From the Vault: Mid-Winter Holidays
An ice storm is pummeling New York City as I write this. Even a dedicated winter baby such as myself is finding it difficult to love Old Man Winter today. It seems that snow has been on the ground forever – sometimes fluffy and white, but all too often slushy and gray. The overlay of ice complicates getting around, and many times, unless we must, we just don’t bother to leave the house. How appropriate that we have just passed Groundhog Day. These rodents, aside from (or maybe because of) their facility with meteorology and prognostication, are one of the few species that enter into true hibernation. The fact that they can be bothered to exit it – not entirely voluntarily -- for a few cranky moments in early February as they are hoisted out of their winter burrows, speaks to the wisdom of staying inside during bad weather.
That said (thank you for listening), let us also note that we are now halfway to spring. Daylight hours, lengthening since the winter solstice, now noticeably last longer. Time inside is now tempered with a quickening of the pulse. The projects we committed to at the dawn of the new year are ready for their first status check: scrapbooks updated, mending completed, and, yes, columns written. There is still time to curl up with good books and catch up on new or revisit beloved films, but our attention turns to winter getaways. Weeklong breaks to sunny climes or weekend jaunts for dinner and a movie are rejuvenating, and the anticipation of that rejuvenation is the theme of Candlemas. Just as the candles we light on this sacred, but still dark, night welcome the gathering sunlight, so are gardeners sowing the first seeds to welcome springtime growth. Somewhere underneath the snow, crocuses are stirring.
Into this sense of awakening expectation, Valentine’s Day arrives. This is a controversial holiday, for modern marketing focuses on couples. But Valentine’s Day celebrates love of all kinds: between parents and children and grandparents and aunts and uncles and neighbors and friends. It cannot be coincidence that Valentine’s Day falls as spring is a hope about to be realized, for that is the nature of love. And while the love between partners is a cornerstone of this holiday, love itself is the true reason to celebrate.
This Valentine’s Day, show your love with chocolate and wine. As I’ve written before, at no time do we need a party more than in the dead of winter. Invite friends over for dinner. They will appreciate the excuse to get dressed up and get out of the house, and you will appreciate the energizing activities that come along with hosting an event. Serve simple appetizers and open some good bottles of wine. Indulge in a serve-yourself meal of crowd-friendly pasta and crown the meal with a sexy dessert. As your guests leave – I guarantee you, later than any of you had planned – everyone will be invigorated to get through the next few weeks of winter, to the promise of a springtime that will arrive sooner than we think.
That said (thank you for listening), let us also note that we are now halfway to spring. Daylight hours, lengthening since the winter solstice, now noticeably last longer. Time inside is now tempered with a quickening of the pulse. The projects we committed to at the dawn of the new year are ready for their first status check: scrapbooks updated, mending completed, and, yes, columns written. There is still time to curl up with good books and catch up on new or revisit beloved films, but our attention turns to winter getaways. Weeklong breaks to sunny climes or weekend jaunts for dinner and a movie are rejuvenating, and the anticipation of that rejuvenation is the theme of Candlemas. Just as the candles we light on this sacred, but still dark, night welcome the gathering sunlight, so are gardeners sowing the first seeds to welcome springtime growth. Somewhere underneath the snow, crocuses are stirring.
Into this sense of awakening expectation, Valentine’s Day arrives. This is a controversial holiday, for modern marketing focuses on couples. But Valentine’s Day celebrates love of all kinds: between parents and children and grandparents and aunts and uncles and neighbors and friends. It cannot be coincidence that Valentine’s Day falls as spring is a hope about to be realized, for that is the nature of love. And while the love between partners is a cornerstone of this holiday, love itself is the true reason to celebrate.
This Valentine’s Day, show your love with chocolate and wine. As I’ve written before, at no time do we need a party more than in the dead of winter. Invite friends over for dinner. They will appreciate the excuse to get dressed up and get out of the house, and you will appreciate the energizing activities that come along with hosting an event. Serve simple appetizers and open some good bottles of wine. Indulge in a serve-yourself meal of crowd-friendly pasta and crown the meal with a sexy dessert. As your guests leave – I guarantee you, later than any of you had planned – everyone will be invigorated to get through the next few weeks of winter, to the promise of a springtime that will arrive sooner than we think.
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