elegantlion Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Someone posted about it being 11 days before Christmas. In my groggy eyesight, I saw the word elven, not eleven. I've also being traipsing around Middle Earth, so I'm predisposed to seeing Elves. Anyway, I've now decided to start a new holiday tradition. I'm a christian, we celebrate Christmas, but December always leaves me feeling blah. The last few years have been tough and by December I'm lucky to have the energy to exhale, much less celebrate. So I'm starting the Elven Days of Winter. It starts December 14th and runs to Christmas, or longer if you wish. ;) So I'm thinking of ways to celebrate these Elven Days. Remember, I'm thinking more of LOTR elves, than Santa's. One thing would be to decorate in silver and green representing Lothlorien. Watching the extended versions of the movies and reading parts of the book would be a must. The last day would include a day of reflection, as in Galadriel's mirror. Where you reflect on the past and ponder the future. Gifts would be small and pertinent to the giver, reflective of their need or personality. It sounds so peaceful, and I know I could use some of that right now. Who is with me? How would you celebrate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Love it. LOVE. Will have to ponder... I'm blah, too. I like LOTR more than Christmas anyway. I'll bet my kids do too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 The first thing that comes to mind is that this really must include some lembas. I could use a big leaf-bundled stack of that stuff this time of year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Too bad we can't shift this to January...after Christmas I need some gentle festivities to keep the winter blahs away... Y'all figure it out and I'll do the echo version in January...:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Too bad we can't shift this to January...after Christmas I need some gentle festivities to keep the winter blahs away... Y'all figure it out and I'll do the echo version in January...:tongue_smilie: Yes, this. It sounds beautiful for January! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 You know I may end up doing this in January too. Although we'll do the movies over the holiday break. I'm thinking I'll spray paint some fallen branches silver, maybe find some gold leaves. With the Elven Days of Winter there is no need to take down the decor after January 1. :D Hmmm,...ideas, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Okay, so after a little more thought... The elves had their runes and ancient prophecies. Perhaps you could print out a copy of Isaiah 53 in Hebrew font, and parts of one of the Gospels in Greek font, and examine them with Professor Z. Through the "discovery" of a (free, online) interlinear text, you could work together to transliterate the verses. Or just look at them in their mysterious, ancient, rune-like forms, then read them together from your favorite near at hand English translation. Have a great conversation about the passages themselves, what they mean to your faith, what they may have meant to a Christian man like JRR Tolkien... Hey, if we happen to get a blizzard, you could put on your parka and pretend to traverse Carhadras! Have fun, Paula. I find myself, this year, also fighting for the joy of the season. I have heard more women this year than I've ever heard before share honestly about how the celebration of Christmas has become a burden of despair. So many high expectations, so much work for wife/mom, so much time and money expended on a frantic season of temporary happiness. It's exhausting. But I don't want to toss it away, either. This year will be low key, dh and I have vowed to keep it that way. I plan to have quiet, intentional talks with each of my children about our Savior, and the deep significance of His incarnation. I plan to spend much time in the book of Hebrews, meditating on the current place of our Great High Priest, who knows all my flaws and selfish thoughts, yet chooses to intercede on my behalf anyway. I intend to fix my mind upon the Return of the King. I think you are so cool for making a way to celebrate without conforming to tradition. You are going to have a great time in your own little Rivendell. May your hearts be warm and hope replenished! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 The Christmas season is packed around here, but we keep it sane by spreading it out very intentionally. Advent preceeds Christmas, and is celebrated separately. Christmas STARTS on Christmas Eve and continues through Twelfth Night. That means that not all gifts are opened in a big orgy over a two day period, but enjoyed one at a time throughout the 12 days of Christmas. The tree does not get decorated until Christmas Eve. I love the idea of the Elven Days of Winter, and we will probably do something like that during the Epiphany season this year. Great idea! One thing I think I might try is using the Christian sections of LLLOTR. We bought that great curriculum but ended up not using it because of some better local opportunities; something that I have always hope to get back to at least informally sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 Ds and I are actually working on our own language. We reviving an alphabet I made up as a child. We're evolving it into our own. We could write up some peaceful phrases in it. Um...more thought. We already have a subtle tree theme happening in the classroom, maybe we could add to that. More ideas.... I wonder how far I can sell dh on this idea. ?