Growing up I was enlivened and warm hearted by the melodic, festive and somewhat feverish build up to the Christmas holiday. The tree and all the trimmings, the homemade cookies by Mom, the month long visits from my grandmother, Nema, the random knocks on the door from neighbors delivering gifts, the gathering of friends and family around one big table for dinner, the caroling, the magic of Christmas Eve when flying reindeer and mystical beings come forward into the spotlight…and the snow, oh the SNOW…and then there was Christmas Day! The early morning rise to the scent of coffee brewing (just like that old commercial you may remember) and me pitter pattering in my my cozy, footed sleeper to sit on the floor and see what Santa had left under the Christmas tree. What fun! I’ll be honest, it wasn’t about celebrating Jesus’ birthday at our house. It was more about gift giving and gathering to feast inside as the weather got colder outside.

The Following Week: Saying goodbye to Christmas is bittersweet. My spirit deflates like a sad balloon as the songs of the season fade away on the local radio stations, the decorations are slowly and somberly put away, the tree is de-robed of its ornaments, red candlesticks snuffed until next year, my Nema goes back to California, neighbors and friends get quiet as they hunker down for the long Vermont winter, and the scent of clove and orange only a faint memory now. My solace at this sad time for me was the warmth and light of the fire we kept burning in the wood stove which was the center of our home.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Because I have found a way to feel the spirit of the holiday season year-round without the abrupt start and stop that I have been conditioned to know as the only experience to have this time of year.

What is the way?

It’s a deeper connection to nature and the cycle of the seasons. That’s it! Simple, yet so big. After years of feeling deflated the day after Christmas I started to peel back the layers to find out what it really is that I love about this holiday in the first place. I also read a few books, one entitled The Old Magic of Christmas by Linda Raedisch which opened my eyes to the fact that many people such as my ancestors would celebrate the Winter Solstice spanning the entire months of November, December and January! And that many of the traditions of Christmas that I have grown up loving actually pre-date Christianity and were a part of my ancestors’ way of life who worshiped nature and flowed with the cycles of the seasons. I have come to realize that it is the slowing down, the noticing, the festoonery, the crafting, the cooking, the baking, the bonfires, the gathering to feast, the snow, the quiet, the singing, the toasting, the bare branches, the birds chirping, the closeness to the magical and the mystical, the sun gaining strength as it returns that I hold dear to my winter heart.

So in recent years I celebrate Yule. And lucky for me I do not have to abandon the Christmas traditions I love or abruptly end all festivities on the 26th of December. Both can exist! I can create the holiday season of my dreams in tandem with nature and my loved ones. I can learn and remember what my ancestors used to do and I can still celebrate what I know and remember from my childhood.

In the coming year I look forward to sharing more about how I am flowing with the seasons and practicing deepening my connection with nature through art making and communing with the woods. For now I say to you with love, cheers to saying goodbye which wonderfully can be hello.

Happy New Year!