The Twelve Days of Christmas

Christmas is not only a day but twelve and we must leave our decorations till the 6 of January - the Epiphany of the Lord - even if to put things easier many countries make the liturgical celebrations of Epiphany on the next Sunday. 

Do you know the song called the Twelve Days of Christmas ? And if you know it, do you know its meaning ?

And its meaning.

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” celebrates the official Christmas season which starts liturgically on Christmas Day and ends twelve days later on the Feast of the Epiphany.
 “My true love” refers to God, “me” is the individual Catholic. 
The “twelve lords a leaping” are the twelve basic beliefs of the Catholic Church as outlined in the Apostles Creed. 
The “eleven pipers piping” are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful after the treachery of Judas. 
The “ten ladies dancing” are the Ten Commandments. 
The “nine drummers drumming” are the nine choirs of angels which in those days of class distinction were thought important. 
The “eight maids a milking” are the Eight Beatitudes. 
The “seven swans a swimming” are the Seven Sacraments.
The “six geese a laying” are the Six Commandments of the Church or the six days of creation. 
The “five golden rings” are the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah which are generally considered the most sacred and important of all the Old Testament. 
The “four calling birds” are the Four Gospels. 
The “three French hens” are the Three Persons in God or the three gifts of the Wise Men. 
The “two turtle doves” represent the two natures in Jesus: human and divine or the two Testaments, Old and New. 
The “partridge” is the piece de resistance, Jesus himself, and the “pear tree” is the Cross.

http://www.catholic.net/index.php?option=dedestaca&id=3465

Happy Winter !

Today is Winter Solstice day.

Happy Winter !

Christmassying all day

Saturday and a big opportunity to do all things Christmas.

Time to put some extra decorations, to tidy the house and to go shopping all the way singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

But if you  prefer just to listen and not to see the cartoon, here it is:

Such happy day ! Thanks God !
Now hurry up and begin the party: Christmassying all day !

Past Christmases

So here we go, in the middle of December, with the house decorated for Christmas, lists done and being checked, plans made and shopping done and being done.

Presents not all wrapped but being done.
That's a nice time of the  year.

I look back in time and see how Christmas is always a blessed time and how it's such fun to get things ready for the big day.

All pictures in this post are from Christmases past and I hope that soon I will post some of the preparations of this one.

This picture above is from a year when all the girls were younger and we even had a baby (who now is a teen), that's why we have this amount of presents - and not all of them were in this picture !

The food work is always an important part but, of course, it is in every home and also are the tables.

We can never forget the Christmas Pudding, a MUST in my home.

Just in case some of you don't know it and are wondering why it is in flames, I must tell you that you pour some brandy and light a match on it. It's always a big moment and we hope that it produce some nice and big flames. In this picture my husband very proud of the accomplishment.

As for today I leave you with the Nativity - which this year is already set, as always since the First of December - but this years pictures deserve another post.

Bye for now.

12 December - Our Lady of Guadalupe

December is rich on Marian celebrations and rightly so because in this month of the birth of our Saviour it's fair to honour His Holy Mother too - and we will never honour more than He does, so all we do will never be too much.

After the 8 December, the day of the Immaculate, the day when I was Baptized, we have today the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

You can read about Her here  and it's well worth reading !

Let it snow

Such a pity it doesn't snow here. But never mind, I keep hoping.

Christmas from other times

As Christmas day approaches I catch myself looking for nice images and that feels so good.
Either those of Victorian Christmas time or just some funny clip art, I am always so pleased to watch them.

Then it came to my mind to make a post of some I found and that I like.
Let's begin by the Victorian ones.

But I have to say that I even prefer the ones from later times like these:

I think I was born in the wrong time.

Dreaming of a white Christmas

It has been quite cold here which makes me dream of some snow even if last time it happened was years ago.
Anyway, we can dream.

I leave you here with this wish.

24 days to Christmas

Christmas time is in full swing. Yay ! Now we really are.

I know I've been thinking about Christmas since October, (cough, cough...I mean September...) but there were other things to think about too. 

First it was the beginning of the School year which here begins half September. Then I wanted to feel I was really in Autumn and the weather in his antics sometimes gave us good, true Autumn days, either with a little rain ( it didn't rain much) or with nice, fresh days with pure air and not a hint of heat or some hot days as if it was Summer!

After having Autumn well installed, I had in my mind some birthdays. Then it was Thanksgiving all over the internet.
And this year we had a special day: yesterday one of my girls, nº3, Carolina, had her Confirmation- called also Chrismation.
It was a happy and so special day, full of blessings.

But now...rolling drums...It's Christmas Time !!!

In my house we have a date set to begin decorating: 1 December. We must put the tree up that day and also the Nativity.  In the next days we do the other things, one bit at a time.

So as we are ending November, we can't wait to put the wreath at the door and begin the party !

I will, obviously, post some pictures when things are done but for now I will leave you with some of Christmas though the years in my house.

The First Thanksgiving

Blaring trumpets and thundering artillery serenaded Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés as he waded ashore on September 8, 1565. The Spanish admiral kissed a cross held aloft by the fleet’s captain, Father Francisco Lopez, then claimed Florida for both his God and his country. As curious members of the indigenous Timucua tribe looked on, the 800 newly arrived colonists gathered around a makeshift altar as Father Lopez performed a Catholic mass of thanksgiving for their safe arrival in the newly christened settlement of St. Augustine. At the invitation of Menéndez, the Timucuans then joined the newcomers in a communal meal.

Some Florida historians have argued that this feast—and not the one held 56 years later by the Pilgrims and Wampanoags in Plymouth, Massachusetts—was actually North America’s first Thanksgiving. “It was the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the first permanent settlement in the land,” wrote University of Florida professor emeritus of history Michael Gannon in his book “The Cross in the Sand.”

https://myfloridahistory.org/frontiers/article/140 

One more month

One more month and it's Christmas. However I have to say that I am in Christmas mode since October - secretly since September.

