It is grey & cold and the nights are long. I love me some pretty lights & sparkly things to relieve the dreariness! All through January!

Well, sometimes I remember the date and cut some branches of flowering bushes from my garden, mainly Forsythias, Weigelia and Witch hazel, to bring inside , They will be flowering by the 25th of December. Actually, you should do that on Saint Barbara's Day, December 4th, my name sake's day. My mother , the catholic, made me do all these things, so I am well-steeped in Catholic lore. And don't forgt to put your shoes in front of you door on DSecember 6th. It is St. Nicholas Day. You'll get chocolate, oranges and copokies, it you were good; and coal if you were not.

We did burn a Yule log one year but only because a friend had just chopped down a small ash tree in his garden. We cooked a special meal first, everyone got a little gift then we went outside and set fire to the log, and watched it burn for a while. It was actually lovely and felt quite special.

While raising my kids, a few decades ago, our household would celebrate the 12 days between the Winter Solstice and the Calendar New Year. I made it kind of a spiritual renewal and commitment to the 12 values that we felt were important to enshrine for our family. It was more of a household celebration, not something down outward with the larger community. -- Once I moved to a warmer climate, I tried to organize some gatherings for the Winter Solstice, but didn't have much luck with that, not being able to find many like-minded folks here.