The Little Things

In the spirit of the season, I am having another Christmas post, today as a part of 2011 Advent Tour. This is my first time participating in Virtual Advent Tour, hosted by Kailana from The Written World and Marg from Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. Head over to Advent Blog Tour to see the schedule and visit other participants’ posts.

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” – Calvin Coolidge 

I was brought up in the spirit of the statement above. I was taught that the important things are family and friends, health, and peace in our hearts. The little things and traditions are what makes up the festive atmosphere. Here are my favourite things about advent and Christmas: 

Christmas Wheat: Where I live we have a custom, originating in the countryside, to sow wheat seeds into a pot one to two week before Christmas. The wheat sprouts before Christmas Eve and it is left to grow until Twelfth Night. It is supposed to bring a rich harvest the following year.

Christmas Tree: Most of the decorations have been in the family for as long as I can remember. My grandmother passed to me a tradition I have not yet noticed anywhere else – putting a little red devil decoration on the Christmas tree – she claimed it was because the devil is everywhere, so he cannot be left out on Christmas – but the decoration should be put somewhere in the back or on the side of the tree, usually peeking naughtily towards the Nativity scene.

This fake tree is also almost as old as I am. The little devil is on the left side. 
This was from the last year and has been taken in a hurry, hence a rather low quality.
It looked better with lights on.

A Nativity Scene: It is the core reminder of what Christmas is about. Traditionally it is set up no sooner than on Christmas Eve, but I usually start a day earlier. Nativity figurines have also been an old family hand-down.

Snow: Nothing anyone can do about whether we have snow or not, but white Christmas is on everybody’s wish list, as long as it does not snow right on Christmas Eve and hinders people (read: me) from going to Church. And it is completely free.

 

These small things help me remember how it was to be a child, carefree and happy. For some time each year, there is something magical in the air which makes all the worries less important and reminds me of everything that makes me happy.

Happy Holidays!