READY FOR THE NEW YEAR?

 

I WONDER......

Here I sit, looking out the windows into a pea-soup fog that's settled over us like a low-lying cloud.  Am thinking about there being only today and tomorrow left of 2024.  At midnight tomorrow a new year.....every day blank.....will present itself to us.  It's not we who decide what words will be written on those blank pages....we can only wonder what situations will confront us in the next twelve months.  

WONDER

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet.  Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist.  Be curious.  ~Stephen Hawking

I would sooner live in a cottage and wonder at everything than live in a castle and wonder at nothing.  ~Joan Winmill Brown

Wisdom begins in wonder.  ~Socrates

To be more childlike, you don't have to give up being an adult.  The fully integrated person is capable of being both an adult and a child simultaneously.  Recapture the childlike feelings of wide-eyed excitement, spontaneous appreciation, cutting loose, and being full of awe and wonder at this magnificent universe.  ~Wayne Dyer

Give yourself a gift of five minutes of contemplation in awe of everything you see around you.  Go outside and turn your attention to the many miracles around you.  This five-minute-a-day regimen of appreciation and gratitude will help you to focus your life in awe.  ~Wayne Dyer

The last two quotations above come to us from Wayne Dyer.  His book, Wisdom of the Ages, was and is one of the books that has carried me through my journey.  Self-help author, Wayne Dyer (1940-2015) believed that trusting in yourself will align you to the same wisdom that created you.  He felt there is no happenstance in this universe....that it is held together by a divine light.

It's interesting to me how we choose to read books that have within them the perfect-fitting words.  I've wondered about this a lot of times over the years.  Why did I choose that one book out of all the self-help books on the shelves of Barnes & Noble?  What lured me to pick that one book out among the rest? 

Probably my fave of Dyer's quotes is:  You cannot always control what goes on outside.  But you can always control what goes on inside.  They tie in with yesterday's post about working on my new year's approach to cutting out negative thoughts and pasting positive ones in their place.

I'm planning my January blog topic and think it's gonna be enlightening and fascinating.  It's a topic that right now I know virtually nothing about.  I can only wonder what's out there waiting to be explored, discovered and shared.  Hope you will stick with me.

Ta-ta.

WHAT TO TAKE ALONG...WHAT TO LEAVE BEHIND

We have three days to pack what we want to take with us into the new year......and decide what to leave behind.  Maybe that's the best part of a new year.....the parting with the baggage that only weighs us down.

I'm not talking about the material, but the emotional baggage.  It's not possible for any one of us to make it through our life journey without negative experiences that impact our mental well-being.  There are trust issues, fears, guilt, shame, grief, despair, regret and other psychological traumas.  It's the perfect time to let go of our past disappointments and pain.

So much easier said than done.  My plan is this:  when a negative memory enters my head, instead of dwelling on it, I'm going to stop and immediately think of something that makes me happy.  This is so possible, yet seems impossible.  It's at least worth a try.  They say new habits become ingrained in our daily routines, reducing the weight of the past. 

My life journey has experienced tragedy in multiple forms, resulting in what I call cancer of the heart.  There were times following one of these tragedies, that I didn't think I could make it to the next hour, let alone the next day.  Self-help books and keeping a personal handwritten journal were my two therapists, and they carried me forward to where I am today. And, blogging is a form of self-preservation and self-fulfillment for me.  It's ironic how the ideal venue opens for us at the right time.

Negative thoughts may be invisible, but they weigh a ton.  Every horrible memory takes us back to the moment.  Some memories I've relived over and over so many times, and it did me not one ounce of good.  All those memories have done is take up space in my brain.  Now is the time for me to begin my "magic slate" method of erasing a painful experience the minute it pushes its way to the front of the line.  Maybe instead of that memory I'll replace it with the memory of me throwing a coin over my shoulder in the Trevi Fountain or walking beside my daddy checking the fences on the farm, or the time four of us friends spent Christmas Eve up at our cabin in the woods.   One thing for sure, I have a ton more happy things to think about than bad. 

