I'm rather attached to Hallowthanksmas now. I start celebrating in late September and don't stop til January 7th.
Since I retired, I don't have a favorite holiday. Any day can become a holiday or a work day. I once had the 4th of July as my favorite, but since our republic fell and democracy was thwarted, I don't see anything to celebrate.
I like that you celebrate Jan. 6th before your celebrating stops hahaha! I had overlooked that holiday in my holiday plans. I sure wish someone would publish a holiday guide for that day. Maybe the stores will start selling bison horn and hide caps.
For most of my life, Christmas was always my most favorite holiday. From the time I was a little girl, Christmas always seemed almost magical, and I loved seeing the beautiful Christmas tree, with the bubble lights bubbling, and the (real) tinsel twinkling as it moved, and the little Christmas Village that my mom and dad set up underneath the christmas tree. We had really old ornaments, some were brought over from Germany by my grandmother, and one was a paper parrot that my dad had colored for his mother when he was in first grade. Each year, Mom and I went to Spokane and shopped for ornaments in January when they had the clearance sales, and so we also had the new ornaments to put on the tree the following year. On the buffet was a small church with a music box that played a version of Silent Night, and it had also come over from Germany with my Grandmother around the turn of the century when she immigrated to America. It was a time of family getting together, and festive christmas dinner, and colorful lights everywhere. We always drove around town to see the decorations, and sometimes, my mom also drove around the (prestigious) South Hill in Spokane where the rich people had decorated their homes. It was a traditional thing back then, and maybe still is, for all I know. As my children grew up, we also loved celebrating Christmas. Sometimes, the kids and I would ride out into the woods on our horses (ponies for the kids) , cut down a christmas tree, and drag it back home to decorate it . Later, I had a job working at a christmas tree lot in Spokane, so we waited until the lot closed for the season on Christmas Eve, and then we chose the most beautiful tree we could find, and put it up that night, instead of having an earlier tree. This picture is my son visiting me at Christmas many years ago, but you can see the bubble lights on the tree, and the old buffet that was my mother’s from before I was even born.
I loved every single bit of that Yvonne,I can only imagine the collection you have now.That tree in the picture....beautiful.I love real trees,the smell and finding just the right decoration for every branch and I do remember the real tinsel because that was my job after my Mother was done decorating the tree..What a lovely way to grow up lots of tradition and that's important.I like the Sock the best,We used to hang one before we went to bed.
I miss Faye Fox and hope she is doing well. Holidays have changed a lot since there are no kids in the house. When they were little, I would wrap everything I could find for presents and the living room was plied high with the presents and unwrapping paper all over. I just loved to keep it going. One year we decorated my potted Norfolk pine but mostly we had live trees. At this house the neighbors across the street tossed a beautiful fake tree. It was disassembled into boxes and put by the curb. I love dumpster diving and they had great pickin's. So we mostly used that for our tree. We have some wonderful ornaments and I bought lights at the after Christmas sales so we can go on forever. Not so many presents anymore because we need nothing. But a few tokens for each. Two of my girls live nearby to make Christmas dinner worth making. It is basically Thanksgiving dinner on Christmas plates. I have always loved making the dinner and can do it with my eyes closed but it is more tiring now. Halloween used to be fun but covid made a bowl of candy out on a chair all that was needed and this neighborhood keeps that 'tradition' so people don't have to be home or answer the door. The kids take their portion and leave the rest for the next kids. No taking the bowl yet. Easter has its ups and downs. July 4th scares the animals. I never really liked going to the park--the darkness and all the cars made me fell clostraphobic.
Our favorite Holidays was spending a couple of weeks on an outback Sheep Station stay where farmers let people camp on their land. Almerta Station South Australia our dogs loved it as well