Christmas Calendar

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January

General things to do this month:

Dates for the diary:

1 January - New Year's Day

5 January - Twelfth Day. Time for decorations to come down if you're not keeping going until Candlemas on the 2nd of February!

6 January - Epiphany - one day on which to end the Christmas season, with the final events of the Christmas Story - the arrival of the Wise Men and the Holy Family's flight into Egypt.

7 January - Plough Monday. The traditional date for the start of the farming year after the Christmas break. Before the Reformation in England, the communal plough (for those too poor to own their own) was blessed by the parish priest and candles were lit to bless the forthcoming activities.

It's a day you might be able to see some Morris Dancing, a tradition revived during the twentieth century in England and not as quaint and twee as its popular stereotypes. Enjoy the music, the dancing and buy a pint of real ale. The traditional connection with agriculture might make this a good time to think about our attitudes towards food. It's not too late to make a few resolutions for the New Year. Why not set as a goal to become more informed about the farming sector in your country and shop more often at farmers' markets instead of supermarkets?

Throughout January - a time for reflection perhaps.

Thank you letters need to be written to those generous souls who sent Christmas presents to you or your children.
Greet everyone you meet with a 'Happy New Year' the first time you see them in the New Year - but maybe stop doing this a week or so into 2008!
After the abundance of Christmas, it's often a time for living more simply, less extravagantly. Hearty stews made with root vegetables and cheap cuts of good quality meat.
Maybe enjoy the odd winter beer. If you can get to Manchester, try the National Winter Ales Festival from the 16th to the 19th of January.
Use up the candles you have left over from Christmas to make the dark evenings a bit more jolly. The next traditional celebration of lights according to the church calendar is Candlemas on the 2nd of February.

For Christmas Matters it's a month to put the Christmas website to sleep for 9 months or so and time to put together plans for celebrating the turn of the seasons. We shall be blogging throughout 2008, under the name 'Seasonal Matters', recipes, craft ideas and reflections. Our shop shall re-open with year-round crafts and kits to make your own seasonal gifts and keepsakes. And we shall add to our website through the year with more information on customs, some more stories and music, book and film reviews.

All will be linked through from this website! Do come back in mid-January and see what we've been up to. And a Happy New Year to all!

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