Instead of resolving to add penalty or punishment to 2025, I'm packing a smaller suitcase.  My mantra shall be......If it hurts, let it go.   This approach will make use of my brain's cut-and-paste option.

Another option might be undertaking a project that requires concentration.  When the past wrestles with us, maybe we can shelter ourselves in creativity.  Coping skills are out there, we just have to find 'em.

Failure is part of the self-rescue.  At the outset, expect to get lost along the way, so pack a walking stick and compass.   Think higher and kinder.       

2025 finds us living in a violent, untrustworthy era.  We need to create for ourselves a safe brain space.  Somewhere we can go to escape the negative pummeling the media uses to sway our thinking.  The media feasts on distorting the news and zooming in on corrupt stories that excite and anger their audience.  Some are more prone to believing everything they hear, not realizing that bias is a weapon.  We've gotta be smart enough to know the media is always seeking the best ratings.  The worse they can make things sound, the higher their ratings.   

Our insight can become biased.  If we hear something over and over so many times, soon our brain processes it as factual.  In our home, I watch a movie when the news comes on the telly.  I refuse to watch and/or listen to the lopsided lava that spews into our living space.  I also refuse to agonize over tormenting memories.   Like a balloon, I'm gonna let them all float up and away.  

Acceptance is something else that I've taught myself.  Probably the worst pain was the pain of losing ones we loved.  Part of life is meeting new people while letting go of others.  It's sort of like a rotation.  After a while, one simply has to accept whatever fate serves us.  The older we get, the more we fear the future.  The mind is very skilled at creating vivid scenarios that most likely will never happen.  Yet, we live those scenarios as if they're real.  Maybe it's a kind of preparation.  We feel our limitations setting in.  The burdens of life are heavy and will inevitably get heavier.  If there's a way to ease the weight of worry, then it's worth a try.   

Each of us is responsible for our one and only self.  Instead of stepping out of our comfort zone, wny not create a comfort zone for my brain for those times when it starts acting like a hamster wheel.  A place where my mind can feel at peace.  When we push discomfort aside and embrace comfort, we practice self-compassion.  And, that's the aim in 2025. 

APPS HELP KEEP NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

We're fast approaching the time for New Year's Resolutions.  According to a 2024 Statista poll, the most popular resolutions in the U.S. are 28% to save money, 17% to exercise, and 19% to eat healthier.  I'm fairly certain that every year since my mid-30s, I resolved to lose weight, exercise more, blah, blah, blah.  It's that business of Barbie, the anorexic doll, being the symbol of the perfect girl.  News flash:  I weighed more than Barbie when I was born.  For me to ever look like Barbie would be like me hoping to wake up tomorrow and be a tree instead of a person.

So, why do we fail at these end-of-year promises?  Sometimes we set unrealistic goals.  It's mighty hard to change our behavior to be, and look like, something we're not.  We must always keep our inherited ancestral genes in perspective.  If one's parents are both over 6 feet tall and skinny as a rail, chances are good one is not going to be a chubby little elf.

Then there's the business of life interruptions.  Let's imagine it's the second week in January, and we've religiously followed a new eating and exercise regimen.  Then, like the flip of a switch, an unexpected bad event happens.  WHAM!  What's the first thing we turn to for comfort?  Yup, soul-soothing food.  We reach a point where we feel there's no point in continuing with our struggles.  

Phone Apps just might be the answer to sticking with our resolutions.  They track progress, set reminders and provide easy access to tools that assist in achieving goals.  When choosing an app, it's best to select one that is easy to navigate, a friendly companion.  Check the app's privacy policies to be sure data is safely protected.

We're lucky to live in a time where we can access information and develop the skills we need for personal growth, productivity and self-improvement.  I figure why not use all the luxuries that are available.  If our phone plan offers a free app download, why not take advantage of it.  

Guess I should add apps to my gratitude list.  

