Merry and Bright

'Merry' and 'Bright' are definitely the right words to describe Christmas in The Little House this year. Last Christmas we knew that it was going to be our last in the farmhouse we so loved and the upcoming move in January hung over us all like a black cloud. This year things were more relaxed and, now settled once again, the skies were literally bright and the mood merry. 

The happy snowmen collection 

The run-up, as always, was a little frantic with lots of last-minute present buying, card writing, meal planning and house decorating. Every year I vow to be more organised, to start earlier, to sort through the overflowing Christmas boxes before putting them away, to spread the cost across the year etc. etc. but it never happens and I'm running around in a festive panic - thank heavens for Amazon Prime! 

Christmas baking

Inevitable materialism aside, there was much to be grateful for this year not least the fact that we were able to have my mother-in-law with us once again. Having won a hard fought battle against cancer a few years ago, at 80 years old, she remains one of the most glamorous grannies I know though being Danish she prefers the term 'farmor' - father's mother. 

Farmor is very popular with Fabbydoo and Luna too!

Old Christmas books came down from the loft and we enjoyed looking through them all. I especially love 'Mog's Christmas'. If you don't know the Mog series by Judith Kerr then I should explain that Mog is a thoroughly silly cat who is always getting into scrapes. In this particular adventure she is not impressed by the Christmas tree at all and escapes to the roof only to then fall down the chimney! 

The Wonderful Man excelled himself with not one but two Christmas feasts and not for the first time I thanked my lucky stars that I married a man who can cook!  Christmas Eve was our Danish celebration complete with traditional ham and caramel potatoes not forgetting the rice pudding and marzipan pigs. I wrote more about Danish Christmas Eve or Juleaften in this post last year.  

Then on Christmas Day the UK version where we ended up more stuffed than the turkey!

Christmas table set

Unlike Mog, I am very impressed by our Christmas tree this year.  It is a proper fir tree complete with little cones, thick branches and lovely long needles that so far have stayed in place.  We have many tree decorations but that doesn't stop us buying at least one new one each year. This year's favourite? I think it would have to be the Christmas sloth! 

If I'm honest, then I'd say these quiet days inbetween Christmas and New Year are my favourite.It's lovely to be able to stay in my dressing gown all day, to read, watch seasonal classics, eat peculiar mixtures of leftovers and at the end of the day just to sit by the fire and watch the twinkly Christmas lights. Hope your Christmas was merry and bright too. Blessings to you and yours.  

Christmas in the Little House

Christmas begins a day early in the Little House as the Danish contingent likes to have their main celebration on Christmas Eve or Juleaften  in Danish.

Lots of Danes enjoy roast goose on Christmas Eve but we prefer a ham. This is served with caramelised potatoes (truly delicious), red cabbage and peas and carrots in a light parsley sauce. The most important item though is dessert - the traditional rice pudding risalamande, made with whipped cream and chopped almonds and served with cherries (ours were in kirsch - yum). One almond is left whole and whoever finds this in their portion wins the marzipan pig!  I know, it does all sound pretty peculiar and it's quite disconcerting to see everyone examining each and every almond piece in the hopes that they are the winner. This year it was little old me but I'm much too fond of the piggy, with his smart red ribbon, to dare eat any of it.

After the meal it's time for coffee and special Christmas biscuits and candy and then...Lotto.  

This seasonal Scandinavian version of bingo with images of Danish decorations and Christmas characters is taken very seriously and is fiercely competitive.  To start with, a line will win you a present and then a full house but a fair amount of cheating goes not to mention 'fixing' by the caller. Presents are small but beautifully wrapped and each with a red ribbon. Sometimes silly and often practical, this year they included lens wipes and ice scrapers! 

Finally, exhausted by the whole event (and the schnapps), stockings are put out, a carrot for Rudolph and a drink for Santa Claus or Julemanden (literally 'Yule Man').  He is assisted with his Yuletide chores by elves known as nisse. These Danish-style elves are more tricky than their English cousins. Traditionally it's believed that they live in attics or barns. It's important to keep in favour with them or you may find they will play a nasty trick on you or even ruin your luck.We always leave a few extra Christmas biscuits to be on the safe side.  

