Solstice

So I promised the kids that yes, we would have a Christmas tree this year, even though I got rid of the 6' monstrosity variety that I couldn't abide crashing into every time I tried to walk between the living room and the kitchen. And we do have a tree. A 30" tree. It sits meekly on the top of a dresser, carefully keeps itself to itself and doesn't get up my nose. I can live with this tree until Jan 1.

I don't like Christmas trees. I might like them a lot more if I weren't bound to the artificial ones, but the allergies dictate that breathing is more important than aesthetics. Even so, you know what Christmas trees remind me of more than anything else? Those tacky Hindu shrines, with all the garish colours and lights and bling. And 19th century Catholic schlock-art. Think of all those copies of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart hanging above countless Catholic dining rooms. Same spirit behind it, I think. The spirit of Electric Pink and Brazen Blue isn't limited by geography. Must be one of them archetypy things.

So I'm a bit of a Christmas Tree Crank. But I love the candles, and bits of (real) greenery and red berries and gingerbread. And stockings. Quite like the stockings. The set I made when the kids were tiny is getting a little rough though, so one fine day I'll have to set my hand to a new design. Not today.

Today the sun dipped behind the building across the road just after 3 p.m., so I lit my Solstice candles. It's a sacrament. A call to prayer.

I light my candles for the weary of heart. This year I'm not one of them, but so often I have been. I light them for so much of the world struggling to survive, locally and overseas. Light for thankfulness for our full freezer and for enough to share. Light for health, and those without it, and my work with them, work that I love. For fresh water, safe enough to drink. For books, and those who share their knowledge, and the ability to educate ourselves.

And Christmas stockings!

I think there might be a book and chocolate and some fabric in that ol' stocking of mine this year. Maybe. You never know, you know. ;-)

And hey,
By the way
Don't forget to enter
The Give-Away!

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