FUNBER 27

Here we are on the 27th day of the 12th month of 2024.  Numbers on the calendar tell us the day, the numbers on a clock tell us the time, zip code numbers tell where we live, highway numbers tell us where to drive, measurements in recipes tell us amounts of ingredients to add, page numbers mark the number of pages we've read, numbers on our doors tell what unit or apartment we live in, age numbers tell us what we can legally do, the numbers on an odometer tell us how many miles we've driven, and numbers on a yard stick identifies inches, feet, and fractions of both.

With me being mathematically challenged since day one, the world of numbers interests me.  It's that business of wanting to know what we find difficult to understand.  It's also that business of one side of the brain dominating the other.  For me, numbers take the back seat to words, any day of the week, month, year, decade or century.  Can we really imagine navigating our way in a world without numbers and words?

•  Funbers are elementary fun facts about numbers.  Today is the 27th day of the month, so let's see what part 27 plays in our aliveness.......  
• The numbers between 2 and 7, inclusive, add up to 27 (2 + 3 + 4 + 5 +6 + 7 = 27).
• 27 is the only positive whole number where the sum of its digits, when multiplied by 3, equals the number itself (2 + 7 = 9 x 3 = 27).
• The human hand has 27 bones.
• The moon revolves around the Earth once every 27 days (27.3 to be exact).
• Every 27 days the ocean's tidal patterns repeat because of the moon's position relative to the Earth. 
• The number of outs in a regulation baseball game for each team at all adult levels is 27.
• The ampersand symbol (&) originated in ancient Rome.  Up until the 1800s, the ampersand was considered the 27th letter of the English alphabet. 
• The Spanish alphabet and the Hebrew alphabet have 27 letters.
• The South Africa country code 27 allows us to call South Africa from another country.
• The number 27 is sometimes called the trinity of trinities as 3x3x3=27, 3x3=9, and 3x9=27.
• Planet Earth is made up of 72% saltwater and 1% freshwater, leaving 27% of the world as land.
• In a Rubik's Cube, there are 27 cubes.
• Mozart was born on January 27, 1756.  He produced 27 piano concertos and 27 concert arias.
• 
  The 27 Club refers to celebrities, mostly musicians, who died at age 27 (Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain to name a few).  
• The Oksapmin people of Papua, New Guinea count using 27 different body parts, starting with the thumb of one hand and progressing around the upper body to end with the little finger of the opposite hand...essentially using the body as a numerical counting tool.   This shows how different cultures develop unique ways to represent numbers based on their environment and their practices.

TIS THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

We just celebrated the Night Before Christmas, Christmas Day, and here it is The Day After Christmas.  

According to sources, Great Britain and other Commonwealth countries (Australia, Canada and New Zealand) celebrated Boxing Day on the 26th of December.  During Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901), servants and the poor were given presents.  The servants had to work on Christmas Day but would have the next day off to go be with their own families.  The aristocrats put their leftover food and/or money in boxes and gave them to their servants and those less fortunate.

Another Boxing Day theory is that it originated with the collection boxes that churches put out during Advent to raise money for the poor....and those collection boxes were distributed on December 26th.  

With the passing years, the day after Christmas in the U.S. means completely the opposite of the original reason for Boxing Day.  In 2024, December 26th rivals Black Friday as one of the most popular shopping days of the year.  Stores put their leftover Christmas decorations, lights, cards, candles....actually all things related to the holiday.....on super sale.  They need to get rid of it all so their shelves can be restocked with all things hearts, flowers and chocolate.   The younger generations know shopping as 'retail therapy.'  Call me non compos mentis, but how can spending money improve anxiety and depression, when spending money puts people in more debt, which, in turn, causes financial stress, anxiety and depression?  

COINCIDENCE....SYNCHRONICITY....ANGELS

Angels are like diamonds.

They can't be made.

You have to find them.

~Jaclyn Smith

In a spiritual context, angels offer us protection, comfort, guidance and inspiration.  The primary job of an angel is to help us along our personal journeys through this thing we call life.

