Saturday 22 December 2012

Dreaming of a White Christmas

I forgot to mention that I was away last week visiting family and friends in Germany.  Apologies to anyone who looked for a new post from me.  And I'm afraid this post is going to be short because I have a lot of shopping and stuff to catch up on.

Disappointingly, there was no snow on the ground in Germany, in fact it was mild and rainy.  This didn't stop me prowling round the Christmas markets and slurping mulled wine and - my favourite - eggnog with cream.  Yummy. I just love the smell of cinnamon and aniseed and the all pervasive aroma of bratwurst (German fried sausage, as I expect you know). And of course I couldn't resist buying some Christmas ornaments and a few scented candles.  But a bit of snow and a frosty sky sparkling with stars would have been a nice backdrop. 

I often wondered why we like to have a white Christmas.  I was reading Jane Austen's Emma for the umpteenth time recently and came across the passage where that pesky vicar gets into the coach with Emma and her father and says "ah,snows a little I see" and then goes on to say "Christmas weather!  Quite seasonable!" So all those nostalgic Christmas cards depicting carriages or robins in the snow are not so wide of the mark for us insular Europeans.  Snow was apparently wished for at Christmas and was not unusual in Jane Austen's time.  And it does give us a warm, safe feeling if we look out the window at a white world as we sit in the warmth.

Whatever the weather, wherever you are, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas!


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