Hippity-hoppity, hippity-hoppity, Easter’s on its way!
Paging through my most recent issue of VegNews magazine recently, I happened upon an advertisement for Eggnots, a dyeable, ceramic egg that looks just like the real thing. It was the answer to a question I had posed only days before to my husband: how can we give our children the traditional experience of dying Easter eggs without betraying our philosophy of doing as little harm as possible to non-human animals?
December 6th is celebrated by many around the world as St. Nicholas Day. While Thanksgiving here in the United States marks the official start of the holiday season, in Italy the Feast of San Nicola holds that honor, and the holiday season continues for one month until January 6th (the Epiphany and the arrival of La Befana).
To tide you over while I work on my next post about our visit to the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden, I thought I would share a sweet way to bring some reindeer magic into your homes this year.
I recently purchased Reindeer Christmas by Mark Kimball Moulton for my children, but after reading it, I decided it was the perfect gift for our Elf on the Shelf to deposit on their breakfast dishes on December 1st.
“A December snow is falling, lightly dusting all the trees,blanketing the forest in a crystal filigree.”
Today we shall bit a fond farewell to Picture Book Month 2011. Let’s show it out in style with a (nearly) wordless post and allow pictures to speak instead.
Short and sweet is the order of the hour. Two days remain until December, and that means two final opportunities to share a title in honor of Picture Book Month. Today’s selection:
Lovers of Tomie dePaola may first want to visit my post on picture books for budding Italophiles in which I praise his Strega Nona series. And, of course, I am not telling you anything you don’t already know when I rave about his much-beloved Christmas book Merry Christmas, Strega Nona:
“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” ~ Henry Van Dyke
Thanksgiving and its merriment are behind us, but do let the gratitude for life’s simple blessings fill your heart in the days to come. As we enter the holiday rush today, I am reminded of favorite Christmas books that grace our shelves but once a year. We treasure them, drinking in their magic for so short a time, but their temporary visit makes them all the more special. And so, for the final six days of November, I will select holiday-themed books in celebration of Picture Book Month. What books bring you back to your childhood feasts? Which do your children cherish most?
A number of years ago, my husband presented me with a book and a stuffed blue Santa Claus at Christmas. Having never seen a smurf-colored Claus, I was perplexed, but the tale that unfolded in the pages of the book enchanted both me and my children.
Like most of you, I will spend my day surrounded by my family, sampling dishes prepared lovingly, and tucking away memories of this special time to recall as the year progresses. One simple tradition I have with my children is to read Lydia Maria Child’s poem Over the River and Through the Wood on Thanksgiving morning. My most beloved version is a board book illustrated by Christopher Manson, replete with woodcut images that bring alive a boy’s snowy journey to Grandfather’s house:
