The day brightened up beautifully. We started with grey clouds and what looked like becoming a grim old Christmas day but then, out of the blue, came the…err…blue. The rest of the day was glorious though still cold.
I’m starting to get a bit annoyed with the amount of things that religion has appropriated. All this talk about Jesus being born on Christmas day. Ok, clearly, Christmas is the birth of Christ but it didn’t happen on 25 December. Well, it may have but the thing is, no-one actually knows.
Before the Christians decided to steal Christmas for themselves, it was a celebration of the winter solstice. It was to mark the end of the shortest days and a look forward to the days growing longer.
Of course, we all know this is 21 December but the Romans did the maths wrong. They didn’t realise it, but gradually, over a few hundred years, 21 December drifted four days ahead in time and, voila, solstice becomes Christmas. Not that the Romans did it first. They appropriated the calendar, changing it slightly, from the Egyptians.
Anyway, another one has gone by and another Christmas dinner has been created, eaten and (almost) cleaned up after. I was up at 6am and worked steadily towards lunch at 2pm.
I was very happy with the turkey this year. The meat just slid off and was soft to taste. I was also happy with my cranberry sauce. I generally find it too tart but it was somehow slightly sweeter this year. Karen particularly liked my parsnips and Nigel enthused over my shortbread. Mirinda loved everything, exactly the way a wife should.
Karen and Nigel are at the airport at the moment, waiting for their flight which leaves in less than an hour. Karen is clutching two turkey and cranberry rolls because she doesn’t believe that BA Business Class food is any good. It’s funny to think that by the time I get to sleep, they’ll be in the sky, flying home.
me at the cooker preparing lunch