I’m sitting here surrounded by boxes of Christmas cards, a red pen, and my address book. The house is rich with luscious scents; rosemary-infused pot roast in the oven, Blackstrap molasses cookies cooling on the counter, a fire in the hearth and the crisp pine scent of recently decorated wreaths.
The inevitable loop of Christmas music churns away softly in the background. It’s one of those gray-bright December days in New England when the sun never breaks through but the soft dusting of snow reflects back every available beam of light.
Yes, I am quite aware of the fact that I repeatedly refer to this as Christmas. I’m not going to apologize. I grew up in a time when this was Christmas, period. Hanukkah was always Chanukah, sometimes with two “Ks,” but it was not a major influence in my life. And as to Kwanzaa and Las Posadas? I’m embarrassed to say I know more about how Ramadan is celebrated. So I will send Christmas cards and I will listen to Christmas music – it’s just who I am.
With the death of Nelson Mandela, the world has managed to come together and collectively celebrate a man of peace. I would love to be viewing this tribute from a dozen different countries and cultures. Vicariously, I read posts from bloggers in South Africa, the UK and others. It reminds me that what is said and thought here in America is only one viewpoint. We can all only be expected to react from our personal experiences.
I feel the same way about this time of year. To me, it can only be the non-politically correct Christmas Season. So to try to make sense of this season, I am filling up my senses with scents.
Ho Ho Ho!
The inevitable head-shake to lose the antlers
Therapeutic Misadventures 
I’m with you….. its Christmas time. At the office, I have to plan a Holiday Party. NOT a Christmas party. By being politically correct for the other folks beliefs and religions, we only succeeding in stifling our own. Grrrrrrrrr. When did it become an issue to celebrate one’s own traditions, whatever the are and call them by name? Still in all, just like you said, we celebrate what we remember, love and create our own holiday, based in our own traditions and joys. LOVE the antlers!
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Just hope I didn’t put anyone off with my opinions. Alice definitely does not like the antlers, but I figure it’s part of her job to entertain me!
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I do not think anyone should be offended by your opinions…that is what it is…your OPINION. In no way did you suggest that anyone’s opinion or belief, no matter how different from yours, is wrong! Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!!!
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A Rose is a Rose I suppose
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Personally I can’t imagine living in or even visiting a foreign country and being offended by any of their traditions, and I’m not sure why it would be any different for someone visiting this country. Now that I’ve actually typed it out, it really seems kind of foolish-why would I go there in the first place if the traditions bothered me?
Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Mandela-I see them and people like them as “steerers” who steer the rest of us in the right direction. Unfortunately, there are those who would also steer us in the wrong direction.
Speaking of seasonal scents, have you ever heard of pomander balls? They’re real easy to make and I wrote about them two years ago here: http://nhgardensolutions.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/make-pomander-balls-now-for-the-holidays/
That’s quite a dog!
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