And so the shortest day came...

The past twelve days have been so filled that I'm not sure I can list them all! I will try:
On December 11: Got snow tires on the car, so ran a few more errands for supplies for local gift giving.
On December 12: Set up the nutcrackers on the piano, practiced some Christmas carols.
On December 13: Long rehearsal with the Solstice Sisters. I'm glad to say it was the best rehearsal ever- ready for the concert!
On December 14: Pie baking for the evening music jam. Begin papier mache-ing a dragon mask for the weekend's mummer's play.
On December 15: Made gifts- I'll publish what they were AFTER Christmas, for obvious reasons!

On December 16: Made the decision to purchase our tree this year. Our woods are coming back after years of logging, and I don't want to pillage trees that are settling in so beautifully. I have no problem buying trees that have been grown for the purpose. Hunt and I went to a lot where trees are brought in fresh weekly, and our chosen tree literally fell on top of us! We left it on the porch for most of the day, then brought it inside and set it up. Let it stand in its original glory for one night, before the adorning begins.
On December 17: Just the lights went on the tree, to await our daughter's return in a few days.

On December 18: Last minute preparations for the Nelson Solstice Party. I put some finishing touches on the dragon mask- polymer clay teeth and horns!
On December 19: Morning concert rehearsal/sound check. Afternoon mummer's play rehearsal. Then, let the revels begin! A long and wonderful evening of music, mumming and dance. The audience was ready for fun, and gave exuberant applause for all our hard work. Went home exhausted and very happy.

On December 20: A quiet day of rest. The Advent wreath is burning brightly, as the light is dimming outside.
On December 21: And the year died, but the annual Pie Night by Candlelight was the most glorious ever. Instead of our usual 10-15 musicians, there were over 30 people in the house last night, including some of the finest musicians in the region.

For many years from my teens to mid-30s, I participated in the Christmas Revels in Cambridge, Mass. I loved performing, especially when John Langstaff was the Master of Ceremonies. The Revels gave warmth and authenticity to the season. I used to long for that authenticity in my own life and observances of the season, knowing that the Revels was "only" a performance, though it contained a glowing kernel of truth. Years have rolled by since then, and I've come to find now that Hunt and I have created that authenticity in our own lives. The home we have made, the friends who come here, the music that rings in the rafters and all of the activities of everyday life, show me that the Revels in my own heart and life are the true ones. I am so grateful and happy, here on this Day of the Unconquered Sun, to feel the glowing gold in my heart and home.

Welcome Yule.

O come, o come

I’ve been asked to give more detail about my December practice of doing something every day in preparation and celebration of the season.

The word “Advent” comes from the Latin: adventus, meaning arrival. In the Christian calendar, Advent is a season of waiting and preparation for the coming of the Christ Child. Secular society has snagged the idea of an Advent calendar, with chocolates, Lego Star Wars and even gin featured in some of this year’s offerings.

As I’ve written before, this is a sacred season for me for many reasons. The dark time is here, and so much of the music, practices and stories of the Western Hemisphere resonate deeply within me. Hunt and I celebrate Solstice, but also Christmas, New Year’s, Twelfth Night. So here are some of the things I’ve done, or like to do, for the first ten days of December. I’ll share more ideas for the next two weeks in a coming blog post.


It starts with Thanksgiving weekend, hopefully before the ground freezes. I go into our woods and gather moss for our moss garden. I like to find several varieties, as well as partridgeberry or wintergreen for some color.
First Sunday in Advent (count four Sundays before Christmas): I get out the Advent candle ring and place it on a platter, and make the moss garden. I add crystals, shells, special rocks and a few figurines. Yes, that is a polar bear, because why not? The first candle is lit at suppertime.

November 30: Get out the album of holiday music. I have over 40 cds, of every type of music, ordered in such a way that the music eases into the season.

December 1: The very first recording is always George Winston’s December album. Now I know the season has begun. The wreath that was purchased from a local daycare center goes on the door.

December 2: Plan out the homemade gifts, especially those that need to be mailed. We keep gift-giving extremely simple. Last year everyone received a jar of homemade mustard, and a select few got a jar of homemade hand cream. Neighbors and friends get a plate of cookies.
This year I also attended a rehearsal that was also the birthday party for one of the singers.

December 3: I got out a small handmade wooden village scene- trees, a few deer, a house and an outhouse. These go into a front window.

December 4: Mail the Saint Nicholas gift to our daughter! She is now teaching first grade at a Waldorf school, and has her own celebrations there, but Saint Nicholas still comes to her every year.

December 5: Baking, baking, sweeping, preparing for the open house at the violin shop. And this year, a seasonal choral concert in the evening.

December 6: Saint Nicholas Day.
I like him because he helped the poor and oppressed. Hunt always finds something in his shoes when he gets up on this morning! This year was also the date for the violin shop open house, so we had good friends, good food and music as well.
This was also the second Sunday in Advent, so a second candle was lit on the moss garden/Advent wreath.

December 7: Time to order the Christmas cards! We like to have a photo of the two of us, and usually a favorite quote from a carol. My favorite: “Let nothing you dismay”.

I’m busy knitting hats for the local “Warm Hands, Warm Hearts” knitting drive.

December 8: Rummage through the Christmas box – in goes my hand, and out comes a Wallace Tripp angel mouse, which is now hanging from a rafter in the kitchen.

December 9: We only mail a few packages, but they’d better go out today or tomorrow. Wrap, pack, address. And still the daily seasonal music carries us along. Another rehearsal tonight.

December 10: Any gifts for my family that need to be ordered get ordered by today. The seasonal books get placed on the coffee table. A single electric candle gets placed in the window that holds the wooden village.


The first ten days feel like gentle preparation. The stress is minimal, and everything can be accomplished around the regular work of the day. And over and around and through it runs the music. Up to now it is subdued, often baroque or early music. Soon, though, the more traditional carols will start to play, the house will look (and smell!) more Christmassy.

Here in this place

The years roll on, each with its rhythms and seasons. Life gets busy. The siding on this house slowly changes from fresh light brown to weathered silver and gray. Dust and cobwebs form on the tops of the rafters, behind furniture, and in cracks and corners seldom explored by any except tiny intruders. We have now lived in this house 6 years and two months, and in a few more months I will have lived here longer than anywhere in my life. So I discover generations of dust bunnies in the back of closets, and forget to notice stains on the floor under the table, as they become part of the landscape. The seasons, too, are part of the landscape. I now know exactly where the sun rises in December as I lie in bed, sipping my tea. By the Winter Solstice, it will shine fully on my face if I’m still lying there at 7:00 AM. My own personal Stonehenge, made from the trunks of trees in the woods outside my bedroom. And the rituals continue. Today is the first day of December. This morning before my tea, before lighting the fire, I started the same cd I play every December first: George Winston’s December. The soft piano melody rises from the living room, and I am “in” December mode. Let the gentle waiting of Advent begin. The nights grow longer. Since the start of Daylight Saving Time a month ago we have had candles at the dinner table. The woodstove has been cranking since early October. This place is infused with all that ritual and custom are about: a sense of rightness, a sense of belonging. My dear singing friends and I, the Solstice Sisters, are almost ready for our concert, to be held on the weekend before Christmas. We are bringing back one of our favorite songs: “Here in This Place”, by Peter Fischman. Here in this place I have all I ever wanted. Here in this place I have everything I need. I have love, I have beauty, I have grace, Here in this place.