Christmas is a time of merriment and feasting, a time of indulging in all the traditional pleasures. There have been midwinter festivals for hundreds of years. In pagan times, the gods had to be propitiated during the bleak days in order to ensure the return of the life-giving sun. When the Christian church took over the midwinter festival, many of the pagan customs were adopted. It wasn’t until Victorian times that Father Christmas, alias Saint Nicholas was first introduced into Britain.
Filling the house with evergreens and decorations is a way to express the importance of home in our lives. The spirit of giving was only developed in the nineteenth century.
Evergreens have always been regarded as symbols of life continuing through the cold days of winter; they were used as decoration in pagan festivals. The Romans would deck their homes with evergreens, signifying good fortune and we carry on the tradition, decking our homes with holly and ivy. Reminding us of our roots, and helping to preserve our cultural heritage.
On Sunday we had a special festive lunch for everyone who works at Cothay. Vivian was a star, cooking the starter and a delicious chicken dish, which had a mouth-watering sauce. This was followed by Ma’s Panetone Pudding with bananas & golden syrup and cream – it was really yummy!
And so with but a few days until Christmas, the rain comes down like a waterfall from heaven; perhaps the doubts of the environmentalists are correct and the winter will be wetter than ever. But we must not let the English weather spoil our Christmas, for after all, it only happens once a year.
Ma says we should be like Noah and build an ark and sail down the river to the sea, taking only our favourite friends and animals to the never-never land.