an old-fashioned Christmas season: an introduction

 

according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "old-fashioned" means, among other things,

a : of, relating to, or characteristic of a past era 

b : adhering to customs of a past era 

 

i've got a confession to make: i'm a bit old-fashioned. i mean, yeah i totally dig electricity and smartphones and feminism and whatnot, but i still somewhat adhere to the "customs of a past era." in terms of my everyday life, this means that my family doesn't really buy what we can make at home (within reason; i'm not milling my own flour here), i stay at home with stenni while hubs works, and we enjoy the simple things: candlelight, woodstoves, reading actual books (i know i'm not the only e-reader hater out there), and spending time together as a family. but because of the time of year, i want to talk about having an old-fashioned Christmas season.

we only just returned from Christmas in the Village, a nice day out sponsored by my town's Arts Committee, held in a little historic section of town. in the few older buildings (including the gorgeous Jefferson Township Museum/George Chamberlin House that you see above, courtesy of the Jefferson Township Historical Society website), Christmas-related activities are held. there are buildings set up with tables for shopping, not to mention performances by carolers, a bell choir, and even madrigal singers (stenni was fascinated with the madrigal singers because she thought they were from the renaissance faire. i didn't correct her because it made her too happy). everything is beautifully decorated and it's a nice place to pick up unique or Christmas-related gifts, like wreaths, baked goods, and the like. I even bought a homemade candle with a gorgeous henna pattern on the side (which i haven't yet decided whether to gift or keep for myself). we sipped hot chocolate and strolled from one place to another until stenni was about to drop. it was a really pleasant way to spend a few hours. in the grand scheme of things, days like this are hard to come by because these kinds of activities seem to be in short supply. it's as if they are too quaint and old-fashioned for most people to enjoy nowadays. i wish the audience for things like this were bigger, because we certainly enjoy them and look forward to this event all year.

my very roundabout point is this: for the next few weeks up until Christmas (and New Year's, if I'm so inclined), I'll post ideas and tidbits about how my family has an old-fashioned Christmas, and yours can too. so have an old-fashioned Christmas with me this year!