Monday, December 23, 2019

Baltic Christmas Day 23

Are your piparkūkas and kūčiukai baked? Presents wrapped? Excellent.


Now that the log has been dragged and burned, the Christmas markets visited, and the krupnikas bottled, we can finally sit back and enjoy the season! Family is visiting, candles have been lit, Christmas music is playing in the background, and the aroma of pīrāgi and piparkūkas fills the air!


Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and find a comfortable spot to sit for a few minutes, an hour… Soak it in, for Christmas will be over all too quick – enjoy the moment.


One of my favorite part of the holiday season is experiencing the spectrum of decorations. We have blow-up snowmen, Santa & reindeer on roofs, technicolor lights and inflatable snow globes. We also have quiet white strings of lights, wreaths of all kinds, garlands, and of course Christmas trees shining through windows. Indoors we have mantelpiece extravaganzas, gingerbread houses (or Pulvertornis), advent wreaths, window snowflakes and candles. Poinsettias and amaryllis and Christmas cactus blooming. Christkindlmarket mugs and Christmas china, Santa sweaters and auseklis leggings.


My relatives often have Scandinavian-influenced decorations next to their Latvian trimmings. Ornaments made by children hang next to the Christmas pickle, dried orange slices next to a glitter-covered snowball. The straw puzuris next to a silver paper one made with metallic pipe cleaners.


Maybe your only ornament is a candle in the window, or an extra setting at the table with a candle on an empty plate. Maybe you will feast with twelve courses, maybe nine. Santa might show in the evening to listen to your poem, or leave a present only when you are asleep. However you and your family celebrates – be it Yule, Kūčios, the winter solstice, Ziemassvētki, Jõulud, Christmas – I hope you find peace, happiness and hope in your celebration this year. Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus!


The photographs in this post are of holiday decorations at my uncles home – aren’t they beautiful? A little bit of traditional Latvian, a lot of natural materials, and a touch of creativity...
  

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