Today on St. Nicholas Day, the Tudor family Christmas celebrations begin. Our homemade Advent wreath awaits the evening lighting. We use boxwood, as Tasha did, for it doesn't drop needles in the teacups like balsam and spruce do.
The sun sets around 4:30 in Vermont in early December. But we'll wait a little longer until it is good and dark. We're having Tasha's macaroni and cheese dish with our tea tonight since it'll be supper time before we're satisfied with the darkness. Paddington the corgi will beg, either for food or to be held, we're never sure as he expertly conceals his true motive.
During tea, we love to read aloud from Tasha's 1966 book, Take Joy. With Christmas stories, music, legends, and seventeen pages that describe the Tudor family celebrations at the end, there are lots of readings to choose from. Take Joy has been out of print for decades, but it was very popular when published and went through many print runs. You should able to locate used copies if you don't have this title in your collection.
After the tea and supper are finished and the beeswax candles have cooled, we'll hang the wreath on a cold porch to keep it fresh until the next night when we'll light it again and so on through Christmas.
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas season,
The Tudor Family