Remember the Magi

Between today and the 6th of January, Christians everywhere will mark their doorways with the signs 20 + C + M + B + 16.  Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, the traditional names of three mad kings who went away and were never the same.  Don't take my word for it.  Hear it from T.S. Eliot:

I love this poem for its brutal honesty.  Cause sometimes searching for God isn't all angels-on-high and rocks crying out.  It's hard work.  It's uncomfortable.  It means tears and sleepless nights.  It means traveling in the wilderness (waste land).  We think of the wise men following the star like a lighthouse in a storm, but Scripture doesn't say anything about the star leading the way.  They tell Herod, "We saw his star when it rose. . ."  The next thing we hear in Matthew,

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  (NIV)

The magi saw the star as a summons, not a safety net.  They embarked on an arduous journey knowing neither when nor where the destination.  There is no mention of the star until it appears again over Bethlehem.  Between those two times, they made their way in darkness.

Remembering that they had seen the star, believing it, that's the epiphany.  That is faith.

On the Feast of the Holy Family, Part I

All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged, fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find. 

In goes my hand into that wool-white bell-tongued ball of holidays resting at the rim of the carol-singing sea. . .

-- Dylan Thomas, A Child's Christmas in Wales

When I read this passage to John about the abundance of snow in an idyllic childhood paradise, he asked "Where in Wales did Dylan Thomas grow up?  It snows here, like, one day a year."

Hiraeth, John, hiraeth.  ;)

It did, however, shed perpetual rain upon us like the end times on both Christmas and Boxing Day.  The two days there are no public transport.  We went nearly feral with stir-craziness.  Thank goodness things cleared up enough on Sunday to pack up quick as could be and shuttle off to Bangor.  I took Afon out for an extended walk over the straits to Anglesey and Church Island.

It didn't seem longer or farther than our custom of walking into Colwyn Bay from Old Colwyn, but it's taken me two days to recover.  My muscles are sore and my joints are aching and I've slept and slept almost incessantly since then.

These are all the photos I've developed for now.

Liturgical Lifestyle | Prepare the Way

1 & 2 // waiting for baby Jesus

3 // retro poster snagged at church, via Knights of Saint Columba

4 // the stockings were hung by the (chimney?) with care

5 // snowy scene

6 // Christmas clementines laid out for drying

7 // gift-wrapping

8 // there was plenty on the tree already, then I saw this red tinsel reminiscent of my childhood. . .

9 // the clay star Afon made in school functions as the Star of Bethlehem for our little creche

10 // embellished with a stick of cinnamon

11 // greenery

12 // almost full!

13 & 14 // cheeky!

And for those who are interested, my Christmas Eve dinner menu:

Chinese takeout.

Be merry, ya'll!  Nadolig llawen!  (That's "Happy Christmas" in two languages!)  ;)

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String: a Philosophy of Gifting {and Free Gift Tags!}

Gift-giving is definitely one of my love languages.  I like to get and give, but not recklessly.  Aside from children, I won't usually ask people what they want.  That's because buying things people told me to get when they are able and willing to get it for themselves misses the point of gifting.  Argue with me if I'm wrong, but I want a gift to mean something a little more profound.

Here are my reasons for gift-giving on the holidays.  If I give you something, it is because:

1 // The gift is something I want you to have.   I saw it and thought of you with it/using it/wearing it and knew it had to be yours.   I thought it would make your life better or help you in some way.

2 // It's something you wouldn't have gotten for yourself.   You don't usually splurge on yourself.   Or, it's not the sort of thing you would notice in the store or catalogue, but I know you will get some use out of it and enjoy it or learn to love it.

3 // It is something I made for you myself.

4 // It is something you are not able to get yourself, for whatever reason.

5 // It's a (true) surprise.  In other words, you didn't know that such a thing existed and so happy to find it beneath all that wrapping paper!

I don't run myself ragged trying to get someone the perfect gift.  I've done that, and it caused me a lot of unnecessary grief--the people on my list are decent human beings, the ability to orchestrate the perfect gift-exchange isn't a touchstone of our relationships!  It sounds like common sense, but in high school I really did stress about what to give en masse to my "clique."  One girl made fantastic homemade fudge every year.  I accepted that gift with relish and was very grateful.  But I just didn't have the time or the talent to do the same in kind, and that is okay.  I wish I'd known that then.  Feeling bad about my lack of reciprocation didn't make me or my would be gift-recipients any happier.

This is not to say monetary gifts in time of need are shallow and unappreciated!  Not at all.  Sometimes, a little something with a note to say, "spend how you wish," is a Godsend, and I've been on the receiving and giving end of that, at various points in my life.  It is good to give money to someone in need, it is almsgiving, and it is what Jesus tells us we must do.