As we haven't Thanksgiving, we don't need to wait for after it to gear into the Beautiful Season.

I have been shopping for presents since October but in spite of all my good intentions, I'm afraid I didn't wrap any of them.

The stash keeps growing and if I will not be careful I will end up with marathons of wrapping sessions.

Anyway. we still have time.

We only decorate for Christmas from 1 of December. I can't wait to put the Nativity and the tree up and candles and garlands and bells...

I began singing Christmas songs in October when everybody laughed at me because of that, imagine now that I can sing all I want.

I began putting together a Christmas planner with list of presents, to whom they are, the amount I spent and also what I need to buy as presents and for the meals of the Day and Eve.

I will keep reporting and reminding everybody that is the time to do it.

It's Autumn - or it is not

I'm amazed.

Usually, in this corner of the world, the Autumn arrives so late which is a bad thing for me as I don't like the Summer, other than when we go on holiday all together. That I like and the fact that my younger girls are school free till September.

But something good happened this year: the Autumn arrived on time and even gave us some little samples when it was still Summer. Oh, I was happy. It' so good to not have to endure the hit anymore, the display of bodies dressed in less clothes than they should, the heavy air with less oxygen, the car being hot when I get in and the sun burning my skin.

Not anymore till the middle of next year! I felt so relived and full of psychological energy. I felt I wanted to live ! I caught myself making plans for me, for the house and just breathing the nice fresh air in the morning.

I was even thinking of wearing stockings already. I think I never did it before October - the middle of it.

I know for many people the Autumn and the Winter are prone to depressions but not for me, with me it's the opposite.

I had a big smile in my soul.

Life is good.

And then...
Summer came back. I can't believe we are in the end of October and having bouts of heat for days and days.

First it came a little and I thought that it was the Summer saying goodbye for good. But then it came such a heat wave that it was hell on earth with cathastrophic fires and all. It was the Hurricane Ophelia bringing all the heat with it.

And now we are having heat again... Some forecasts say it wil be 28 today but I saw another saying it will be 31 !!! I just can't believe it !

Oh, well, let's hope that it will end soon and we will have a good, true Autumn. I really want cold days.

..

Just a note: maybe you are wondering why I posted about the heat and put a picture of a nice day of rain. Well, it's to counteract the depression the heat gives to me. Some days ago it rained and very nice it was, so each time I think on the heat, I look  at this and feel better.

October is coming to an end

The Santuary of Fátima on a sunny day. I leave this to you in the end of the month of October, when the Centenary of Fátima is coming to an end.

A sky that could not be more blue.
For  Skywatch Friday.

I'm still here

I know, I have not been blogging lately but that is just because I'm busy on Facebook - nothing related with this blog, just other kind of things.
And if that was not enough, some time ago I opened another Flickr account - the other, the old one is just sleeping. So, more time consuming activity plus all the work of a mother and homemaking and work outside, etc.

Anyway, just to tell everybody that I intent to come back and post more often.

And now I must go.

A strange sky

Indeed it is a strange sky but so beautiful at the same time. Quite amazing.
Posting this beautiful sky for Skywatch Friday.

Summer roses

Last June we went to the north as it is my favourite part of the country. It's so beautiful, everything.

There are two gardens that I like most to go and we never fail to visit them when we are on holidays.

One of them is the Garden of the Biscaínhos and the other is the Garden of Santa Barbara.

Here you have some of the beautiful roses I found there and, as I want to share it in the Pink Saturday party, I'll post today only pink roses - I leave to another day some other pictures of those gardens.

So, as you can see, it's such a pleasure to go there as we can always find so much beauty. Oh, I really must show you more in the next days.
Stay tunned.  

Riding the clouds

A view from my kitchen window, one of the best I have in my home, be it Summer or any other season.

Just look at that sky.

Even when I'm under the weather, if I come here and look at all this splendour, I get better at once.

Joining Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer and Skywatch Friday

Ah, Saturday...

If you read my blog you know that I keep talking about Saturdays. A good deal of posts are about that blessed day of the week.

Days in the week I like most:

Monday.
Why ? - are you wondering. Is that I like so much to work outside that I'm happy to go back to the stress of getting ready in the morning, do lunch boxes, yell at the children to be ready and fly off the door so we will not be late ? No. It's because it's a new beginning and I feel the hope of being better this time.

Wednesday.
Ah, it's the middle of the week, such a good time, when I go home in the end of the day I know that the following day will be so close to the weekend.

Friday
Ah, Friday!... The day after is Saturday, I will not go to work, I will be home with my family, I will delight myself with the pleasure that is to stay at home. I will... Yes, all the world will be in my reach when it's Saturday because I will not go to work.
And I wonder and dream and plan...As if would be no end for Saturday.

Saturday
At last ! At last ! Ah, blessed day !
In the early morning I will get up and spend a good time flying the internet, I will be on Flickr a good deal of time, I will spy what is going on in Facebook and if I can I will even go to Pinterest.
Then I will get ready for the day. Oh, the endless possibilities that lie ahead. Not to be outside, mind you, I am outside my home all week long, Saturday is the day to celebrate domesticity, to be happy at home and pretend I am a stay at home woman. And I am, at least for this day and next one.

Sunday
It's the truly blessed day. Day to go to Mass and not to work much in the house because it's rest day, Our Lord's day. I can just stay in the sofa and read, watch movies - notice the plural, movies. Or series.
Life is good.
The problem is that the day after I must go back to work and that part is not so good - even if that work is good but not so much good as staying at home.
Never mind, Monday is good to make plans and try to be better - a week at a time.