Perhaps some prefer not to believe in the concept of angels, but I gotta say that the idea of having a benevolent being assigned to walk beside me is a source of comfort.  More than ever, we humans are living in an era of disbelief and uncertainty.  As a little girl, never could I have imagined a world like the one we live in today.  More than ever, we need to put our faith in angels that will act as barriers between us and adversity.  

Maybe there's an ongoing angelic network of communication that we can't see or hear.  Do you ever wonder if something is a synchronicity or a coincidence?  A coincidence is something that's not planned or arranged, but seems like it is.  Like when you bump into a friend at the grocery store.  A synchronicity is a coincidence that feels like it has a deeper meaning to it....more like a meaningful message from the universe. 

Sadly, none of us has concrete evidence of anything.  But, we do have the ability to choose the beliefs that best help us get through the challenging chaos and circumstances we will inevitably face.  If it helps to rely on an angel who will guide and protect, well, that's an amazing human gift.  

Do I believe in angels?  Honestly?  Yes.   I've encountered too many of them in my years to not believe.  None of them had wings, nor did they fly around sprinkling stardust.  They were what I call Earth Angels.  Funny thing, each Angel brought with them exactly what I needed at that moment.  

TIS THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS

.......time for me to sing out love-filled Christmas wishes to my devoted blog followers wherever you are in the world.

Christmas Eve, over the years, was our day for gathering with our families for meals, opening presents and going out in the cold to Midnight Mass.  I can remember wrapping presents only hours before we'd leave our house.  

We've invited another Venny couple to join us for pizza supper tonight.  The older we get, the less time we spend in the kitchen preparing meals.  It's called choosing the path of least resistance.  It's time to invest our energy in the togetherness time, more so than in the preparation time.  Anyway, that's my spin.

In honor of Christmas Eve, I chose this Victorian era painting published in 1878 by J. Hoover & Son, a business like Currier & Ives...

Christmas Eve - 1878

The stained glass windows welcome the local ladies and gentlemen to Midnight Mass. Note the one-horse open sleigh.  The horse's posture looks like the horse is reverently genuflecting.   Notice how the spiritual scene is shown to us by the light of the full moon.  The artist included two children going along with their parents to Midnight Mass.  

THOUGHTS WITH DEPTH

COLORS OF CHRISTMAS

When we think of Christmas, we think of the colors red and green.

Ancient Romans celebrated the god of agriculture, Saturnalia, with parties, eating and drinking in the weeks leading up to the Winter Solstice.    They decorated their homes with holly greens and decorated fir trees with fruit to symbolize their bountiful crops and prosperity.  (Yesterday was the Northern Hemisphere's Winter Solstice that celebrated the shortest day of 2024 and the first day of winter.)

In the Middle Ages, red was worn by nobility, and green was worn by merchants and bankers and the class of people next below the nobility in position and birth.

Red was the first color humans mastered, and it dominated the visual cultures for centuries.  Even today, red works of art bring the highest prices at auctions.

Wrapping presents in red and green conveys the spirit of the season.  Red wrapping paper represents the joy and love shared during the holidays, and green signifies hope and new beginnings.  

Over the years, other colors including blue, yellow and white, were added to the strings of Christmas tree lights. 

Gold and silver adds glitter and sparkle to home decors and accentuates the other colors.  Gold was one of the Magi gifts.  Tinsel was originally made of shredded silver and was invented in Nuremberg, Germany in 1610.  Gold and silver are the most widely recognized precious metals.

Blue hues of dye were extremely rare and expensive in biblical times.  Only the wealthy could afford them.  Blue is also associated with winter ice, snow and the heavens above.

Yellow reminds us of the Christmas Star, the celestial phenomenon that guided the three Magi to Bethlehem.  Interestingly, when blue is mixed with yellow, the mixture of the two becomes green.

White has long been associated with peace in many cultures.  As a historical reminder, let's think back to the Pearl Harbor attack that happened on December 7, 1941.  Americans gathered around their radios to hear the news broadcast that we were at war.  By the following winter, American troops found themselves overseas during the holidays.  The Armed Forces played "White Christmas" over and over to remind them of home. 