Twelfth Night

frenchmoments.com

Old Twelfth Night traditions are pretty strange sounding to a modern community and worryingly reminiscent of  'The Wicker Man' style of revelry.  I have a charming book called 'Festivals, Family and Food' that details many of the traditions, games and recipes that have been forgotten (though possibly for very good reasons).  In it a recipe is given for a special cake - a 'Galette des Rois' baked to celebrate the three kings and containing a dried bean and pea (yummy).  If I ever manage to find ground rice in our local Asda I may try to make it.  Apparently, the person who finds the bean is the king for the night and the person finding the pea is the queen .  They rule the household for the evening and take charge of the 'games' .
Traditionally, games seem to consist of cross-dressing, supping bowls of ale, riotous dancing and playing tricks and practical jokes on friends and neighbours - sounds like a normal Saturday evening in Dunbar to me.

In Western Christian culture the 6th of January is celebrated as the Epiphany - the arrival of the three wise men or the Adoration of the Magi  if you want to be proper in your liturgy. Epiphany means 'to make known', 'to show' or 'to reveal' and so I guess by seeking out the Christ child and bringing gifts for him they 'reveal' him as the son of God and make it known that he is King. As a child I could never understand the business of Frankincense and Myrrh at all; what rubbish birthday presents! Gold made perfect sense but I could not comprehend the symbolism of what to me sounded like an ancient equivalent of Febreze and Vaseline.

These are our much treasured wise men  

Now I am older (but not a lot wiser) I can appreciate that these were rare and  highly valuable gifts. They were also symbolic and prophetic. From a quick Google search I can also update myself with the modern thinking that there were probably more than three kings, that they were not really kings as such but more likely spiritual leaders, prophets or even early astronomers.  Despite the Christmas card depiction of camels, we do not really know their mode of transport just that it must have been a long and dangerous journey.  Were they led by a star, a comet or some other  spectacular celestial event? Again, we don't know but it seems fitting to imagine a brilliant star and three exotic kings in  resplendent robes convinced of the birth of the true Messiah and determined to find him. In this sense it seems a shame that we don't generally acknowledge Twelfth Night as anything other than a bad luck superstition to do with housekeeping. I think to put this right I will dig out my three kings from their hibernation in the loft and put them back on display and indulge in a little merrymaking myself. Now, where's my crown...

In between...

I love these Emma Bridgewater mugs

Now we've recovered from nasty coughs and viruses we are enjoying these leisurely in-between days before New Year celebrations.  Little S must have felt much better as she was up brightly this morning and in baking mode. Red velvet cupcakes looked very festive but her first attempt at mixing purple (yes, purple!) buttercream icing was not successful and it came out grey! A little more experimentation and she managed to transform it into blue.  These colourful offerings were certainly very cheering and delicious, especially with a nice mug of Christmas coffee.

Poor Luna hasn't had as many walks as she would normally over the festive period and so we wrapped up warmly and took her down to the beach. The tide was almost completely in but we still had a long strip of sand for her to really run along and play, chasing the waves in and out and teasing us with long strands of seaweed in her mouth.

Later S and I got absorbed in some crafts; she in paper snowflakes and me with kite paper window stars.

The Wonderful Man is busy planning the menu for Hogmany and New Year's Day but he still managed to produce a super Saturday supper.  I bought some proper Garofalo pasta from the deli and he made my favourite tomato sauce with wild rocket and vodka - bellissimo!

I've also had time to look again at the beautiful presents we've received.  One of my favourites is this Christmas Matryoshka nesting doll that I originally bought for L's mum from the Russian shop in Edinburgh.  She's enjoyed it for the last 10 years but her house is practically groaning under the weight of many, many decorations and so she thought it would be nice to pass it on to H.  Aren't they wonderful!

Appropriately in the background  is a photo of L's mum holding H as a baby

My other most treasured gift is from my mum.  I can't believe she made such a beautiful cross stitch  for me and it was a complete surprise.  She managed to get L to hide it until Christmas morning and I had no idea that she had been working for years to create such a beauty.  I got L to hang it by the stairs so I can admire it every time I go up or down. Thank you Mum!

The words at the bottom read, 'Over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house we  go'

Christmas

Christmas has arrived in the Little House and despite feeling wretched with horrible cough, and the distinct lack of snow, I have managed to conjure up some Christmas cheer!

