We’re into the final stretch now. Just a handful of days left of this year’s Virtual Advent celebration. And to keep us touring, here is a final post from Rudi at Random Duck about perchten, beings out of Austrian folklore.
Thanks for stopping by!
On this day 180 years ago, Chapman & Hall published Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The first printing sold out by Christmas Eve.
My dad loves this Dickens classic, and so we were exposed early. I was (and am) not a particular fan of ghost stories, so it took many years before I came to appreciate the original text, although I do have a fondness for some of the film and tv adaptations, especially Mr. Magoo’s:
We grew up listening to the old audio plays. This is the Campbell (of the soup fame) Playhouse version, with Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge and Orson Welles as the narrator:
If you’ve got some time to listen — wrapping presents maybe or baking or navigating traffic — here is Neil Gaiman reading the unabridged story from Dickens’ folio:
And if you are a lucky soul in New York City (know if I’d discovered this earlier, I’d have been on a train now!), Gaiman is doing a costumed reading at Town Hall tonight to benefit the New York Public Library, and tickets still seem to be available.
Technically, this was the Top Ten Tuesday topic for last week, but I missed it then. So, we’re getting it today instead!
Ten books I’m looking forward to reading this winter:
It’s the 18th, which means we’re one week out from Christmas. You’ve got this!
Our kitchen has made the switch over to holiday mugs:
While Rudi prefers his ski tavern pottery for coffee year-round, his reindeer mug is his go-to for tea and cocoa at this time of year.
My Santa mug (or, as Rudi lovingly calls him, “Willie Nelson”) holds two cups of liquid, which makes it my daily tea vessel. I’m nearly positive I picked him up at the Christmas Tree Shop back in Connecticut.
On the other hand, if I’ve made a pot of tea, I either pick the squirrel mug (a gift from Rudi) or the kitten mug, which I’ve had since I was a teen. They’re small for a standalone cuppa, but great if you’ve brewed a couple hours’ worth at once.
Snoopy, a gift from a former colleague, is my cocoa mug, since it’s decently big enough for a nice cup of hot chocolate without having to skimp on whipped cream.
Do you switch your drinkware out for holidays or do you drink from the same collection of mugs year-round?
Today is Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent. It is dedicated to joy and rejoicing in the season (traditionally in the coming of Christ, but I find taking a broad approach works best for me).
My family didn’t go to church when I was little, joining only when I was in the third grade. My parents can probably shed some light about what prompted them to start going, but the reasons weren’t particularly important to me as a kid.
During December, families would light the Advent wreath candles, and one year (maybe when I was in sixth grade?), we were chosen to light one. It wasn’t Gaudete Sunday, because our candle was purple, not pink, but it was still cool.
What I loved most about our church at first was that it had a children’s choir, and third graders could join. So every Thursday afternoon, I (later with my brother) would go to practice. During the school year, we performed once a month, mostly at the family service, with added appearances at Christmas Eve and Palm Sunday).
I stuck with it through ninth grade, when I could have moved over to one of the adult choirs. Since nearly everyone in there was at least my folks’ age, I opted against it. But every once in a while I hear a song we performed as part of the choir (“Fum Fum Fum” and “Lord of the Dance” are favorites) and it makes me smile.
Sarah invited me to check out D.C.’s Eastern Market Night Market with her, a new event we hoped would meld the cheerfulness of the Eastern Market weekend market experience with the bustle of neighborhood and downtown Christmas markets that pop up this time of year.
While that description would be a stretch, we had a good time anyway and got some of our Christmas shopping done. Holiday gift buying is, without a doubt, best done with friends. I’ve become solitary in that activity over recent years, and tonight reminded me I should make sure I combine lunch or dinner dates at this time of year with running into a shop or two. I stay on task and it’s fun to mull over possible presents with another person.