Tuesday 9 December 2014

'The Goose is Getting Fat'

How customs change over the years.   When we were children we used to go round the village carol singing.  When we had finished singing the carol we would recite the rhyme
'Christmas is coming,
The goose is getting fat.
Please put a penny in the old man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny then a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny then God Bless You!
Then we would knock on the door in the hope of a coin or two or a sweet each.

These days children don't seem to go round carol singing in small groups any more - sad, but with all the traffic about then perhaps it is as well.   Carol singers in our village, if they come at all, would come in a large choir.

Luckily some customs do continue and I love it all.   What I do not like is leaving everything to the last minute, so I like to plan the whole thing and tick things off my list - and this I am doing.

Today it was the day for buying my Christmas plants to cheer the house up.  We are very lucky here that we have a huge wholesale/retail place where the plants are first class quality.   The farmer and I went together this afternoon.   It is a lovely journey of around ten miles or so, through pretty countryside.  Once there we bought two holly wreaths (for two graves we keep up at Christmas), an azalea plant in full bloom (which is now cheering up my kitchen window sill), two cyclamen in full flower, a poinsettia, and a bowl of deep pink hyacinths just coming into bud.

Driving through our little town there are twinkling lights everywhere.   Decorating the house here is a job for Christmas Eve.  My next job is to write out my Christmas menus and make sure everything that can be bought in advance is bought and in the freezers.

I love the whole thing about Christmas and shall keep it up as long as I am able, although today's visit to the Physiotherapist has meant that this evening I am finding it difficult to walk after her half hour's work on my ankle and my knee.  Hopefully today's suffering will mean tomorrow I shall be skipping like a two year old - well perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration!  But it is our last exercise class before Christmas and we are off for afternoon tea afterwards.

15 comments:

Hildred said...

Oh, I'm a traditionalist too, and sometimes I wish I could just relax and take Christmas as it comes, but I guess all the lovely magic is too deeply ingrained in me. Hope tomorrow is a skipping day for you!

Rachel Phillips said...

I leave Christmas until Christmas Eve.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

I like the different traditions of different countries. Decorating here in the US starts on the weekend after Thankgsiving (4th Thursday in November) and some keep their decoration up until New Years or a little after. We do our decorating after Thanksgiving and this year it is spread out and taking us a big longer - but still fun.

I like to have everything down and packed away the week before New Years Day and give the house a big cleaning so we start out the new year fresh and clean - a blank slate on which to write our new year.

I too make lists - love to have everything done and accounted for - and with three birthdays and an anniversary to celebrate in December it is good to have lists.

Reader Wil said...

How wonderful is the way you describe your preparations for Christmas. I am sorry that your ankle and knee are bothering you. Take care, please.
have a great December time.
Wil

Heather said...

Your house must be full of lovely flowers. I like a traditional Christmas too and can't leave things until the last minute. Lists, lists and more lists!
Hope your day tomorrow is more comfortable. You'll be OK, not many 2 year olds can skip!

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Hi Pat!
For me, the most...uh...difficult part of the Thanksgiving-New Year's is the amount of long distance travel we have to do if we want to see the grandkids, friends, and other family members. I long for the past when families stayed closer together.

As far as Christmas dinner goes, just once I'd like to try a goose! Have you cooked goose? Is it any more trouble than turkey?

As far as decorating goes, the outside lights are up, but I am making a concerted effort to observe Advent this year. I dislike the notion of "being tired" of all the Christmas decorations by the 26th. It's like going 80 mph into a brick wall. I want to decorate the tree on the 24th and have a proper 12 days of Christmas! Just saying'. This will be Josephine's first Christmas tree. Wonder how it's gonna go?!
:) m & jb

Joanne Noragon said...

Your flower list is beautiful. I do like cyclamen. Your preparations sound straight from Charles Dickens--a very good thing.

Cloudia said...

Easy does it with exercise tomorrow! I love reading about your activities. You tell them so well.


ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3

Cro Magnon said...

The last 'carol singer' I had in England (I was overwintering in Brighton), had a hand-held cassette player and simply pressed a button, and my doorbell. I told him kindly to get lost.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I sang this song when I was a little girl......My father came from England to the USA when he was 9 years old in 1911. A nice memory! I hope your ankle will become stronger with all the PT you are doing.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I remember that rhyme, but how many people eat goose at Christmas these days? Keep on skipping!

MorningAJ said...

I couldn't get a goose in my oven. In fact I'd be hard pressed to get a turkey in there! Small piece of beef for us - with all the trimmings of course.

Gwil W said...

Here the geese have all been eaten. They eat them in November. It's called the feast of St. Martin. I didn't partake.

Christmas is ham.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Interesting what Gwil says about geese. I love goose, although it is rather fatty and also has considerably less meat on its breast than a turkey does - and it takes more cooking. The farmer will not entertain it and preferse turkey.
Thanks for calling in, as usual.

Terry and Linda said...

I love Christmas also...it's my most favorite time of the year!

Linda
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