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From October 31st all the way through January 1st is a constant time of ceremony in my house. I am writing about the ceremony of Christmas because that is what I celebrate. For those of you that celebrate other religious or personal traditions, you will see much of what I am talking about in your world too.
December 1st I am out there cutting swags from our Evergreens and putting them up on the porch, adding touches of pine cones and red ribbons. I am not a person who does handwork well, so they look very basic. For me, that is fine. This is who I am, and they represent me. That may be the first ceremony of Christmas for each of us - to start the decorating, and usually that starts outside.
December 1st is also the traditional day for me to put my outside lights up. I cheat a bit, and wind them up and around the porch railing, but the effect is nice - lots of color, and the entire porch outlined like a beautiful rainbow. I leave them on from dusk to dawn - I not only am able to share them with passers by, but I work nights, and I work at home, so I get the full benefit of their beauty and sense of peace myself.
Now comes the decorating of the inside of the house - pull out the stops decorating! I am not talking high end here - I am talking decorations that I have had for years, some from my Mother and some from my Grandmother. They each have memories - they make me smile, and they bring me peace. I would be lost without them!
By the second week of December I have the tree up - as in THE tree! Some years it is big, some years small (depending on where I am living and thespace available) - but every year it is decorated with old, traditional ornaments combined with a few new things. I watch the water level like a hawk - we don't want our tree to be thirsty! What a gift from mother nature this tradition is - the bringing in of the tree. And what memories it leaves us with - as in the year that my male cat decided to eat the popcorn that I had strung and hung on the tree. He started in the back, so I wouldn't notice, and I never would have known where the popcorn went if I hadn't accidentally seen him doing it!
We also have to fit shopping in here somewhere. Now, I like shopping, even the heavy duty Christmas version. I try to go during the week when the crowds are less, and I try to leave myself enough time to enjoy the trip. I also take along a list of "possibilities" for those on my list. I am one of those people that love to start at one end of a mall and work down one side and up the other! I love the seasonal decorations, the kiosks in the middle of the mall - the whole thing! Enjoying shopping takes an attitude, and the will to focus on living in the moment, and enjoying that moment for what it is.
The second and third weeks of December are also about baking and candy making. I love to do the same things every year - for me there is a great joy in the smallest of traditions. And I love to serve family and friends - knowing that my own hands made the goodies!
Each of you will have your own ideas about what tradition and ceremony are for you this month. Honor them, become one with them, and know that they made you what you are.
Thank you for visiting my Ceremony pages. May your day be Blessed.
Bonnie Cehovet
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