Marzipan and Mistletoe: Day XXV

Known, Loved, Enjoyed

On the second-to-last page of my copy of "The Children of Green Knowe” by Lucy M. Boston, there is the following passage, following the exciting events of Christmas morning and the even more exciting events before that:

“There is no need to describe the rest of Christmas Day - the turkey stuffed with chestnuts, the plum pudding that Tolly lit and Percy carried to the table in a circle of forget-me-not blue flames; the crystallized fruits, the crackers after tea, from which Mrs Oldknow drew a white paper bonnet that made her look more like the grandmother in the picture than ever. Tolly and Percy were luckier; their crackers dropped tiny metal aeroplanes and Snakes' Eggs.”

It acts as a perfect shorthand to a whole list of known, loved, and enjoyed Christmas traditions. I was reminded of it this evening, when I came to write this post. I don’t know which bit to focus on today, because so much of it was magical or fun. The difference from last Christmas is, well, a lot (we moved out of our house after putting everything in storage just three days before Christmas, and stayed with family for Christmas, then friends in January until we got the keys to our new home). I couldn’t have hoped for a better first family Christmas here in this house, and I took a brief moment to pause and feel grateful by the light of the Christmas Tree this evening.

I hope that you have all had the Christmas Day you wanted, and that it has been filled with all good things.