The season has come to send warm wishes to the people we love. Amongst the work and school, travel and maintenance of the year, we don’t always have the opportunity to connect with the far flung relatives, the friends whose lives took them across the country and people who at one time made such a difference for us. But here is a chance to tell you how much we appreciate you and to wish you the best as 2023 comes to a close.
As you prepare for Christmas, I wish you a clear mind. May all the tasks organize themselves into a lovely flow of baking, wrapping, sewing or crafting. Remember love is the greatest gift.
I wish for you the tastes of Christmas. English toffee, candy canes, peppernuts and chocolate. The smells of cinnamon and cloves, balsam and wood fires and good things baking. Feast your eyes on the sights of Christmas. Red candles glowing, a child’s homemade present, smiling faces around your table, the heap of outdoor gear in the entry after sledding. I hope you see the delight in your child’s eyes as she unfolds her best paper snowflake ever. And always be listening and you will hear carols everyone knows by heart, greetings at the front door, fire crackling in the grate. Some days you might hear the tea kettle’s whistle and the gentle swish of falling snow.
Most of all, I wish for you the feeling of Christmas. A sweet nostalgia for long ago Christmases you were born too late to actually experience. A wonder at the old Christmas story. Every year your understanding grows and there are new layers of meaning and mystery. There is room in your heart to hear the story one more time. An embracing of the activities and work required for the feasting and merry-making.
And if there is a day when the stress is getting you down, this is your invitation to join us in reading Christmas stories in December. Taking a break in the middle of the day has a way of resetting our nervous system to be calmer and more present. You can drink some tea with restoring, nourishing herbs while you read, and get double benefits. Take some deep breaths and feel the coziness, the warmth, the moment of quiet. You will be glad you did, even if you only have fifteen minutes.
Click on the link under the picture below to participate in your own version of a literary Christmas. Use the prompts provided on the download to choose your books. You can fill in the stars according to your enjoyment. Let us know what you plan to read; it might help others make good book choices too.
Click here to take part in a Literary Christmas!
Eva and I plan to take a break from blog deadlines for the month of December. We wish you a very Merry Christmas! We will be back with a review of our seasonal readings!
-Liz
For more Christmas-y inspiration:
So She Reads 