We just had time to put the finishing touches to our homemade gifts for friends in the village.  S helped me to re-purpose some jam jars and we tried our creative best to fashion them into  pretty night light holders, complete with wire handles, ready for the Christmas Eve nativity service.

The middle one has been decorated with the sheet music for Silent Night

In the kitchen the oven was in constant use with cranberries being the ingredient of choice:

Sticky cranberry sausages - yum

Cranberry scones with egg glaze (from eggs laid that morning of course)

There was such a storm the night before Christmas Eve that the hen house took off in the high winds in Wizard of Oz fashion and we very nearly had no eggs at all for baking and I wondered whether the hens had been blown across the North Sea.  It took L and our very handy neighbour most of the morning to put things back together and secure the coop with ropes.  

Gone with the wind!

Along with the wind came the rain and then more rain and we were forced to stay indoors and cosy up and enjoy what the Danish call 'hygge'.  There really isn't an English translation for this interesting word; it's more of a feeling of good company, friendship and warmth. 

'Frankentree' seems to be surviving the weight of all the decorations.  Almost all have their own story.  My favourites are the cable car bought back in 1994 during a visit to San Francisco and the rather garish dragonfly bought to remember the time we lived on the Somerset Levels and our garden was visited constantly by them.

The three wise men have begun their journey down the stairs though I think we'll let them arrive before Epiphany on the 6th January. My nisse dolls are waiting patiently on the mantlepiece; another Danish decoration I'm very fond of.

I love her stripes and long felt hat

Luna sneakily managed to wolf down the Christmas cookies left for Santa the minute our backs were turned; she was less interested in the carrot for Rudolph.  Having spent last Christmas traumatised and hiding under H's bed this is the first time she's had any 'involvement' in the festivities.

Someone also seems to have eaten all the nuts, though this time I suspect L!

Little squirrel dish is empty

Finally, Christmas Eve preparations were complete and we sat down to a traditional Danish supper.  L has perfected the handed-down recipe for the special Risalamande (Christmas rice pudding). This is mixed with whipped cream, vanilla and chopped almonds and served with a warm cherry sauce. Traditionally, one almond is left whole and whoever finds this in their portion wins the marzipan pig!  Ironically, this was The Wonderful Man himself.  He hates marzipan!

and the winner is...

Oh, Christmas tree...

Christmas never feels quite like Christmas until you have a tree.  I've often admired artificial trees and their perfect symmetry, let alone their distinct lack of needle drop, but for me there's nothing quite like a real evergreen brought indoors to start yuletide good and proper.  Just a whiff of cut pine and I'm instantly transported back to my childhood. I can remember vividly my father tying the tree to the roof of the car and then struggling to find something to stand it in and then to keep it straight.  It was before the days of special stands and I seem to remember that generally he resorted to using a bright orange plastic bucket heavily disguised with green crepe paper and filled with heavy stones.  He would then go about untangling the fairy lights and attempt to drape them around the tree. He was very exacting about this and the end result was perfectly placed lights but on a now leaning Tower of Pisa tree with half the needles on the floor.

The Frankentree

In the Little House we've been a little slow getting into Christmas mode this year and, keen to keep the expense of Christmas down, we decided to just buy one of the cheap ready-netted trees from our local supermarket rather than selecting one of the more extortionate varieties from the garden centre. The resulting purchase I have begun to refer to as 'Frankentree' (reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster rather than anything to do with frankincense). There is nothing standard about it and it appears as if it has been grafted together from random off-cuts.  Clearly from the outsize section, it has a very fat bottom that bulges out and hangs down at the back (I know how it feels!) The middle is completely disproportionate; there are disconcerting gaps whichever way you turn it and there are odd stunted sprigs. The top half has bare patches on the trunk with completely different triffid-like branches that come out at odd right angles more like some weird coat stand than tree.

