The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: Christmas

  • The Giving Gift

    A dear friend of mine gave me the best Christmas gift ever this year. It was a card. A simple card. But inside, it said, “In the spirit of the season, a night of housing, hot meals, and hope at the Sulzbacher Center were given, in your honor, to a homeless man, woman or child.”…

  • Jólabókaflóð

    Cultural appropriation is a big no-no these days. We are starting to learn to respect each other’s diversity, and try not to turn other people’s sacred things into kitsch as we once were wont to do. But I just came across an Icelandic tradition that involves two of my all-time favorite things: books and chocolate.…

  • Keeping Christmas

    In A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Scrooge utters a line that I’ll never forget: “Keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.” As detestable as Scrooge may be at first, that sentiment has always made sense to me. Christmas should never be forced upon anyone. Part of the reason…

  • Why I Say Happy Holidays

    I like chestnuts at this time of year, but this particular chestnut is getting old. I’m referring to the annual debate about whether to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. Here’s why I think the answer is clear. When I say Happy Holidays, I am wishing you a Merry Christmas. I’m also wishing your neighbor…

  • Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding

    Have you ever really thought about the lyrics to We Wish You a Merry Christmas? The carolers demand figgy pudding, and say they won’t go until they get some. Granted, it used to be a tradition for carolers to be fed when they performed at rich people’s houses, but still, that’s a little pushy, don’t…

  • Out There for the Holidays

    The holidays can be painfully lonely for those of us who are single. At a time when joy is almost mandatory, it makes you feel that much worse when you can’t quite get there. Bah, humbug. In years past, I’ve tried my best to pretend that the holidays weren’t happening. For example, it’s my New…

  • Grieving through the Holidays

    If you’ve lost someone you love, the holidays can be a particularly painful time. All those memories. All those traditions. All those people, still alive, who insist that you to carry on all those traditions. How can you be expected to decorate a tree when every ornament reminds you of the person you’ve lost? And…

  • It’s Ornamental, My Dear Christmas!

    In case you haven’t heard me lament this fact before: I’m single. At this time of year, that means I don’t bother putting up a Christmas tree. It just seems like too much effort when no one but me will appreciate it. But I can’t seem to give up one tradition: I buy myself a…

  • Danish Juleneg

    I am proud of my Danish heritage, and now that I’ve moved to Seattle, I have a unique opportunity to learn more about it, and add more Danish traditions into my life. Seattle has a very big Nordic community, and even a Nordic Heritage Museum that has a Yulefest every year on the weekend before…

  • MY Reason for the Season

    I’m not a Christian, but I do celebrate Christmas. I like the nostalgia of it. I like the Christmas lights that warm up a cold winter’s night. I like the music. I like the decorations. I like the food (perhaps a bit too much). I like to see how excited children get on Christmas morning.…