Upcoming Holidays

This is front door for
my Cotati, CA home.
The vine on the left is 
Clematis ligusticifolia
(Western’s virgin’s bower).

Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. On December 25 billions of people around the world observe this religiously and culturally. Celebration occurs in varied and meaningful ways depending on the country's beliefs and practices. 

While living in Northern California Dwight and I had always spent a month in the Eastern Sierras over Thanksgiving. On returning home we could stop and cut a Pinyon Pine which we then put up and decorated together. Last year I chose to ignore the holiday altogether. 

This year however I got down all the boxes stored in the garage to take out things to display. My neighbor put up lights in the bare of leaves maple tree in my front yard. I feel ever so fortunate to have such a wonderful neighbor! And when I plug in the lights and enjoy the sparkle, I am filled with gratitude for her generously giving of her time so I could have this pleasure each evening.  

The Winter Solstice occurs on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, at 10:27 EST. In the Northern Hemisphere it is the first day of winter. This day has the fewest hours of sunlight of any day throughout the entire year.

Winter Solstice Blessing

May you have a warm heart,

open hands,

a creative mind.

May you experience inspiration and brilliance,

clarity and focus.

May you laugh richly and deeply.

May you circle and celebrate,

may you change and grow.

May that which is waiting to be unlocked be freed.

And may you soar with the knowing

that you are carried by a great wind 

across the sky.

I have friends who celebrate the Winter Solstice rather than Christmas. Others, who are Jewish, commemorate Hanukkah (Chanukah) which begins at nightfall on December 7 ends on the nightfall of December 15. And then I have a few friends who are very "bah humbug", like the infamous Scrooge, ignoring any December holiday observations.

Having grown up in Iowa where I cannot remember a Christmas without snow, I herald snow in December. Below are a couple of snowy pictures taken in the Bridgeport, California area.

I have to say that I do miss snow at the time of the year. Perhaps it is best to say that snow makes Christmas for me. It is one of the reasons that I enjoyed living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, durning which each Christmas we spent there was snow. Viewing the snow flakes through the lights strung around the edge of the portal was just such a lovely sight

And another picture sans snow of our Pinyon Pine being securely fastened to the roof rack for its trip to Cotati, California. Shasta is just awesome with her supervisory abilities as well as her inclination to remain with us rather than run off after critters.

And when Shasta's Aunti T visited us while we were living in Santa Fe, we took her to Chimayo (where there was no snow) primarily to visit Santuario de Chimayo.  Please enjoy the display of ristras in the pick up truck she is standing near. 

As we discovered while living in Santa Fe displaying ristras is very popular in New Mexico. Vendors popped up on many street corners to sell them during the month of December.

The Pinyon pine Christmas tree
in our Santa Fe home
when Aunti T visited us.

It is rather pleasant in my home to have some festive memorabilia out of the boxes stored in the garage. However, I chose not to have a tree since I so prefer Pinyon pines as Christmas trees. 

No matter where you are living, whether you have snow or  sunshine, or put up decorations for Christmas or not, or even celebrate this holiday, may this month yield ample opportunities to