20 + C + M + B + 21
"Bless this house, and all who inhabit it. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love."
While I didn't exactly go all out for the holidays this time around, I'm finding it a little harder than ever letting the season go. The New Year has always been a difficult transition for me, even as a child; to go from the warmth, and coziness of the winter months of jolly music, spreading good cheer, and sharing smiles and holiday greetings with friends and strangers alike to suddenly hating everything about ourselves thanks to the negative framing of most of our resolutions, packing away decorations, getting back to the grind, and all those friendly faces turning cranky from not having eaten, smoked, or drunk what they've wanted since whatever time they rolled out of bed January 1st always just felt rather, um ... abrupt.
Me? I like to ease into things ... I'm not a fling the lights on first thing in the morning kind of gal. I'm the type of person for which dimmer switches were invented, and that's why I'm kind of digging the whole 12 days of Christmas / Feast of Epiphany thing this year. I don't know exactly how much feasting I'll be doing, and I doubt I'll be making any galette des rois (although I do think I have a random Betty Crocker Super Moist boxed cake knocking around in a cupboard somewhere, if that counts?), but as I was reading up on the holiday, and some of its traditions, what I really liked was seeing what it inspired in other people to carry with them throughout the upcoming year. One woman who always felt a little depressed during the post-Christmas slump, and lamented taking down her seasonal decorations, came to an interesting revelation (or epiphany, if you will) whilst winding up her stringed lights - "Even though the lights may go dark in our lives, we must remain plugged in. That’s our only hope of ever receiving light again" (Shannon Doyle). She goes on, "For some, it can mean being plugged into another source — whether it’s
family, friends, healthy relationships, or good habits. For me, it’s
being plugged into THE Source, THE Light."
I am SO into that.
I've also become increasingly aware of a dark corner of my house since asking the Huldufólk to scram just the other day, and I'd like to casually, yet artfully throw a string of lights up the way Alicia Paulson always manages to do, as a year round reminder to stay plugged in, however every time I try to do this my home looks a lot less like a cozy cottage, and a lot more like a flophouse, so I may need to be a little more intentional, and find a small novelty lamp, or lantern, or something ... Besides, is it truly an American holiday without consumerism, anyway? I'm sure I'll be able to find something in my gather-ups that I can repurpose, but if I can't, and I have to buy something, I'll (at the very least) make sure it sparks joy.
