TAKING DOWN CHRISTMAS ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE
That is the title of an old timey song by John McCutchen that I used to play while I took down holiday decorations. It was a lively tune with a repeated chorus (takin down Christmas all through the house!), but I dont have that cassette anymore. Instead I am playing the sound track from Cold Mountain, which has a similar sound, as well as a song that has a chorus going Christmastime will soon be over, repeated the appropriate number of times so I that eventually I can hum it mindlessly all morning.
And I like tradition, so I tried to wait till tomorrow, Epiphany, to take things down. But I got up very early today and it was cold and gray and I had some time and suddenly, I could not wait a minute more to try to get the house back to normal. I like having the decorations up, but they get to be too much after awhile, being a seasonal thing that I know will need to come down. And I have noticed that the decoration littles (as Jane would call them) multiply as if by magic. The stack of boxes and containers has doubled in the last few years, I think.
Here in Italy we have a good witch, la Befana, that brings toys to the good girls and boys on epiphany, Jan. 6, the 3 Kings day in the Spanish tradition. If they have been bad, she brings coal. She is really just a little old lady that needs to cover ground fast so she uses a broom. The story is that she was cleaning her house (like all good Italian casalinghe, or housewives do daily, so clean that they could eat off of the floor!) and the three wise men stopped by her house on their way following the star to see the Christ child. They invited her to come with them but she said she was too busy cleaning and she could not leave the house dirty. But later she changed her mind ran to catch up with them. And since then, she has spent her time wandering the earth giving gifts to good children as she looks for the child she missed when she got her priorities mixed up. I dont know where the coal tradition ever eked its way in.
Anyway, La Befana was a day early in our house. This year, Steve wrote me 12 Days of Christmas poems in Italian (sort of) and brought me bags of candy and treats each of the 12 days of the song, and then another hanging Befana to add to my collection with a big bag of candy today. I will keep her up a while to keep Limoncello company, but I gave Steve the bag of candy and warned him that the diet starts before the candy is gone.
Steve is out getting a suit coat at the big January sales with Paolo, who promises him a good deal because he is good friends with the store owner. Besides, since Steve is color blind, we were both a little leery about him going to do this by himself. Italian wools are so beautiful and the prices are so high, but then again, the styling is not to be seen anywhere for the price in the states. And you know how stylish we like to be!
And I like tradition, so I tried to wait till tomorrow, Epiphany, to take things down. But I got up very early today and it was cold and gray and I had some time and suddenly, I could not wait a minute more to try to get the house back to normal. I like having the decorations up, but they get to be too much after awhile, being a seasonal thing that I know will need to come down. And I have noticed that the decoration littles (as Jane would call them) multiply as if by magic. The stack of boxes and containers has doubled in the last few years, I think.
Here in Italy we have a good witch, la Befana, that brings toys to the good girls and boys on epiphany, Jan. 6, the 3 Kings day in the Spanish tradition. If they have been bad, she brings coal. She is really just a little old lady that needs to cover ground fast so she uses a broom. The story is that she was cleaning her house (like all good Italian casalinghe, or housewives do daily, so clean that they could eat off of the floor!) and the three wise men stopped by her house on their way following the star to see the Christ child. They invited her to come with them but she said she was too busy cleaning and she could not leave the house dirty. But later she changed her mind ran to catch up with them. And since then, she has spent her time wandering the earth giving gifts to good children as she looks for the child she missed when she got her priorities mixed up. I dont know where the coal tradition ever eked its way in.
Anyway, La Befana was a day early in our house. This year, Steve wrote me 12 Days of Christmas poems in Italian (sort of) and brought me bags of candy and treats each of the 12 days of the song, and then another hanging Befana to add to my collection with a big bag of candy today. I will keep her up a while to keep Limoncello company, but I gave Steve the bag of candy and warned him that the diet starts before the candy is gone.
Steve is out getting a suit coat at the big January sales with Paolo, who promises him a good deal because he is good friends with the store owner. Besides, since Steve is color blind, we were both a little leery about him going to do this by himself. Italian wools are so beautiful and the prices are so high, but then again, the styling is not to be seen anywhere for the price in the states. And you know how stylish we like to be!
posted by Sicilian Mama at 9:23 AM
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