Searching for the magic of Christmas

Brooks Shopping Centre, Wimnchester

It's been a long time...the neglect of this blog is dreadful! Apart from updating some music and books I have not been here since the beginning of the month. Everything I've had to say has been posted to my other blog as part of 'write a post a day for November'.

But here I am. Sorry it's been a while. I should be going off to choir practice this morning but I'm giving it a miss as I have the sniffles. Yesterday I felt decidedly off and lethargic. I have a hectic few days coming up as our church has its Christmas Fair on Saturday. Our group prepare the lunches, so I have to cook, arrange who is doing what, and be there for most of Saturday, re-heating and serving, after which I come home and barely move! This is my last year in charge of it all and I cannot wait to pass over the menus and serving spoons to someone else.

Which brings me to Christmas. Despite being away in Winchester surrounded by the Christmas market, and the fact that at choir we have been practicing Christmas songs and carols for weeks, I cannot get that glimmer of excitement I usually have. I noticed last year it disappeared and I regret its passing because Christmas has always been my favourite time of year and I never thought there would come a day when I wasn't excited by it.

Perhaps years of working in Oxfam selling Christmas fare from October through to the sales hanging on into February, and having to organise Christmas stuff for my church group from September, have taken their toll. Then there is the Christmas music for choir. Today was going to be the first Christmas sing on the streets of Kingston and I shall not be there.

Christmas should not start until 1st December! Actually, even then it's not theoretically Christmas by church standards. This Sunday is Advent Sunday and the Advent season goes through until Christmas Day when officially it is Christmas. The Christmas season then goes through to February 2nd which is Candlemas - the celebration of the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple. At church our Christmas tree stays up well into January and one of our Priests keeps all his decorations up until 2nd February. So much for the superstition of everything must be taken down by twelfth night (January 6th).

My Dad (God bless him) would sometimes make us wait until 15th December for our Christmas Tree (an no it wasn't a real one - Mum gave up after the mess of needles the first time we did that). On New Year's Day our Dad would have the tree and all the decorations down. I had such a deprived childhood! Actually, I may not wait until 15th December to put up our tree but nothing goes up in November. I don't even send my cards out until December and even then I wait as long as possible. I know several people who do their Christmas shopping in August! When I do shop early I forget about what I've bought by December, and then can't find it.

For my kids, as long as they get a Christmas dinner the rest is not so important to them. I think techie son starves himself all year for this great feast. At home we always stuffed ourselves to bursting point and had the Christmas pudding whether we had room or not. In this household I soon realised no one wanted the pudding after dinner, So I have started my own tradition of serving it either later in the afternoon or at what I still call, tea time. Even then it is a half-hearted effort and often one son refuses!

So, that's my feeling about Christmas right now. The magic is there somewhere - I just need to find it again. My son (the techie one) says Christmas is too commercialised. He is right, of course, but I find it funny coming from him who tells me he is an atheist.Oh well, bah humbug!