Monday, December 26, 2011

The 2nd Christmas Day




On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave....  

NO, not that one.  And not Boxing Day for all you Canadians, Brits and Aussies.

Today in the Netherlands is the 2nd Christmas Day, following the 1st Christmas Day, naturally, which was yesterday.  Assuming Wiki is right, Lithuania, Austria, Germany, Scandinavia, and Poland also celebrate the 2nd Christmas Day today.  Sharing the love, of course.

That's why the Dutch Christmas greeting in the V&V post yesterday was Prettige Kerstdagen = Pleasant Christmas Days.  There really are two of them.

And both of them are national holidays, so Astrid is home with me today.  But here's how it works.  If December 25 and 26, the two Christmas days, happen to fall on a Saturday and Sunday....  Well, tough luck!  You miss out that year on any extra days apart from the weekend for Christmas, as happened last year.

This is different from most companies in America that follow a Christmas-on-Saturday means Friday is off and Christmas-on-Sunday means Monday is off.  In that regard, they get two Christmas days, too.  That means maybe your significant other is also at home with you today.

Perhaps it's because we need them (the days, that is, not the significant others--HA!).  Have you ever thought about that?  Actually, we usually need at least a week!  I assume all Christmas-celebrating countries close schools everywhere between Christmas and New Years.  The kids are home and one or both parents take off from work.  A time to relax or travel to see relatives.

Or to "dumb" down.  To allow the house to lie fallow after all the zaniness of the last days.  Or maybe WE'RE who need the "fallowing."  Just shut down for awhile.  Take out all the batteries. 

In other words, it's a gift, today, just like yesterday...kinda, sorta.  How will we give it to ourselves and each other?  Astrid and I will maybe finish the jigzaw puzzle we started a month ago....

We may even try to figure out how to end one year before starting another?  Or not!






Monday, December 5, 2011

Life's Serendipities




ser·en·dip·i·ty  n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties
1.The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.

Today in the Netherlands it is Sinterklaasdag, 5 December.  It's the traditional day for the Dutch to do their gift-giving for the Christmas season (in spite of American influences seeping in to augment gifts on Christmas day).  Think Santa Claus and presents.  Today.
Two years ago today (though it was a Saturday then), I moved to the Netherlands from America to begin a new life with the Dutch woman I married two months later.  It was totally coincidental that the day I arrived was Sinterklaasdag.  We didn't plan it that way.  But every year since then, Astrid and I will celebrate this day as our biggest and best gift to each other.

That's serendipity.  And, YES, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

I have always loved serendipitous moments.  They may be more rare than "normal," but maybe that's what makes them so "fortunate" and "by accident."

This past September, when we spent a few days in England with friends (and met CherryPie, remember?), we had another serendipitous moment that still drops my jaw to the ground.  As we strolled by the Royal Crescent in Bath, I looked up to see the entablature above the columns and stopped dead in my tracks.
There they were, just as plain as day.  From the entire length of the Crescent, a row of 30 houses with entablatures above, these were the two we just happened to see:  a heart (Hart) and a windmill side-by-side.  In Bath, England, of all places.

That's serendipity.

Of all the gifts I've ever received in my lifetime, these rank up there at the top.  They "just happened" by accident.  Most fortunate because they didn't cost a cent and I'll never forget them!

If you believe in Santa Claus, I'm sure you have your own serendipitous memories.  Feel free to share them here...and then store them up as the gifts that can never be lost or taken away from you.

And let's keep our eyes open.  You never know when a "by accident" is just waiting to happen!