CHRISTMAS CARDINAL

"When cardinals appear, angels are near." 

• 

  College of Cardinals
  St. Peters Basilica, Rome

  The male Cardinal is crimson red, the same color as the robes worn by the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals. 
• The Northern Cardinal has graced more Christmas cards than any other bird.  It symbolizes hope, joy and connection to those who are no longer with us.
• The Cardinal's vibrant red feathers and the sound of its sweet whistle (sounding like cheer, cheer, cheer) remind us that beauty exists even during the coldest and darkest of times.

SLEIGH BELLS

• 

  Sleigh Bells

  Legend says that Jingle Bells (originally titled One Horse Open Sleigh) made its debut in 1850, in Medford, Massachusetts.  Composer James Lord Pierpont was a native of the town and wanted to write a song commemorating the town's annual sleigh races that were held around Thanksgiving.  Even though the song is now a Christmas essential, there's no mention of Christmas or any other holiday in the song.
• The song was inspired by the sound of bells jingling on the horse's harnesses, which were used to help avoid collisions in the snow in the mid 1800s.  The bells gave an obvious and early warning of an oncoming sleigh, giving people time to get out of the sleigh's path.
• The name of the horse in Jingle Bells is Bobtail.
• In 1965, Jingle Bells became the first song broadcast from space when the astronauts aboard Gemini 6 decided to play a prank on Mission Control and performed the song on a harmonica and actual jingle bells they had smuggled on board.
• We hear mention of sleigh bells in the first stanza of Winter Wonderland.....Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, In the lane, snow is glistening, A beautiful sight, We're happy tonight, Walking in a winter wonderland.
• 
  The first U.S. sleigh bell company was opened in 1810 by William Barton in East Hampton, Connecticut, which later became known as Belltown because of its successful bell production.
• American sleigh bells made in the last two centuries are brass or bronze. 
• The jingle sound comes from a small ball bearing, or metal rod, inside the bell that rattles when the bell moves.
• Besides their practical function, sleigh bells were used to decorate and were even plated with gold or silver to signify wealth and status.
• In ancient Babyloia, Assyria and Egypt, small bells were fastened to the harnesses of horses, mules and camels.
• One of the earliest uses of sleigh bells in classical instrumental works was in Mozart's "Three German Dances."  Composed in 1791, in three movements, the last one translates to Sleighride, and features tuned sleigh bells (C-E-F-G-A) played by three percussionists.

CHRISTMAS CARDS

Famous artists have created their own Christmas cards...........

Father Christmas
~Pablo Picasso~
1959

In 1959, Salvador Dali was hired by Hallmark greeting card company to design a series of Christmas cards.  So, he designed them according to his own ideas.  In this first card, he made a tree of over-sized butterflies.......

Christmas Tree of Butterflies
~Salvador Dali~
1959

The idea of recycling the beautiful Christmas scenes on received Christmas cards appeals to my theory of finding beauty in the broken.  Some people save the cards they receive, tie them in bundles and stash 'em away.  For those lucky ones, they have all that's necessary to craft new cards.  To do this, simply take each card, cut out a wreath, a phrase, a Santa, an angel, whatever appeals to you.  Then take these cutouts and glue them onto card stock paper.  It's a great way to teach children to recycle, plus it just might ignite an interest in art that may otherwise go undiscovered.  If anyone has old cards, it's a great idea to donate them to daycare centers.  The little ones can practice cutting with scissors and creating their own cards or decorating paper trees.  Better yet, start a mini art class in your own family.

I suspect in a few years the sending of holiday cards will become a thing of the past.  Like all things, the day will come when generations will talk about the time when people actually sent one another greeting cards in the snail mail system.  The cost of postage is another reason for the decline in sending cards.  It's so much easier to send our holiday wishes electronically.  Change never stops.  It's in our best interests to embrace adaptability and continue to move forward with the times.  It's not that we throw away the old, but rather we place the old in our album of memories where we can revisit them on a whim.

