Caylynn's Contemplations: holidays

Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our wedding, on the Mayan Riviera, Mexico, April 22, 2004.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Gattina asked me to host Cats on Tuesday while she is on vacation. I hope you all continue to take part!

This week, I thought I'd share some more photos of Dragonheart on Christmas morning. He really enjoyed playing with his new toys. He also enjoyed playing with all the ribbon!

(Click on the image above for a larger version)

Here is a short video of Dragonheart playing with his ball track. It's one of his favourite new toys, along with the new wand toys he received for Christmas.

(If you can't see the video, click here.)

Are you participating in Cats on Tuesday? If so, leave your link below, visit the other participants, and come back later to see who else is participating.

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year!

Wishing all my blogging friends and their families a Happy New Year! Frohes neues Jahr! Bonne Année !

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Saturday's Photo Scavenger Hunt

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

New

Here are a couple of photos of our new Sphynx kitten, Dragonheart, enjoying the new toys he received for Christmas.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Thursday Thirteen

#17- 13 Items Caylynn received for Christmas

2 x Shock Absorber B109 Sports Bras - These are wonderful, full support bras that really lift and support, instead of smushing. My favourite running bra.
Gore Running Wear Windstopper Tights - windproof running tights - very comfortable!
Gore Running Wear Windstopper Top - windproof running top - also very comfortable!
Neverwinter Nights 2 (Computer Role-Playing Game) - I've started playing this, and it's great! I'm playing a Paladin.
Fables 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham and Todd Klein
Knife of Dream by Robert Jordan
A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
A Small Cat Painting
Beeswax Candles
An assortment of Lindt Chocolates

Cranberry Shower Gel (from The Body Shop)
Vanilla Spice Shower Gel (from The Body Shop)
The New Teen Titans - Issues 21-50 - by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Merry Christmas!

(Click either card for a larger version of that card)

Merry Christmas!
Joyeux Nöel!
Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Wishing all my blogging friends and their families a very Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 22, 2006

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Twenty Three

Appetizer
What is one of your Christmas traditions?

Going to Mass on Christmas Eve, then coming home and opening one gift. This is related to the French Canadian tradition of Réveillon, which I discussed in a previous Friday's Feast.

Soup
Who is the easiest person on your list to buy presents for?

My husband. He collects comic books, so I can always buy him something off his want list, since I know what he's looking for, and what faults in a comic book he considers acceptable and unacceptable. This year I'll be giving him four comic books. It's fun to search for, and find, old comics.

Salad
What is your favorite Christmas scent?

I don't know that I have a favourite scent. We've never had a real tree, because my sister is severely allergic to them, and if she spends any amount of time in a home that has a real tree, she has a severe asthma attack - one time she had to be taken to the hospital because she couldn't breathe!
The smell of turkey roasting in the oven is always nice, as is the smell of bread or baked goods baking, but I don't necessarily associate either one just with Christmas.

Main Course
If you could give a fellow blogger a Christmas gift, who would it be and what would you give them?

It's impossible to choose just one person. So my Christmas wish is for all my blogging friends and their families to be happy and healthy in the coming year.

Dessert
What's something on your Christmas wish list this year that you need (not just want)?

I don't think there's anything on my list that I truly need. Some of the items are practical (supportive sports bra, running clothes) but I already have at least one of each, it's just handy to have more (and the old stuff will eventually wear out).

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all those celebrating! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Joyeux Nöel!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Thursday Thirteen

#16- 13 German "Weihnachten" (Christmas) Traditions

My husband and I are Canadian, and this year we will celebrate our first Christmas in Germany. Here are some ways we've found that the German Christmas traditions differ from what we are used to back in Canada.

