All is calm in our little town on this Christmas Eve, the only sounds in our street are the wind howling and the odd car passing.  It seems that people are all heading towards home, the shops are slowly closing and town is emptying.  There is always a nice buzz in Skibbereen around this time of year.  Traditionally young people who would have emigrated to America or the UK would try and get home for the festivities, these days it is students and those that made it overseas that return, it’s always a great time for rejoicing and that is palpable in the streets and shops as old friends and families gather.  People seem cheerful.  Nice!

But I did not mean to write about this.  For me Christmas or Solstice time is special too but in other ways.  I feel myself pulled deeper into nature, my wish is to go for a long walk and take note of all that is happening, and so much is happening underneath all the rest that nature is supposed to be taking at this time.  Around me I not only see daffodils shooting up, but all sort of buds are getting bigger by the day. A myriad of small young plants are covering the ground where there are patches not covered by fallen leaves. 

 A fine Irish mist is making everything wet and glistening, as a result the colours of the tree trunks in our garden are not dull, they are bright and beautiful.  This time of year is special, I read the old stories of animals being able to converse with each other in language on Christmas Eve, that somehow always stuck with me!  These are the darkest days, midwinter, we celebrate the solstice and look forward to the light returning, the brighter and longer days, new life and renewed energy in nature and in humans.  Christmas too is about new life, the birth of Christus, bringing light into the world.  It is a beautiful time, hopefully a time of peace for all.

Here in our little house, Ian is working on writing his book, we just had lunch and some real Flemish marzipan that my sister Josephine sent us from Lier.  Everything is peaceful, I’m listening to baroque music on rtbf Musiq3.  Work is done, our garden birds are fed, and I’m enjoying writing my blog post and wondering how all my WordPress friends and followers are celebrating this time of year.  Soon it will be 2024 and I hope that it will be a year full of blessing for you all. 

Sending love and wishing peace to everyone.