TREE ORNAMENTS

The first ornaments were used to add symbolism to a tree.  Apples represented the tree of forbidden fruit in the Bible, stars represented heaven, and angels represented God's communication with man.

• Early ornaments.....People decorated trees with whatever they had on hand, such as apples, nuts, popcorn, cranberries, paper streamers, candles and metal foil.
• Glass ornaments....In 1847, a glassblower by the name of Hans Greiner made the first glass ornaments (called baubles) in Lauscha, Germany.  He created garlands of glass beads and tin figures to hang on trees.
• Commercialization....The tradition became popular and was commercialized under Queen Victoria's reign.  Shops began to sell ornaments seasonally.
• In the 1890s, Woolworth's Department Store (dime store) in the U.S. sold more than $25 million in German-imported ornaments made of lead and hand-blown glass each year.  Soon after, other countries joined in.  Japan and Eastern European countries were mass-producing glass Christmas ornaments to compete with Germany.
• Hallmark ornaments....Hallmark, in 1973, introduced a line of 'keepsake' ornaments that added collectible value to Christmas tree ornaments. 
• Modern day ornaments....Today ornaments are made from glass, plastic, porcelain, metal, wood, and a variety of materials including paper.  Family members create their own ornaments, which immediately become sentimental keepsakes and are placed on a premier branch of a family Christmas tree.   
• Handcrafted tree ornaments are popular at craft fairs and online businesses.
• Ornaments can represent a family's interests in sports, hobbies or even favorite colors, as well as their personalities.
• Some families choose an annual theme for their tree, such as a coastal theme with seashells or a tree decorated with different kinds of birds.
• Today's ornaments also have special meanings, like the nutcracker represents strength and courage, and a gingerbread man symbolizes joy and happiness.
• The tree-topper is the one special ornament that crowns the tree, the most common being a star (representing the Star of Bethlehem) or a Christmas Angel. 

NATIVITY (fancy way of saying BIRTH)

Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds
Domenico Ghirlandaio - 1485

This oil painting was painted as an altarpiece in the Sassetti Chapel of Santa Trinita in Florence, Italy.  Domenico Ghirlandaio was from Florence.  Like other artists from this era, Ghirlandaio painted himself in the scene as one of the characters--most likely the one pointing to Baby Jesus.

Mystic Nativity - 1500
Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli painted the Mystic Nativity as an oil on canvas.  Notice how he portrays softness and movement in cloth--with the dancing angels. 

 

Adoration of the Magi - 1504
Albrecht Durer

This painting was commissioned for the altar of Schlosskirche in Wittenberg, Germany.  Albrecht Durer painted himself in the painting as one of the three kings (the long-haired one dressed in green).

The Sistine Madonna - 1512-13
Raphael

Raphael was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance.  This is one of his most famous works--especially the two cute little cherubs on the bottom.  Aren't they adorable?  The oil painting was commissioned as an altarpiece by Pope Julius Ii in 1512 for the Church of San Sisto, Piacenza.

Adoration of the Shepherds - 1609
Caravaggio

Caravaggio uses a high contrast between highlights and shadows, as we can see here.  His paintings often show struggle and pain.  Notice how the figures look like ordinary people, barefoot in robes, rather than with elegant divine figures.  The barn appears to be dimly lit by a candle.

Saint Francis of Assisi is said to have popularized the Nativity scene in 1223, when he staged a live recreation of the birth of Baby Jesus.  In the town of Greccio, Italy, real people and animals brought the story of the Baby's birth to life for those who could not read the Scriptures.

By the 1300s, Nativity scenes were being made of wood or clay and placed in churches throughout Italy and other parts of Europe.  These displays were often large, with life-sized figures. 

ADVENT WREATHS

The four Sundays before Christmas are celebrated as Advent.  The four candles on the Advent Wreath represent the Light of the World. One candle is lit Each Sunday.  Three candles are purple and are lit on the first, second and fourth Sundays of Advent.  The fourth candle is pink and is lit on the third Sunday of Advent.  

