Jan 6 is the last day for being Christmassy, right? Twelfth Night? After today, all things Christmas forbidden?
So, having taken these early this evening, through the front window of the Oxfam shop in Strutton Ground, they have to go up now, or just join the queue to be Christmassy next Christmas, which means never.
So, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, 50% off, to all my readers:
Also a turkey, a squirrel, a robin, two rabbits, a reindeer, and some crackers. And that really is Christmas and the New Year totally done. Happy middle of January to all.
It seems that the consensus is that Twelfth Night is actually Jan 5:
People believed that tree spirits lived in festive decorations and while you look after them over Christmas, if you don’t release them afterwards this could have consequences for the rest of the year. They also believed that vegetation would not grow and there would be agricultural problems and food shortages.
I instinctively feel that the same thing applies to displaying Christmas cards in your shop window. Gives a whole new meaning to the word Oxfam.
A bit of chitchat between Alastair and me:
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Ah, but if you are an Orthodox Christian using the old Julian calendar then today is Christmas day! Which is why I couldn’t attend your talk last night. We had been invited by some Ukrainian friends for a traditional Ukrainian Christmas eve dinner. But it means that if you are still feeling Christmasy then you can start counting your 12 days all over again! I hope your talk went well. Alastair
Posted by Alastair on 07 January 2018
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Alastair
My talk last night, I thought, was terrible. One of the worst performances I’ve ever given. So I reckon you missed nothing. I think my mistake was in deciding too early what to talk about. I thought it would be a good subject, but as I struggle to prepare the talk, I never got any further than my early thoughts.
Posted by Brian Micklethwait on 07 January 2018
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I’m very sorry to hear that!
Posted by Alastair on 08 January 2018