Jane Austen told me about Michaelmas. The British Isles holiday is peppered in her written works. Well, maybe not exactly peppered, but the Michaelmas parties do make their occasional appearances, and every time I saw anything of it, I wanted to know what in Heaven it was. Once I got Michaelmasly educated, I wanted to…
Category: holidays
Reasons I Love this Season
The Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas are filled with more than a few of my favorite things. Twinkling lights and trees, the music and movies. Sparkling snow and shining stars. Dears and deer, ribbons and bows, wrapping and wreaths. Warm woolen scarves, sweaters, slippers and mittens. Leather and furry collars, cuffs, muffs and moccasins. The…
Why Love the Christmas Season?
And why hate it?! It always surprises me when I hear about or stumble onto somebody who hates Christmas. What a contrast to me, who wants to gear up for Christmas every September 25th (and sometimes I start planning for next Christmas January 1, if not the day after this Christmas – I always like…
Happy Feast of Saint Stephen’s Day!
And Happy Boxing Day! Growing up in Canada, I always wondered what Boxing Day really meant. Being on the 26th of December, it seemed associated with Christmas somehow. It was another day off for many. When I was younger, it was just a play day holiday the day after Christmas. More playing with new toys…
The Procrastinators’ Christmas Eve Parable
This is a true story; ‘tis a non-fiction fable with a most pointed Christmassy moral. Well, then again, this holiday tale is at least heartily inspired by a long ago true Christmas Eve story, though this warning parable possibly will be embellished wildly as this writer is often wont to do with any story, whether…
Warmth to Chase Away Cold
First, there was hot chocolate. Not too hot for little kiddy lips and with marshmallows on top, of course. Mini or the regular big size, I can’t quite recall. Were the mini mallows ‘invented yet’ back then? I just don’t remember. Kids around a campfire on a cool summer’s night, more especially after tobogganing in…
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
Being a little bit Irish, myself, and being named originally for ‘Kerry County’, Ireland, I always hope that a little of the luck o’ the Irish is in me. My typical luck is definitely the kind of ‘Irish style’ luck such as, ‘oops, I stepped in something yucky: lucky part Irish me, I wasn’t wearing…
Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Dickens!
From ‘A Christmas Carol’ to my other favorite classics that Dickens penned, I have enjoyed many of his characters and stories, though I do hope and plan to read and see more as time goes on. I’ve barely scratched the surface where Charles Dickens’ literary works are concerned, perhaps because they can be a bit…
Happy Orthodox Christmas!
Another excuse to extend all things good and joyous of the Christmas season, and to remember the birth of the baby Jesus, our Savior, is always a good thing to me. I can play and sing Christmas songs all the longer. I can watch any Christmas themed movie that I missed out on. I can…
Happy Boxing Day!
According to Canada, Britain and other Commonwealth countries I’m familiar with, I guess I’m supposed to box up everything Christmas today, but I refuse. I choose to relax. And I want to enjoy the tree, the lights, the stockings, the candles, the foods and drinks, the music, a few more movies and all things yuletide…
Kerri Bennett Williamson 