Everything about it.
Here in New York it's amazing the way the city lights up with the holiday spirit...Decorations everywhere, songs heard all the time (like in the grocery store tonight! Made me so happy!)...They're right when they say NYC is a magical place this time of year.
This is not to say, though, that I'm not missing the Christmas season at home with my family.
Fall and early winter are the two seasons when I'm really aware of any onset of homesickness and I find myself walking through Memory Lane a little more often than usual. Maybe it's because the weather's getting colder so the house just feels warmer. Maybe it's because they're in the middle of Nutcracker season at my studio at home and that was such a huge part of my life since such a young age (and it's something I'm finding myself miss more and more each year that passes!). Maybe it's because come Thanksgiving day the Christmas songs go on and throughout the house one can probably hear Mariah Carey, Dave Barnes, Jimmy Buffet, and Bing Crosby all at the same time! (And feel free to replace those names with pretty much any musical artist who has a Christmas album out...I'm positive we've got it!) Maybe it's because all the decorations at home and at church are up. The spirit of the Christmas season is everywhere and while it's no hard task to find it here, it's just not quite the same! And it's even more obvious how different it is when you find yourself thinking about wishing how you were home instead of going out an enjoying what's right before your eyes!
So that's why this made me REALLY happy today! I posted awhile ago about the farmer's market at the corner of 2nd and 10th outside St. Mark's Church that's held every Tuesday. Well, here's what I saw--and smelled!--as I walked to and from class today! (Not the best pictures, but I think you'll get the idea..)
They've got the Christmas tree lot set up :)
For as long as I can remember my family has gone to cut down a fresh Christmas tree every year, so all through the holidays our house smells distinctly of wonderful pine. As I was walking to class this morning I could smell the trees before I saw them and when I looked up there they were, lining the sidewalk and filling the square with bundles and bundles of cut trees. There was even a little hut where they sold wreaths and other smaller holiday decorations. I loved it :) The scent and the sight was just what I needed to remind myself that even though I'm not exposed to some of my favorite holiday traditions and associations daily, there are still plenty of ways to find the same excitement as I'm blessed to know in my family's house in Virginia!
So on this Monday evening, Christmas trees, the Christmas spirit, and the fact that no matter where I am my joy for the Christmas season will never diminish make me happy :)
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