by JoHarrington
Anyone can shove up a bit of tinsel and some streamers. That's old hat. Everybody does it.
You can elevate your home at Christmas time. All you need do is pin up a picture of your perfect festive scene. Place it in a prominent position, so you can dream over it and a glass of the finest mulled wine.
It may be that your house can't match that ideal aspect. But who cares about that, when you get the view anyway?! Peruse these posters, so you can see what I mean.
Get the little ones chatting, as they contemplate the story here. Meanwhile the adults relax and imagine the reality coming right up.
For older people, this is a memory scene. Happy reminiscing on all those Christmases past.
Maybe we imagine it a more innocent era, before Christmas became so rushed and secular. Or is it the delicious mental images cast up by works like A Christmas Carol?
In reality, it could be because many of our current Christmas traditions originate from this period. This is the standard by which we are even now judging our own festive homes. The candle-light and the open fires really do complete the scene.
Whatever the root, let a part of your home become a window into times gone by. Let the Victorian Christmas rise again in these beautiful festive posters.
If we can't be there, then surely the next best thing is to pretend that we are! These gorgeous snowy scenes capture the atmosphere of Christmas.
There's no doubt that winter landscapes look stunning. The blank canvas of the snow makes it feel like we're all starting over again. All of the blemishes are gone; and it feels refreshed. The inclement weather forces people not to rush about. Too much of it and it's a Snow Day, no more work or school through no fault of our own.
Though, of course, this beauty is only true if you're looking at it from indoors, where it's nice and warm!
This stand up Santa Claus can be tacked to your wall. Even better, you could attach him to the back of a door, so it appears that he's only just arrived.
Best of all, he stands alone, if you want him there in the middle of your floor. The possibilities are endless.
Priorities please!
December 25th is the traditional day for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. That's why those in Christian nations are decorating their homes and opening presents in the first place.
Therefore a 62" inch cardboard cut out of Jesus Christ may be more appropriate than Santa Claus with a list.
There is a choice of two of these. Neither are precisely festive, but He could have been celebrating His birthday.
No doubt your family and guests will get the link. If not, then it may be time to have a chat with them about the true meaning of Christmas.
And if they sneer at that, then threaten them with the Santa Claus cardboard cut out.
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For Christian people, this festival is all about that little boy, born in a manger (or a cave, depending upon your denomination), over 2000 years ago.
Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem to participate in a census. But everyone else went too, so there was no hotel room to be had. Heavily pregnant, Mary really could not spend the night out on the streets, so her husband persuaded an inn-keeper to let them stay in a stable.
While there, Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ Himself.
What better Christmas poster to pin up than a bright and colorful depiction of that miraculous birth?
One of my favorite activities at Christmas is to go to one of the seasonal markets that spring up around here.
Vendors come from all over Europe. I get to sample Latvian delicacies, German beer, Belgian waffles and Austrian mulled wine. Brightly lit market stalls display a wonderful array of decorations, arts and crafts. They all invoke a sense of festive wonders far beyond my shores.
Sometimes it does it good to step outside the mundane and the familiar. Christmas is the perfect time to reach out to places and people beyond our doorsteps.
I look upon scenes like these and I imagine what is happening there; what the inhabitants are doing, eating, drinking, talking about, and what else they see, as they step around the corners of my view.
Christmas is a time for reflection and wonder. These posters are perfect for taking the mind on such a journey.
I don't know about you, but I'm ready to move to Finland now. At least for a visit, to see sunsets like this one.
Finland is one of the countries which grows the Christmas trees that we're all decorating in our homes. They occur naturally there; and the snowfall, and the sky, are all the decoration that they need.
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The first of these beautifully decorated trees was photographed in a family home in Oregon, USA. There's a warmth to it, which really does capture the glow of Christmas time. The second has no location origin attached.
Either would be the perfect poster for those who haven't the room even for a small artificial tree.
No abode is complete without a tree during the festive period. But some of us live in homes hard pushed to find room for a tiny potted plant.
They have walls though; and, to paraphrase the old adage, where there's a wall there's a way.
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Of course, no Christmas scene can be without a roaring, open fire, inside a festively decorated hearth. This is where dreams are dreamt; dinner is slept off; and mulled wine is consumed.
It's a great pity if you (like me) don't actually have one to sit before. We'll just have to improvise with a poster strategically placed on the wall over a radiator.
I don't care how brilliant your Christmas decorations are, outer space just owned them.
The Christmas Tree Cluster is really up there; and it is beautiful. In fact, look at it, we're going to have to invent words much greater than 'beautiful' to describe it.
The astronomers and astrophysicists, apparently having no romance in their souls, refer to it as NGC 2264. Yeah, I know. But they found it, so it's their prerogative.
It can be found 2600 light years from Earth, up in the constellation of Monoceros. For the ignorant amongst us, that's the collection of stars just to the left of Orion. The whole thing looks like a unicorn (with a bit of imagination), you can't miss it.
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Incidentally, the Christmas Tree Cluster only works if you include the Cone Nebula underneath. Otherwise, it looks like some celestial being merely dumped a mass of fairy lights in the stars.
On the first poster, it's the part in the bottom left hand corner. A cone shape ending in a bright pinkish white light. The cluster is the multicolored section above.
The Christmas Tree Cluster can't easily be seen with the naked eye, but baubles can! What do you mean it's not quite the same? These twinkle in the lamp-light.
Plus it's art. Andy Warhol drew it, so it has to be!
The full title of his artwork is Fairy and Christmas Ornaments, ca. 1953-1955. It is just one of a collection of pieces, which included other seasonal icons like a sleigh, holly wreath and a tree.
Though Andy Warhol is famous for his Pop Art style, these had a more prosaic origin. They were created while he was a commercial graphic designer. They were meant to be displayed in festive shop windows!
And back to where we began, with Santa Claus and a child, lulling us to sleep on Christmas Eve.
In this most peaceful night of calm and goodwill to all, the innocence of childhood is invoked. I defy anyone to look at this picture and not exhale a joyful, 'awwww!'
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Comments
Wow! I was so there with you. Your Dad is a very creative man. Thank you for sharing your story. :)
For years and years, my dad collected miniature houses, people, animals, and accessories, and would build Christmas villages every year. On the coffee table or something else. He'd work on setting them up in the evenings, and sometimes I'd watch. Some years he'd get super fancy, and set up the electronics to it, and then the villages would light up or play music. One I specifically remember was an ice skating rink. It confused me when I was really little, because according to me there were WAY better things to use as decorations. Like these little drummer boys we had for a couple years, that moved, but their drums were more like metal bells and when it was plugged in they were essentially a bell choir that would play Christmas music (except I broke it because I wouldn't stop touching it *sad*).
But when I got a little bit older, I avidly looked forward to the little villages. Because, with all of the different pieces and accessories, the villages never looked the same two years in a row, and they were actually very gorgeous. We didn't have snow, as the valley I grew up in was essentially a desert, but these mini villages typically did. And I was young and imaginative enough still, that I would completely lose myself in these villages. It was like I was actually there, on some nights. And so I'd sit there in the ambiance of the Christmas tree lights and often Christmas music, and make up stories about these porcelain people and their home villages, and I'd be in a whole new world for a few hours. Despite the fact that they are totally and completely different things, a few of these posters distinctly reminded me of the little villages my dad used to build. Those nights were some of the best parts of my childhood.
Nice posters. :)
I thought you'd like those!
The space pictures are pretty great!
I thought so too. I've lived in some tiny places in my time, so posters like this would really brighten up a Christmas room.
Lovely festive art, what a wonderful way to add to the seasons celebration. :)K