A Poem for Christmas Eve

I mentioned on Twitter on Sunday that I was looking for ideas to honor the Winter Solstice. I found some wonderful resources on Waverly Fitzgerald's School of the Seasons website, including some winter poems. One of the poems I read at our solstice dinner, but it's really better suited for today.

May you find some moments of quiet reflection today to savor this magical time. And I wish you and your family a blessed holiday!

Between Darkness and Light

by John Matthews

It is within the darkness and the silence

That the magic of Christmas starts;

Somewhere between the glimmer of lights

And the first breathless moment

When children come

Stumbling like new-born angels

Into morning light.

Within the darkness and the silence

We sit, watching wonder

Evolve into form; where we

Enter the ringing silence

In which the first bells of Christmas

Sound the music of the soul;

Where the morning joy begins

With a single carol

To a half-forgotten tune.

It is here, between the darkness

And the light,

That we wait, uncertain,

Seeking the moment

That challenges us to believe

In a freshly minted miracle

Born every Christmas Day.

From The Winter Solstice, Quest 1998 

Tell me, where does the magic of your holiday traditions start for you? 

Holiday Sights

Some scenes from this holiday season at our house:

Trees in the entryway of our "mud" room

Our dining room, with the china cabinets filled with snowmen, a Santa and an angel and a picture that hung in my Grandma and Grandpa Jackson's home for over 30 years. (It's perfect for winter, and I'm so thankful to now have it as part of our home.)

My Grandma & Grandpa Jackson's vintage silver tree and vintage Shiny Bright ornaments, which is making an appearance for the first time as our tree this year. (We are going out of town after the holiday and decided to forgo a green tree this year.)

The fireplace mantel with stockings for the Advent Fairies to come and bring holiday experiences to enjoy. (Obviously this photo was taken two weeks ago.)

The Advent Fairies bring experiences like these, having your dad play Silent Night on guitar. (Good thing the Advent Fairies know the talents in our household! Last week, I got to tell a story about Elgin the Elf and another one about two rabbits, Poppet and Daisy). (I shared this tradition with inspiring life artist & blogger Ali Edwards last year, and she shared it on her blog along with a download for our Holiday Spirit prompts.)

By the way, my daughter Grace took that picture. She is actually a very good photographer with a great sense of framing and detail. 

The little holiday village on our front window sill. (Inspired by the prettier version here and here by Alicia Paulson, the lovely blogger/writer of Pozy Gets Cozy.)

But it is pretty to look at it and Grace has loved playing with it and telling stories with her little play animals.

Another photo by Grace looking into the living room at the back of a little ornament tree I have. 

Hope you are enjoying your day and finding little vignettes of beauty and joy to inspire you this season!

Tell me, what in your house is inspiring you this holiday season?

Flowering Fridays: Poinsettia

I didn't realize until a year or so ago that the flowers of a poinsettia are really the small center petals (which have died off in our plant here). The bright red (or pink or white or variegated) parts that I thought were flowers are actually a kind of leaf called a bract. (I also only recently learned that the poinsettia is not a plant, but a small shrub.)

Besides the obvious connection that poinsettias have this time of year, their small flowers are a good metaphor for the holiday season:  

While there is much focus on the pomp and circumstance of the flashier and more colorful parts of the season (big decorated tree, presents, hustle and bustle), the true flowering is really the small radiant center of the season. 

This beautiful flower — this part, for some of us, gets lost in all the trappings and packaging of the season.

For me to savor the gifts of the season means reflecting on the solstice and the promise present in the darkest night of the year. It means connecting with my inner light and looking for ways for it to shine brighter. It means reflecting on the heart of the beautiful Nativity story and the humble babe born in a manger and the wise men and shepherd who followed their angels and the light to find him. (Regardless of your religious beliefs, I find the story says much about faith, trust and humbleness.)

I recently downloaded Lynn Jericho's wonderful ebook, Celebrate Christmas! Celebrate You!. I have for several years enjoyed her free Inner Christmas meditations during the Holy Nights.

I'm looking forward to sharing the book with my husband as way of connecting us more deeply with this most wonderful time of year.

Below is Lynn Jericho's new video about the Inner Christmas concept and the opportunity for each of us to find a more soulful orientation to this season. If you are interested in these daily 12-minute self-reflective meditations, which are for all beliefs and traditions, you can sign up here. (Scroll down the page for the sign-up.)

I highly recommend giving yourself the gift of making time for inward connection and reflection this season — the pause, the noticing, the peace and silence are a way to connect in with your own flowering heart and where the precious flower is for you this season.

Tell me, where is the flowering center of this season for you?

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Flowering Fridays is a weekly look at flowers through the lens of what they might teach us about flowering fully in our life. Past editions are here.