Season's greetings! I find this greeting a wonderful way to celebrate a time, indeed a whole Season- Advent, Winter Solstice, New Year, the whole thing- rich in light and Joy and Divine message and Warmth. I don't think it is a joy restricted to Christmas or specific parties and I try and stretch the season a little more every year and one way to start it early is to go to Christmas bazaars!

A church bazaar is one of the most festive places I know. Where else does everyone call you dear even though they are really busy and you may not buy anything anyway? The Christmas church bazaar we went to a couple of weekends ago was such an event. We made it a family occasion and brought my parents too.

There were a few pieces of older linen. A whole table of baked goods featured pineapple bars and gingerbread men. As usual the book table got the better of me and I bought a Patricia Cornwell book I havent read ( I find Cornwell's murder descriptions a bit hair raising for me but I like her glimpses of joy in a hard world and her character development so much that I keep going back for more!) and I found a real Christmas gem.

This is exactly why I go to these sales: a book entitled "A cup of Christmas tea"- just glimpsing the cover is enough to put me in a Christmas mood. It conjures up spices and calico, scented evergreens; things which were not part of my childhood Christmases but that I acquired a taste for and get to visit now.

I've glanced through the book- it's a simple little story of visiting an elderly relative and unexpected Christmas joys. But it mentions such magical things as steaming cups of tea and a long chat and serene picket fences and has the kind of illustrations I can get lost in because they represent very real everyday things and yet they are not part of my own reality.

The book will be kept aside for Christmas Eve or Christmas day when my husband and I will read it and get to visit another time, another house, a second Christmas from our own.

What new Christmas places will you visit this Holiday Season?

Bonus- For a laid back and simple feeling of a different Christmas, you may want to check out "Small gifts" a Canadian Christmas movie that I came across a few years ago. Unpretentious and sweet.

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