Once fixed in the stand and not looking a whole lot better 'we' had to work out where it should go (that's the royal 'we' where I direct, L does what he is told and I take the credit) .  'We' had thought that the most likely position would be in the front window and so I had L move the tall and awkward wooden cabinet and glass lamp in order to put it there.  But no, in that spot no one would be able to get in and out of the room without having to brush past it and so out it came again and back went the cabinet and the lamp.  Next 'we' decided that it might be better placed next to the sofa.  L moved the other small, but surprisingly heavy, coffee table out of the way and upstairs along with yet another lamp. Once in situ it became obvious that the door would bash against it and it would probably dry out as it was opposite the wood burning stove. So, the coffee table came back downstairs and the lamp was connected once again. 'We' decided that the corner of the room by the other window might be better and so S's keyboard was moved out and went upstairs.  L searched high and low for an extension lead so she would still be able to do her daily practice. Eventually, he managed to find one and get everything working again. He informed me that the football had started. But, now you could not really see the television or get to the cupboard with the control for the central heating.  Not very practical so out it came again and stood in the middle of the room for quite some time while L muttered...and sighed ...deeply.  Finally, 'we' decided that the corner really was the only position for it to go and so the TV and the the other even heavier cabinet would have to move along and the Sky box and DVD player unplugged and then reconnected to the side.  'We' needed another extension cable but that was alright because it was half time anyway. At last 'we' managed to make it fit and I can see why L thought to suggest this position in the first place. He can still make the remote work if he walks over to the other side of the room and kneels down.

It did irritate me though that the picture above the TV was no longer central and so I suggested to L that 'we' re-hang it.  He went outside. I thought it was to find the hammer and picture hooks but when after half an hour he still hadn't returned I went to find him.  He was sat on the wood pile in the barn wearing two coats and listening to the post-match discussion on his portable radio.  Two empty beer cans were lined up beside him.  'I've found the lights,' I said enthusiastically.  He managed a weak smile.  At least I think it was a smile, it was quite dark by then so it was difficult to tell.

Adventures in Advent

I love Christmas time and have never lost that feeling of childlike anticipation that accompanies advent. All our Christmas decorations are stored in boxes high up in the loft, but each year one box is held back and put safely under our bed.  This is the advent box and the first precious item retrieved from it is our advent wreath.  These are traditionally meant to be a handmade circular garland of evergreens but long ago, realising my creative incompetence, I acquired a pretty Swedish-made crystal one.  We light one more of the four candles each Sunday in the run-up to Christmas.

I'm sure L enjoys the season too but each December he complains with Scrooge-type mutterings about some aspect or other of the preparations.  This year he was most unseasonable about my choice of 'stupid' gold candles and in his frustration, which manifested as constant rubbing of his face and much sighing, he ended up with gold-speckled chin and highlighted eyebrows. I decided not to inform him about his unintentional 'make-up' even when he went off to the village committee meeting where I'm sure the elderly members must have been surprised at his 'brilliant' appearance. 

My mother-in-law, who is Danish and far more tuned in to yuletide traditions, used to bring us a beautifully illustrated advent candle from Copenhagen every year with the numbers 1 to 24 marked down the side.  This year though she has been unable to travel and I was forced to find one myself.  I turned to the trusty internet and felt sure that such an item would be in stock but I had no joy.  L suggested, unsympathetically, that I 'just make one' from a normal white household candle and use a black Sharpie pen to write on the numbers!  Clearly, he has not inherited his mother's Scandinavian genes so, undeterred, and ignoring his ugly suggestion, I set off on my advent journey to that beacon of hope - John Lewis. There amongst the December chaos of celebrant shoppers I found a simple but attractive candle more in keeping with my  aesthetics.  I was thrilled with my minor commercialism and smugly made my way to the heaving queue at the checkout where I paid the grand total of £3.50.  The lady at the till seemed thoroughly bewildered by the appearance of real money, let alone actual coinage, and her expression seemed to suggest that I was not materialisitic enough to shop at such a debt-inspiring establishment.  My smile though faded when I went to leave the car park and paid £4.80 to do so; I'd only been in there for 20 minutes! Nevermind, I think it was worth it.  Each evening at supper time we light the candle and admire its glow. We watch the numbers slowly melt away and we are mindful of the season and its meaning. 

Light the Advent candle one

Now the waiting has begun

We have started on our way

Time to think of Christmas day.

Candle, candle burning bright

Shining in the winter night

Candle, candle burning bright

Fill our hearts with Christmas light.