and cards, etc. Woolworth Christmas ornament boxes, ads for vintage toys, and wartime memorabilia bring back a world that was, while flawed, appears closer and warmer than today.

A Quiet Knowing Christmas, Ruth Bell Graham (Billy Graham's wife). A find from the bargain shelf at Barnes & Noble!--poems, anecdotes, small simple craft projects and recipes in a quietly beautiful book. Christian oriented but not "pushy." It's a firelight and cocoa read-by-the-Christmas-tree type book.

All Aboard for Christmas, Christopher Jennison. Surrounded by wonderful baubles in the Breakers' (Newport, RI) gift shop, I was mesmerized instead by this wonderful hardback volume concerning trains. I like watching cool model railroad setups and I am moderately interested in the romantic side of train travel, but I'm nowhere near a "train buff." However, unless you really consider trains boring, this volume is absorbing from beginning to end as a history of a vanished way of life. There are chapters on train travel on or for the holidays, toy train setups at home and in busines, and railroad workers during the holidays. The text is accompanied by fabulous train advertisements, toy train memorabilia, and paintings of trains in the snow. Indescribably beautiful and nostalgic.