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 I've added this album to my mix for wintering. Sting, If on a Winter's Night. The reviews are mixed, but so far I find it very relaxing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennifersLost Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hah - you've hit on an idea I've started this year - creating all my own holidays from scratch: I sat down one day and made a list of everything I wanted to celebrate - then I assigned them days. I have 2 - 4 holidays per month. Today is actually Moose Day. I will go for a walk later today to an area where we've seen moose in the past. For dinner I'm serving Moose-shaped pancakes and moose-shaped cookies for dessert. A very simple holiday. I wanted a moose movie, but couldn't find one at the library. One of my holidays - sometime in February, I think - is Jane Austen week. It consists of spending the entire week reading her novels and watching all the movie versions of her books. It may end up being a month-long festival. I've got a lot of animal holidays (including Pet Day!), season-based holidays, and I've even got Kitchen Appliance Day - the day when you clean, care for and decorate your stove, fridge and dishwasher to show your appreciation for how much easier they've made women's lives. It's all part of the new System of Living (I don't want to call it a religion and offend anyone) I'm creating for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hah - you've hit on an idea I've started this year - creating all my own holidays from scratch: I sat down one day and made a list of everything I wanted to celebrate - then I assigned them days. I have 2 - 4 holidays per month. Today is actually Moose Day. I will go for a walk later today to an area where we've seen moose in the past. For dinner I'm serving Moose-shaped pancakes and moose-shaped cookies for dessert. A very simple holiday. I wanted a moose movie, but couldn't find one at the library. One of my holidays - sometime in February, I think - is Jane Austen week. It consists of spending the entire week reading her novels and watching all the movie versions of her books. It may end up being a month-long festival. I've got a lot of animal holidays (including Pet Day!), season-based holidays, and I've even got Kitchen Appliance Day - the day when you clean, care for and decorate your stove, fridge and dishwasher to show your appreciation for how much easier they've made women's lives. It's all part of the new System of Living (I don't want to call it a religion and offend anyone) I'm creating for myself. I love it! I contemplated making February Self-education awareness month, maybe a private celebration would be in order. Kitchen appliance day - now that is one that is needed here. I may throw in a pots and pan appreciation day and clean the bottom of my pots and pans well, they need it. Getting in tune with ourselves. Sadly we have nothing as exciting as Moose day, but we could do walk and appreciate the Christmas lights in the park. You have the best ideas, Jennifer, I'd love to spend a day just brainstorming with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Hah - you've hit on an idea I've started this year - creating all my own holidays from scratch: I sat down one day and made a list of everything I wanted to celebrate - then I assigned them days. I have 2 - 4 holidays per month. Today is actually Moose Day. I will go for a walk later today to an area where we've seen moose in the past. For dinner I'm serving Moose-shaped pancakes and moose-shaped cookies for dessert. A very simple holiday. I wanted a moose movie, but couldn't find one at the library. One of my holidays - sometime in February, I think - is Jane Austen week. It consists of spending the entire week reading her novels and watching all the movie versions of her books. It may end up being a month-long festival. I've got a lot of animal holidays (including Pet Day!), season-based holidays, and I've even got Kitchen Appliance Day - the day when you clean, care for and decorate your stove, fridge and dishwasher to show your appreciation for how much easier they've made women's lives. It's all part of the new System of Living (I don't want to call it a religion and offend anyone) I'm creating for myself. I LOVE this! Jane Austen week/month sounds delightful...I have a terrific scone recipe that would be perfect for afternoon tea. I'd probably have a daffodil celebration day to welcome the first blooms of the season...I do anyway, but now I will with more verve and fun. Perhaps we could all share various 'Days' we'd like to celebrate. I'd love to see what others come up with. To expand on Elven days...I've never actually read the Lord of the Rings. Perhaps 2012 is the year I quit saying that. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennifersLost Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 ElegantLion - thanks and spending a day brainstorming would be totally fun! Happy - we should start a thread and compare "holidays". I love Daffodil Day. We just ate our moose pancakes and cookies. The cookies turned out awesome. The moose pancakes were a stretch. "Drawing" moose freehand with pancake batter takes practice!!!! But several teenage boys wandered into the kitchen as I was doing it and said, "Moose!" so I guess you could tell what they were. When everyone was seated at the table I ran to my bedroom to get the one piece of moose art I own. I walked into the dining room with it, and said, "It takes hours to decorate appropriately for Moose Day," and placed the little picture on the sideboard. No one cracked a smile. I don't think they got the joke, LOL. Oh well. :) They did seem to think it was funny when I began to talk about the significance of the brussel sprouts and bacon. When my dd accidentally decapitated a moose while using the spatula to get it to her plate, we talked out the "separation that sometimes happens in a community." When she put it back together on her plate we discussed, "Coming back together as a community." Overall, it went well. :lol: My dh did get snarky at one point before dinner, so I told him he could come up with his own holidays. That's when he realized I'd made this one up. Up until then, I guess he thought Hallmark had. You know, with three teenage boys and all the attending angst, this is about as good as it gets around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I am still thinking...and loving the ideas in this thread! Here is a lighted canvas that would be a great Elven Days decoration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 I am still thinking...and loving the ideas in this thread! Here is a lighted canvas that would be a great Elven Days decoration! Oh, I like that!! I really like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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