Christmas Afterglow

Hello Friends!  I hope your Christmas was wonderful. We made it through December, and today finds me in a quiet place as all the Christmas decor has been put away for another year. It is a rainy foggy and cold day, a day meant for reflecting and counting my blessings for it has been quite a year that none of us could have ever predicted. 

Our family truly embraced the season and held tight the meaning as we attended Christmas Eve church service ...in our cars holding candles out the window singing Silent Night.  

No question the holiday season of 2020 was by far

very different from all our past celebrations. 

I truly missed those family members 

who could not be with us this year. 

 We all needed a little joy in our lives and

 so grateful for those we love whether physically near

 or in our hearts this year.       

Come on in our home...the door is open and our hearts are full.

Tradition at our house is cutting a real tree 

and decorating it with family ornaments...

including  a few Shiny Brites from my childhood.

 The antique engraving over the fireplace is quite special as my husband 

surprised me with "Meeting the Carriage" one Christmas.

My needlepointed tree skirt has seen many Christmas's!

Water is kept nearby for the tree drinks several pans of water a day!
Each ornament holds a memory of a special person or a place. 

Some of the ornaments I made before I was even married!

The handmade sled underneath the tree holds 
the Christmas books that love to be read year after year.

A roaring fire in the fireplace and 

the aroma of a real tree...smells of the season!

A place of honor for the nativity scene

Music plays an important role in our family as both

of our sons play the violin. 

This violin was their great grandfathers.

In the kitchen of our 102 year old home is the light fixture

adorned with fresh greens, berries and white doves. 

A bit of greenery and red velvet ribbon dress the kitchen clock .

Our kitchen is tiny by todays standards, but I love it.

Salt and Pepper shakers from a friend makes the red truck!

Vintage glasses and my grandmothers butter dish

The green lamp was a wedding gift to my mother and dad 

who had very little to begin housekeeping.

Nothing says warm and cozy more than 

a warm glowing lantern in the corner of the kitchen. 

Even my laundry room has a Christmas mouse or two.

And the Christmas cactus went crazy this year.

On a low kitchen shelf is a row of lighted treasures

 for our little ones to admire. Just perfect height 

for a two year old to "twiddle".

A Christmas plate my mother gave me 
the year we were married is a treasure I bring out every year.

Needlepoint pillows are my favorite.

I have such amazing memories as a child, especially of my grandmother. 

This book on a side table was a Christmas gift from her teacher in 1905 ! 

My mother used to read it to me before bedtime.

Christmas dinner was just different this year. 

Not all our family was together, 

and it just seemed so strange. 

No added leaves in the table, No tablecloth this year, 

but a gold table runner just seemed right. 

A favorite little boy helped me clove the oranges.

Though I could never forgo a candlelit Christmas meal 

on my Christmas plates, 

it is who sits around my table

 that really matters. 

 

 So today finds me in a quiet place, as we end this crazy year...

grateful for all my loved ones and blessings granted. 

However your holidays unfold, whether shared with an extended family

 or a small circle of loved ones, I wish you joy in the coming year and

may God hold us all in the palm of His hand.

I love when you leave a comment.

I read every one of them! 

You’ll find me on Instagram here:  Alda's Magnolia Hill 

Like to know when a new blog post is up and available to read? Subscribe for email updates, it’s free and your email will never be shared. Subscribe for free post updates !

Be sure and follow on...

                                                     INSTAGRAM     PINTEREST     FACEBOOK 

“And a Sixpence in Her Shoe”

In the past, you have probably heard the saying a time or two: “ Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe.”  The poetic rhyme from the English and quoted in Victorian times seemed to catch on and is still often repeated today. Each item is usually applied to the wedding outfit rather than décor…something the bride would wear. The items serve as good luck tokens to a bride on her wedding day making her attire personal and sentimental.    

The “Something Old” symbolizes the bride’s family. Perhaps a strand of pearls or grandmothers broach fastened onto a hand held bouquet. It does not have to be from a female side…maybe a button from one of the brides fathers suits sewn into the hem of the gown.  

Megan wears her mothers and grandmothers pearls

A “Something New” symbolizes hope for an optimistic future with the marriage. The gown, the veil or even the rings, may be the “New”. “Something Borrowed” needs to come from a happily married woman thereby lending some of her own marital happiness and the item must be returned! The item reminds a bride that she can depend on that friend or family member. A “Something Blue” represents a symbol of faithfulness, love, purity and loyalty. It can be the bride’s garter or simply blue shoes underneath the gown. Christianity has long dressed the Virgin Mary in blue, so purity was associated with the color as well.

A sixpence was a coin used in the British Empire beginning in 1551. One sixpence represented six pennies and was last used in 1967. People used to be very superstitious in the middle ages and it was a good omen as a lucky charm. During the early 1600’s it was traditional for the Lord of the Manor to give his bride a piece of silver as a wedding gift. Worn in the left shoe, the tradition of the sixpence as a symbol of good luck continues today. Some families have passed down the same sixpence through the generations to continue the hope for good luck to future brides. It's also nice to seek out a sixpence minted in the year of your parents or grandparents wedding. If not a sixpence then a coin with a meaningful date should do!

Carlea lost her mother at a very young age. Here she wears her mother's wedding dress as she holds a picture of her mother wearing it on her wedding day.

Brides have been honoring the tradition of wearing an old, a new, a borrowed and a blue item during their wedding for centuries. The wearing of these items is supposed to share good luck but most important they express admiration for a few special people on a very special day.