One last word: I appreciate all gifts given to me.  It means someone thought about me and felt I was worth speeding a little time and money on.  I'm never ungrateful for a gift, and a lot of times some of my most well-loved possessions and experiences were things that I scratched my head at when I first received them.  That's one of the best things about gifts!

What's your philosophy of gifting?

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Speaking of gifts!  I made these gift tags to go with the plain, brown postage paper I've used to wrap the presents since using up my one roll of fancy stuff.  With a little twine or string (see pics above), they make a simple holiday solution so pretty and sophisticated!

You can use them if you want to, too!  Just download and print, or paste and resize in a Word document to make them smaller (mine are pretty big if you print them as is).

Happy gifting!

Free wreath clipart from We Lived Happily Ever After.

12 days of Christmas {a Comprehensive List to Help You Make Merry}

I wanted to throw down some ideas in ink about how we would celebrate Christmastide well ahead of time.  I'd like to grow traditions every year, and I adore making each of the twelve days distinct according to the liturgical calendar.  There's no way one family could accomplish all these things, but in order to decide what was more important and what was possible when, I wanted to have all the ideas spread out before me.

I hit up resources like A Knotted Life, Catholic Culture, and Catholic All Year for inspiration.  This is the list I came up with, starting on Christmas Eve and ending on Epiphany.  Maybe you can make use of it, too!

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Dec. 24 | Christmas Eve

• decorate the Christmas tree
• bake Christmas cookies for Santa
• attend Christmas vigil

Dec. 25 | Christmas Day

• go Christmas caroling
• put on a Christmas mystery play
• start reading The Nutcracker (one or both versions)

Dec. 26 | St. Stephen's Day, 2nd Day of Christmas

• visit a hospital, homeless shelter, or soup kitchen
• take the money your children tithed throughout Advent and give to a charity of their choice
• open the Sparkle Box
• sing "Good King Wenceslas" and learn about Saint Wenceslas

Dec. 27 | Feast of the Holy Family, 3rd Day of Christmas

• bake bread
• put out/decorate the creche
• have a family day at home with seasonally themed movies and books

Dec. 28 | Feast of the Holy Innocents, 4th Day of Christmas

• offer Mass or say a Rosary for aborted and unborn babies
• volunteer at a Catholic Charities or adoption center

Dec. 29 | 5th Day of Christmas

• s'mores and hot chocolate around the fireplace or bonfire

Dec. 30 | 6th Day of Christmas

• go ice skating, see a light display, or some other outdoor activity

Dec. 31 | New Year's Eve, 7th Day of Christmas

• fireworks and cocktails!!!!
• read "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen

Jan. 1 | Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and New Year's Day, 8th Day of Christmas

• have an open house--practice the traditional New Year's Day art of hospitality
• attend Mass for the Solemnity

Jan. 2 | St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory, 9th Day of Christmas

• visit godparents and/or give them special gifts or write them letters
• visit with friends

Jan. 3 | 10th Day of Christmas

• visit the library or bookstore
• hit up shops for discount Christmas decorations!

Jan. 4 | 11th Day of Christmas

• make candles for the coming year
• make homemade wreaths or bring in greenery to brighten up the winter house

Jan. 5 | 12th Day of Christmas

• have a Shakespearian gathering or read-through of Twelfth Night
• put on the play or watch it on film

Jan. 6 | Epiphany

• Little Christmas--give gifts and feast, throw an Epiphany party!
• make a king cake and have an Epiphany king or queen in your family or community

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Do you celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas?  What does your family do to keep Christmastide?  Have anything else to add to the list above?

Liturgical Lifestyle | TMI Advent

1 // an Advent calendar (not made by me and not currently in use)

2 + 3 // DIY wreath/crown of greenery

4 // simple lights

5 // winter wreath from Aldi, with pine cone missing

6 + 7 // the Advent imp

8 + 9 // adapted Advent wreath

In the first week of Advent, we have:

• decked the halls with greenery and wintry things
• prayed the St. Andrew Christmas novena 
• lit and prayed the Advent wreath
• talked about Jesus's birthday
• ordered Christmas cards
• took a "Chrismtas photo"
• listened to Haley's playlist
• cast on for a Christmas stocking for Roan

I didn't have plans other than doing the Advent wreath, and even then I didn't have an Advent wreath here, and couldn't find an affordable one on Amazon, Etsy, or available for purchase from our local parish (how I got our original one--a robust and gilded thing, so pretty!).

