A few weeks ago, Peter and I stepped out of the crisp Southern Highlands cold and into the historic Robertson Hotel, a place filled with grand Gatsby-era elegance. What waited inside made me stop and take it all in. The hotel seemed to glow around us. Open fires burned in the heritage rooms, Christmas lights…
Tag: christmas
In the Stillness
Sometimes the traditions we cherish most become even more meaningful in the harder years. There are nights when exhaustion settles into my bones, yet sleep refuses to come. And it always seems to happen at the most inconvenient times, like now, when Christmas is just around the corner. A season that sparkles once a year,…
The Beauty of Advent
Some things are received more deeply when we make room for them slowly. There is something about Advent that reaches into me very deeply. Every year, when it comes around again, I feel it before I can properly explain it. It comes quietly, like a soft stillness settling over my soul, like the first pale…
This World Needs Christmas
Goodwill can begin with one person willing to reach across a divide. There are some stories that don’t fade with time. They settle into the soul and stay there. One of them is the Christmas of 1914. I often try to picture it. Young men far from home, shivering in muddy trenches along the Western…
Christmas Wish
Sometimes we only recognise how much we have when we hear how little someone else has. Sometimes life has a way of stopping us in our tracks, quietly urging us to reflect. It’s so easy to get swept up in the holiday buzz, the endless plans, the lists, the preparations. This year my Christmas tree…
Love at First Sip
Joy has value simply because it brightens our lives. Allow me to share a little secret with you. Every morning, without fail, I begin my day with a steaming cup of Masala Chai tea, lovingly made and brought to my bedside by my husband, Peter. It is one of the small but deeply cherished pleasures…
White Christmas
When we share the traditions of our past with our children, we ensure that our heritage continues into the future. I have only ever had one white Christmas as an adult, and it was truly special. My family and I were living in a small country town in eastern Finland, just 60 kilometres from the…
Christmas 1939
Written by Jaana M. H. JokinenTold by my father, Matti Samuli30th November 1939, Helsinki, Finland “All aboard!” The conductor’s booming cry drew my mother to her feet. “The train is leaving, let’s go!” I clapped my hands in delight. I could hardly contain my excitement. Though I was barely four years old, I had already…