• First purple candle, the Prophecy Candle, symbolizes hope.
• Second purple candle, the Bethlehem Candle, symbolizes faith and Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem.
• Third pink candle, the Shepherd's Candle, symbolizes joy and remembers the joy of the shepherds.
• Fourth purple candle, the Angel's Candle, symbolizes peace.  This candle represents the angel's message of "Peace on Earth and good will towards men."

In 1839, Pastor Johann Hinrich Wichern, Germany, made a wreath from an old cart wheel to help children at his mission school count down the days until Christmas.  He decorated the wheel with red candles for weekdays and Saturdays, and a large white candle for Sundays.  The tradition became popular among Protestant churches in Germany and in 1920 was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church.  It was German immigrants who brought the tradition to the United States. 

Our world today is filled with both darkness and light.  Lighting the candles in December is a way for us to reflect on hope, peace, joy and love.  It is my personal opinion that we don't need to be labeled as belonging to a certain formal religion in order to do that.  Nor is it difficult to make and decorate an evergreen wreath, buy four candles and light one each week.  It's the business of trying to get along with each other, feeling compassion for one another, thinking positively and taking delight in life's countless blessings.  Sometimes doing all that isn't easy, yet our persistence and positive outlook will get us to the other side of the dark times that leave us with broken hearts.  Been there, done that.

A burning candle is the perfect symbol for the passage of time and life itself.  The longer it burns, the shorter it gets.

SANTA'S SLEIGH AND REINDEER

Santa's sleigh and reindeer play a major role in the story of Santa Claus.  Santa's sleigh travels the night sky, magically pulled by reindeer named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph.  Christmas is the time for fun, so let's meet Santa's reindeer....... 

Dasher: The fastest reindeer of the pack.  He was replaced as lead reindeer by Rudolph, cuz he kept going too fast and the rest of the reindeer couldn't keep up.  Dasher is the oldest and most respected in the reindeer community.

Dancer:  Has the most flair and elegance.....and knows it.  He's always putting on performances for the rest of the reindeer.  Dancer is the twin brother to Prancer.

Prancer:  Like his twin, Prancer is graceful and majestic, and far too aware of it.  Every Christmas Eve Santa has to drag him away from the mirror.  Prancer and Dancer are tied next to each other in the group so Dancer can keep an eye on his easily distracted twin brother.

Vixen:  Was voted The Most Beautiful Reindeer of all time by the Reindeer Monthly.  Vixen is a notorious flirt and flutters her long eyelashes at anyone to get her way.

Comet:  Strong and stubborn, Comet was named after a great comet which flew through the sky at the same moment he was born.....which foretold his future as a famous flying reindeer.

Cupid:  Born on Valentine's Day, Cupid is the most romantic of the reindeer.  Madly in love with Vixen, he's constantly trying to impress her.  Santa had to separate the two since Cupid kept flying into things, cuz he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Donner:  Her name means thunder, and she's not to be messed with.  Married to Blitzen, they're kinda like the parents of the other reindeer.  Donner looks after the others, making sure their hooves are clean, and she cooks hearty meals before their long journeys delivering gifts around the world.

Blitzen: Husband to Donner, he's the bravest reindeer.  He encourages the rest of the team through the toughest storms to make darn sure they successfully deliver the presents in time for Christmas morning.  Blitzen's name means lightning.  Together with Donner, they are the backbone of this magnificent bunch.

Rudolph: The youngest and most famous of Santa's team.  Rudolph was born with his legendary red nose, and children all over the world are delighted that he was, cuz he has led the team through many wintry nights like a bright flashlight.  Dasher was not happy when Rudolph replaced him as lead reindeer, but after seeing how well Rudolph could guide the sleigh through even the thickest fog, he was okay with it and gladly acted as second in command.

The best present you can ever receive
Does not possess any monetary value
Yet is more precious than pure gold
It's the gift of someone loving you.
(Paul Curtis, English Poet)

CHRISTMAS ELVES

In keeping with December's theme of Christmas, I searched for paintings of Santa's helpers.....ELVES.  Fineartamerica.com is the source of these adorable little helpers.

