'Tis the season for family, friendship, lights in the darkness, and fires burning warmly to bring you home. 'Tis the season for warm hugs and cold champagne. 'Tis the season for reflection and introspection. 'Tis the season for parties and food and merriment. 'Tis the season for spiritual renewal and intellectual honesty as we make New Year's Resolutions with all the optimism of children and the resolve of drunks. (Okay, I was joking about the "intellectual honesty" part.) 'Tis the season for ritual and tradition and memories. For Christmas is the season, no matter what you believe, no matter whether you believe at all, that makes us turn from the chaos and hustle to the soft glow of kind smiles, cookies fresh from the oven, and the mystery of beribboned presents under a glimmering tree.
There is a place for magic in everyone's life, for the magic is found within us.
Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy Hanukkah.
Merry Christma-Hanu-Kwaza-dam. Is that PC enough for you?
So, just to show I love you, here is the BEST recipe for adding a little holiday cheer to your eggnog.
HOLIDAY EGGNOG
Buy the best eggnog you can. I'm not going to give you the recipe for homemade eggnog. Who does that, anyway?
For every 12 oz of eggnog add:
1 1/2 oz bourbon (1 jigger)
1 oz cognac (2/3 jigger)
2 T dark rum
If you're a lightweight, this can serve two. If you love Christmas, this is a single serving.
MERRY CHRISTMAS! (Don't worry...it's early. I'll be saying Merry Christmas for WEEKS!)
Yay! I love this season, too. It's not nearly as good so far away from home but it still makes me happy. And that drink recipe makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can sympathize with being so far away from your family. I know you hate it when people make a big deal about your living in Italy, but this MUST be a terrific time to live there. I mean, it sort of is the seat of Christianity, what with the Vatican there and everything.
DeleteIs it beautiful? Do all the stores decorate like crazy? Or is it more religious in feeling and subdued?
Or you can just tell me to shut UP and get a life. HAHAHA!
Aw yeah, it's definitely a great time to live here. Very very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThe stores do decorate like crazy, and it's every bit as commercial as in America. In fact, the irony is that it's even less Christ-based here (in my observation) than it is in America. I think it's part of the fact that while 90% of Italians claim Catholic faith, only like 5% of them ever go to mass or church. Anyway, hell no, it's not more religious or subdued. Well, maybe more subdued because everything they do in Turin is more subdued, but it's definitely not because of any religious somberness.
I've actually been taking iPhone pics of some of the shop windows on my evening walks with Primo. There are a couple of toy shops in our neighborhood and it cracks me up because the toys are exactly the same as in America but with Italian packaging.
I truly do love how they string gorgeous lights up through the streets and the piazzas. I'm gonna go out with a better camera before Christmas to get photos of that; it's just lovely. (But again it's really no different from any American urban setting. Only difference is the surrounding buildings are a lot older and more beautiful.)