Wishes for a peaceful Christmas

I love being in the room where we have sat up the Christmas tree. It's always so peaceful to sit and just look at the tree and the lights. I used to love doing that as a child, and I still love it. The Christmas tree brings peace to any room it's in. Wishing all my readers a peaceful Christmas. I hope that the new year brings an end to the pandemic--that is my wish--I have no others. 

 

The magic of Christmas trees

Putting up a Christmas tree is an important Christmas tradition in our house. I know people who don't put up a tree, and they always have good reasons for not doing so, but it wouldn't work for me. There is something about having a Christmas tree that adds to the Christmas spirit and ambience in our home. My husband and I have decided that we will put up a real tree for as long as we manage to carry one home from the Christmas tree market where we buy one each year (right down the hill from where we live). It usually doesn't take us long to pick one out; we like fir trees (edelgran in Norwegian), about six feet tall, and as symmetrical as possible when you twirl them.

But it is the magic that Christmas trees create, the beauty they add to a room or an outdoor space, that is an important part of Christmas each year. We always had a Christmas tree in our home when we were children, albeit an artificial tree since my parents weren't big on buying real trees. It wasn't until I moved to Norway that real trees became a part of Christmas. Our co-op board also buys a large real tree and puts it up in the courtyard. If it snows, it is always so pretty to look at, the golden lights shining through the glistening snow. Christmas magic, indoors and outdoors.....

All things Christmas

We are a week away from Christmas, more or less. It seems as though we've been on the road to Christmas since the middle of November, and as always, the weeks have flown by. Each week seems to be filled with things that have to be done, in addition to all of the work projects that have piled up. It's always like this right before Christmas and before summer vacation--the last minute rush to get things done. We put up our Christmas tree early this year--last week in fact--and I hope that it lasts until around January 6th when we take it down. We haven't gone over to an artificial tree yet, but we have talked about it; maybe in a few years. I bought LED outdoor string lights for the balcony, and they look very nice. I wish I could get a good night photo of them, but I don't seem to be able to--the photos end up too blurry. One of the nice things about LED lights is that they use very little electricity, so many people have decorated their balconies and homes with string lights. The end result is that there is more light in the darkness than usual. This is the dark time of the year in northern Europe, but it doesn't feel that way because so many people are using LED lights to light up the darkness.

It will be nice to have some time off for the Christmas holidays. I will catch up on my reading, sleeping, and baking. And I will try to take more photos during this season…….

Christmas tree in the courtyard

our Christmas tree

the amaryllis has already bloomed

Day 7 of the Facebook photo challenge

One of my personal favorites........I used this motif several years ago to make Christmas cards. There is something about the lighting and the snow falling, and the snow on the tree branches, that gives me peace of soul.