Christmas elves are tiny creatures with pointed ears. They live far away at the North Pole in Santa's village.  Only Santa and his elves know where the secret village is.  Santa's elves have responsibilities:  take care of Santa's reindeer, guard the secret location of the village, make sure Santa's sleigh is in good shape and works well, help Santa keep up his Naughty or Nice List, make toys and then organize them onto Santa's sleigh, and their most important job is to keep an eye on children's behavior and report back to Santa.  Elves have to work fast in the mail room, where they sort through tons of letters.  On top of that, since the letters come from all over the world, Santa's elves must understand many different languages. 

Elf With Christmas Lights
Beverly Johnson

Elves Delivering Christmas
English School

Santa's Elves 
Francois Ruyer

German Christmas Card
Elves Surrounding a Tree

Santa's Elves Sliding on a Log
Les Classics

The Cutest Little Elf
Tina LeCour

Elf After Hours
Tina LeCour

Have you ever wondered why elves have pointed ears?  Well, their ears are seen as a symbol of their heightened senses and connection to nature.  They love the forests and have a deep appreciation for plants and animals.

Elves can be quite mischievous and are known to leave little surprises or "elf magic" around the house.  Do you suppose that's why sometimes one sock comes up missing? Hmmmmm..............

LOUIS WAIN'S CATS

 Yesterday I looked at the clock.  The time was 12:12.  This happens to us a lot.....seeing the same sequence of numbers.  After pointing the time out to my boyfriend, he was quick to add, "Yah, and it's also the 12th day of the 12th month!"

Some call this "seeing angel numbers."  Others call it "synchronizing with the universe."  I wonder if the universe communicates with us through numbers.  When we consider that the Fibonacci numbers apply to the number of petals in flowers and their spiraling seed patterns, sea shells, tree branches, pine cones, pineapples an other fruits and vegetables.....it makes sense that numbers might be the language used by the universe to tell us we're maybe on the right path.  If nothing else, the same sequence of numbers gives us a choice of meaning.  If seeing the same numbers gives me a feeling of reassurance, then so be it. We're free to think whatever we like and feel inspired and satisfied.

Shortly after 12:12, our dear Judy stopped over bearing gifts, as always.  Coincidence???  Earlier, she and her little granddaughter rescued a baby kitten, and now little Gracie is a ruling member of the household.  Judy gave me permission to post this photo she took of Gracie spending time in their Christmas tree.....  

Gracie

Our pets, those beloved fur babies, play an integral part of Christmas, sometimes in cute and mischievous ways.  Seeing a cat in a Christmas tree reminds me of Chevy Chase's Lampoon Christmas Vacation with Cousin Eddy and the crew.  The cat gets fried into the carpet when it chews on the electric cord to the tree lights.  That movie, in my opinion, is the funniest ever made.  

Which makes me think that I'm always posting about dogs..... and not cats.  You see, I'm a dog person, as they say.  So, let's see what I can find about our feline friends in the world of Christmas art..........

Louis William Wain (1860-1939) was an English artist known for his drawings of cats with human characteristics.  Wain was born in London and produced hundreds of drawings and paintings for periodicals and books from 1901 to 1921.  He did not become wealthy, because he sold his works at low prices and relinquished copyright. 

Wain began illustrating cats when he was in his 20s as a way to entertain his wife, who was dying of cancer.  After she passed away, those illustrations won him international fame.  Without going into detail, Wain's life was a sad one of mental health and personal tragedy.  Wain had a cat named Peter.  The death of Peter in 1898 was a terrible blow to Wain's mental health.  Peter was his only living connection to his wife, and after losing Peter, he went into deep depression. 

Wayne is known for his paintings of cats playing golf or having tea or a cocktail.  Author H. G. Wells said of him, "He has made the cat his own.  He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world."  Let's look at some of his works......

Cats Nightmare

Note:  This one with the owls is my personal favorite.  I think I'd have named this piece "EYES."

A Merry Christmas Party
(complete with gag exploding cigars)

Cat Christmas