Nikolaustag - On the evening of December 5th, German children leave their shoes or boots outside the front door. That evening, St. Nikolaus, visits and fills them with chocolates, oranges and nuts if they’ve been good. His servant, Knecht Ruprecht, leaves bundles of twigs in the shoes if the children have been naughty and are listed in his ‘black book’. On December 6th, St. Nicholas Day, children discover what they've received in their boots.
Christmas Markets - Nearly every town in Germany has their own Christkindlmarkt, which is a market-fest, where people gather to enjoy the Christmas time. These markets offer baked goods, sweets and toys and feature local and regional specialties. Larger cities like Munich, Frankfurt or Nuremberg have large markets, and attract many tourists, both local and foreign. They open before the first Sunday of Advent, and usually continue until December 24th at 12 noon. You can check out a live webcam of the Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz here in Munich here.
Glühwein - German hot mulled wine. Served at the Christmas markets. On long winter nights of the 18th- and 19th centuries, it was customary to share a few glasses of the hot, spiced drink in the company of good friends. You can find a recipe for Glühwein, along with a non-alcoholic version for children, here.
Weihnachtspyramide - The German Christmas pyramid (Weihnachtspyramide) was first developed in the Erzgebirge (Erz Mountains) in the German state of Saxony (Sachsen) as a low-cost substitute for a real Christmas tree in the late 1700s. A traditional pyramid is made of wood and may have two to five levels (Etagen). The heat from burning candles turns a windmill-like rotor at the top of the pyramid, making the pyramid revolve and ring its chimes.
Advent Wreaths - My husband and I are Catholic, so we are accustomed to lighting the Advent Wreath at Mass during the Sundays throughout Advent (the month leading up to Christmas). In the Catholic tradition, in Canada, there are three purple candles, and one pink candle (which is lit on the third Sunday in Advent). In Germany, however, traditionally Germans have Advent wreaths in their homes, and the candles are typically red or gold.
Christmas Dinner - A traditional German Christmas dinner consists of roast goose, potato dumplings, red cabbage, and baked apples for dessert. Recipes for this meal can be found here. Roasted pig and white sausages are also traditional foods for Christmas dinner. Other German Christmas foods include Christstollen, long loaves of bread with nuts, raisins, lemon and dried fruit; Lebkuchen, ginger spice bars/gingerbread; Marzipan and Stollen, a moist, heavy bread filled with fruit.
Christmas Eve - Heiligabend, Christmas Eve is the most important time of the Germanic celebration. No waiting for Santa Claus to come down the chimney. The presents (from the Christkindl, Christ Child) are opened under the tree that night (an event known as die Bescherung). Christmas dinner usually comes after that. In religious families, attending midnight Christmas mass (Christmette) is also a part of the celebration. In Canada, we traditionally attend Mass on Christmas Eve, but the opening of the presents, and Christmas dinner, are usually held on Christmas Day.
Krampus Run - The traditional "Krampus Run" recalls the Christian legend of bishop Saint Nicholas and his dark-faced companion, Krampus. Young men wearing deer horns, masks with red eyes, huge fangs, bushy coats of sheep's fur, and brandishing birchwood rods storm down the streets, confronting spectators. Anyone who doesn't dodge or run away fast enough might get swatted (although not hard) with the rod.
Brides Tree - This is a Bavarian Christmas tradition. 12 ornaments are hung upon a tree to help bring good fortune to a newly married couple. The 12 ornaments symbolize the following: angel (God's guidance), bird (joy), fish (Christ's blessing), flower basket (good wishes), fruit basket (generosity), heart (true love), house (protection), pine cone (fruitfulness), rabbit (hope), rose (affection), Santa (goodwill), and teapot (hospitality).
Epiphany - Heilige Drei Könige, January 6th is the day the three Magi came to visit the Christ Child. This is a holiday in Germany and it marks the end of the month and a half long Christmas celebration. As a Catholic, I am used to celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany, however, it is not a holiday in Canada.
Barbarazweig - In Catholic regions of Germany, such as Bavaria, the tradition of Barbarazweig begins on the feast day of die heilige Barbara. A small cherry branch or sprig is cut off and placed in water on December 4th, Barbaratag (St. Barbara's Day). Sometimes a twig from some other flowering plant or tree may be used: apple, forsythia, plum, lilac, or similar blossoms. The cherry branch (Kirschzweig) or other cutting is then placed in water and kept in a warm room. If all goes well, on Christmas day the sprig will display blossoms. If it blooms precisely on December 25th, this is regarded as a particularly good sign for the future.
December 26th, der zweite Weihnachtstag - As in Canada, December 26th is a holiday. Whereas in Canada we celebrate Boxing Day on the 26th, in Germany, the 26th is a day reserved for visiting friends and family.
Christmas Tree - The Tannenbaum or Christbaum originated in Germany. Although many Germans now decorated their Christmas trees with electric lights, many Germans still use candles to light their trees. Germans use special candle holders and have learned how to do this safely; the candles are not left to burn for a long time or without someone in the room.