Friday, December 23, 2016

Fa la la la love

Dear Hearts,

It is with great exuberance that I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, lovely Winter Solstice or whatever and however you wish to be greeted in this, oh, so lovely time of the year.

Traveling during the holidays has always been, to me, a joy. Ever since my first plane ride across the Atlantic, so many years past, I have come to love discovering the old traditions of new friends in fascinating places.




For example, that first Christmas holiday abroad, I discovered in Denmark, Christmas is called Jul, an old Nordic word for "feast". The Danes, during in the Middle Ages adopted the custom of candles. Candles along with food and money were given to the poor as charity. Even today, some Danes still refer to Christmas as the "feast of the candles".





I love that. Nothing better than a few candles to help see us through these shorter, darker days.


And once, traveling through Bethlehem during my time at University, I had the pleasure of attending services as a guest of a friends family in the Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria. Much to my delight, three Christmas Eve services occurred simultaneously in different parts of the church that Eve – in three different languages. A wonder to behold.

Exploring further east one year I found myself in Hong Kong. While the Chinese do not actually celebrate the holiday, the tradition came to Hong Kong with the British. There, Santa is sometimes called Dun Che Lao Ren, which translates to “Christmas Old Man”. Which, to me, sounds so very English.







But, I digress.

I am currently settling in to a night flight to Como, Italy. I will be spending the holiday with some very dear friends. While there I will also be indulging in a lovely cooking class at Amy's Cucina (you can find it on Trip Advisor). 

I discovered Amy's Cucina earlier in the year and cooking there is delightful. Amy LaVia is the consumate host and her chef Alessandro certainly knows his business. I cannot wait to re-experience the pumpkin ravioli and the tiramisu. Although, I am excited to see what surprises they have in store for us. Delizioso, miei cari.

Which reminds me, I better hurry and finish the pot holders I am creating. I know I'll need them.



On another note, I have left my elves with express orders to enjoy time with their families this season as should we all. I also told them to get busy on my new website. Those darling elves, have a lot of plans for 2017 and I, for one, can hardly wait to share them with you.


Ah, the steward seems to be channeling Bette Davis. I believe he just said, "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night." So, for now, from somewhere over the Atlantic, darlings, I must say, "Ciao!".


Yours ever,

Mrs Crosby

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