As we turn our calendars to the December page and watch winter arriving on our lawns, we are reminded that the annual change of seasons is one reason we all love to live in Canada. Yes, really – we do!
Think of all the excitement! We change our eating habits and get out new menus. No more salads with all that chopping. No more driving to the country farm for fresh corn. No more cleaning the BBQ every night. Instead – comfort food! Hot creamy soups and rich stews with big chunks of beef swimming in thick gravy. That fresh fruit now baked into a warm cobbler with whipped cream on top. A cup of hot chocolate or apple cider served with roasted chestnuts in front of a crackling fire. Yum!
Then there is our “new” wardrobe. We put away our shorts and tee shirts, clothes we wore for the last several months, that no longer fit due to all the extra snacking. Instead we think of snuggling into that big turtleneck bought on sale last February. Top it off with a (fake) fur-lined coat, that unflattering hat pulled over our ears, and the high boots with the tire tread. It’s a whole new look!
Our activities change too. Since we’re sick of walking on the same trails, we can put on snow shoes and travel into forests and other out-of-the-way places. We can go skating on recently-opened ice rinks. And, with golf courses closed down, we can ski across the fairways and check out the view from the tee boxes. For even more exercise – we can shovel the driveway!
December also gives us everybody’s favourite season – Christmas. Despite the pandemic, there are many things to celebrate about Christmas. First off, we get to decorate our houses differently. Add a welcoming wreathe to our boring front doors. Put some scented pine boughs on the mantle. Find that dancing Santa and feature him on the dining room table. Add twinkly lights everywhere. Hide those indoor plants and bring in the Christmas tree!
During a pandemic our Christmas cards are going to be more important than ever. When we check our mailboxes, we’ll find something better than ads for duct cleaning and real estate. And those personal messages will warm everyone’s heart. As for gifts – we can still go shopping online, something we are all accustomed to by now. We can help our local business as well. Browse their online catalogues and choose the perfect gifts for everyone on our list. During covid this is pretty easy: books, sports equipment (with thermal underwear), or chocolate are all good because they give people something to do.
Visiting with family and friends during the holidays? Well, unfortunately that’s a tough call this year, and options are extremely limited. We still have Zoom. Or drive-bys where we wave from the car windows while throwing unbreakable gifts onto the driveway. OR… well my husband Peter and I have been looking at our garage/party room again. What? You don’t want to read about us putting up the white plastic sheets for the 3rd time, even if we decorate them with red bows? Well we don’t want to do it either! Last time it was chilly in there, even with the heater. Think of how frosty it might be on December 25th!
As we figure out these challenges, we all need to stay safe so we can celebrate Christmas properly next year. Meanwhile, if you have any Christmas thoughts or suggestions, send them along.
Sue
Seventy In the City 
Joy of the season to you and yours Sue. 🙂
And also Joy to the World. It was our unofficial theme song in highschool…
This is a fine time for reflection and philanthropy. To remember that the spirit of our celebration is about good will to all. Because I live alone and am what a writer friend of mine termed “adult orphan” (she and I few others I know qualify by her definition), Christmas can feel like a time to get forgotten as families cocoon among themselves. I’ve been invited over the decades to spend the Christmas feast with different ones and felt welcome, included, but also like an alien on a strange planet. For one, I am vegetarian. For two, the orgy and politics of gift giving. The polluting decorations and wasteful lights. Not to mention the massacre of millions of trees. I feel bad that children are indoctrinated toward acquisitiveness and fed lies when they could grow up inquisitive and real people. I want to be saved from holiday movies!
What I do love about Christmas is the music, orchestras playing uplifting mystical chords and choirs singing words in many languages exhorting me to see the bigger picture.
I do love Skyping or Zooming with old friends move to the four corners of the globe.
I do love how I feel when I remember I love and am loved.
So however you celebrate, Joy to Your World, and enjoy the spirit of this:
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