Lighting the Advent wreath was an important part of prepping for the Christmas season in my childhood; even with all the in-fighting about who would do the readings, who would light the candles, who would blow them out, and who would choose which carol to sing afterwards, I can't imagine not carrying on the beloved tradition in my own family.  Memories of family melt-downs for years to come--you're welcome, boys.

So far, we've kept up with it two nights out of five.

The week of Thanksgiving, I ordered candle clips and candles, waited around, got tired of waiting, bought a pine wreath and put it on the table with a large pillar candle in the middle for an improvised Advent wreath, made a lazy version of this, and finally added the candle clips when they arrived in the mail today from Estonia (neat!).  Will possibly make a second, thicker wreath for the candles and clips, maybe.  I'd like to know where I can buy some grapevine around here (or steal it?).

This is the third year since I've heard of the St. Andrew novena, first year attempting to pray it.  Forgot it last night.

Next week, we might try:

• Saint Nicholas Day
• the Advent wreath with more regularity
• adding some carols
• reading a Christmas book or two
• doing something nice (first thing that comes to mind is visiting a retired person's home, hmmm, not sure how that'd work out with Afon)
• putting together little thank you gifts for Afon's helpers and social workers
• mailing Christmas cards

My expectation of accomplishing any of these things?  I'm keeping it low and happy at around 10%!

I really enjoy seeing how others "prepare the way of the Lord" in Advent.  Each family's tradition is different, and whether I'm rearing to adapt customs as my own or am satisfied to enjoy it from the sidelines, I want to see your Advent, too!  Really!

Belatedly linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Yarn Along | Christmas stocking

The pattern assures me it will look something like a sock when I'm finished.  We only have three stockings for me, John, and Afon, so I've had feelers out for a fourth stocking for baby Roan.  There haven't been any that I liked, then I saw this stocking kit on clearance in The Works.  I like the blue-green-red winter combination.  Probably because it looks Scandinavian.  This is my first sock.

I'm not any further in my reading of Gilead, or anything, because after we got HFMD, John and Afon got a stomach bug, and now all four of us have colds.  Ah, November, you really went after us, didn't you?

Your Face Should Be on a Christmas Card

In years past I've meticulously coordinated an outfit for Afon, selected a location, and taken dozens of  pictures of him until I was satisfied I'd something "fit" for a Christmas card.

Last year I didn't even send out cards.

This year I'm hoping to land somewhere in-between.  I had some matching-but-not-too-matching clothes in mind for Afon and Roan, and even something for me if, wonder of wonders, we were able to get someone to take a picture with all of us in it!  But the weather has been absolutely dreadful, with rain and wind I've not seen this side of a hurricane.  So when the boys were dressed for church yesterday, I hustled them outside and into the back garden to snap some pictures.  We only missed the bus and were  horrendously late for Mass.

Eh.  Good enough.

And with a little magic in Picmonkey, not bad, I say.

I'd print this out on card stock myself and save a kenning, but our printer is rubbish.  And there's always TinyPrints.

I don't send out a lot of personalized cards, as they are liable to be thrown away, but I always try to get some printed for the immediate family as keepsakes.  And I send tidings of joy with pretty, inexpensive or homemade cards to the rest of the gang.

Do you do family photos at Christmastime?  Do you bother sending them with cards?

#5Faves: Christmas Wishlist

I've never "done" Black Friday.  The concept sort of horrifies me.  Anticipating a closed, crowded environment, waiting in long lines would ruin the take-it-slow family holiday immediately preceding it.

But Cyber Monday?  Yeah, I can get behind that.  ;)

I like the phrase something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read.  Here's what's on my wish list for Christmas.  Maybe you'll find something you like, too!

-- one --

I adore this poem by William Carlos Williams and have even gotten to teach it to my pupils during my tutoring days.  Poetry + Courier font + tea towel.   Definite WANT.

-- two --

Put a gnome on it!

That they're popular right now makes my folky heart glad.  WANT.

-- three --

I've held off buying a planner for a month or two because it just doesn't make sense to with so little time left in the year.  This 2016 diary from Paperchase is called Nordic Nights, and there's a whole series of this motif with some really useful stuff, such as a glasses case and ear buds.  NEED.

-- four --

Would I like the color combination of gray and mustard yellow if it weren't in right now?  I wonder, but knit mittens from People Tree might be a must any day now if I don't get around to crocheting myself the fingerless gloves I've been planning.  Perfect to WEAR.

-- five --

I had a look into this book at W.H. Smith; it hits the the perfect harmony of humorous and profound.  If I weren't mortified at the idea of taking apart a book (any book), I would frame them for the nonexistent children's room.  As a coffee table book, it's a more than delightful READ.

Linking up with Big White Farmhouse for Five Favorites!