Traditions

I can't imagine a life where each day wasn't celebrated. Where I wasn't so thankful for every little thing. I don't think I could live a life like that. Thankfully I don't have to :)


The week leading up to Thanksgiving our moods begin to change and anticipation fills ever moment of the day. We clean and prepare and sing and smile, a lot. We contemplate how much we have to be thankful for and sometimes it truly overwhelms me. I wish I could share the feeling, I wish I could explain how, I wish there was no need for either.

The day before Thanksgiving (today as a matter of fact) I bake the sweets and breads and make the cranberry sauce for the feast. I also bake some easy thing like muffins, breakfast cookies or sweet bread for breakfast for the next few days. Today I'm making Lemon bread for breakfast. I also prepare the turkey and put it in the fridge. Sometime in the night (depending on how long it needs to cook) I'll wake and put it in the oven to start roasting.

On Thanksgiving day, we wake and have whatever I made for breakfast before. I check the turkey and we do chores. Then we come in and lounge around for a bit. When it's time, I start everything else and we celebrate the day with a great feast and the amazing feeling of how much we have to be thankful for.

Often it's just Nik and I but sometimes other people show up. We invite some every year but they rarely come, which is fine because while I truly do want them to come, Nik and I are both solitary people and truly enjoy being alone.

After feast we make up plates and sweets to take to a few people around who we think might not have any feast. Then back home for seconds or dessert and the evening is spent quietly and thankfully.

We set up the Yule tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and decorate it a bit at a time over the next few weeks. We also put up outside lights which are on a few hours each evening.
On Yule we sing and feast, my son gets a gift, we share food and sweets with neighbors and some people who live alone and don't have family. On the longest night of the year, we light the Yule log and tell stories and sing some more.

On Christmas eve I read The Night Before Christmas, my son gets a small gift.

On Christmas day, we get up early, my son gets a few more presents or one large one, we have some breakfast cookies (Oatmeal) and hot chocolate. Later we have Christmas feast and make sure all the neighbors and friends have plenty to eat. Then on Christmas night I read the Nativity story and we reflect on what it all means and how very blessed we are.

The outside lights get turned off every evening but on Christmas night we leave them on all night. A beacon in case someone finds themselves without a place to stay, they'll see our lights and know they will be welcomed here.
I hope your Holydays and every days are incredibly blessed and I hope that you find more to be thankful for than you ever imagined :)

Namaste ((((((((((((Beloved Family & Friends)))))))))))