10 Holiday Questions!
Good afternoon, friends! Today, I read a friend's blog post and was introduced to a lovely idea--the "20 holiday questions tag."
The rules:
Link to the original post
Credit the person who tagged you
Tag one 1-3 more bloggers
What the original post was, I have no idea, but in the posts I've seen people have simply been linking to the previous post, so I'll go with that. ;) Hop over and check out The 'holiday 20 questions tag' at Blonde Girl Writing! Credit to Jonah Braelyn for tagging me!
I'll challenge Molly McTernan and E. G. Runyan and Aria E. to do this on their lovely blogs!
For this blog, I took only 10 of the questions, and most of them I didn't respond to directly. Instead, I looked up relevant poems from classical poets I admire and quoted them here. Enjoy!
1. When do you consider the holiday season officially started?
"Valleys lay in sunny vapor,
And a radiance mild was shed
From each tree that like a taper
At a feast stood. Then we said,
‘Our feast, too, shall soon be spread,
Of good Thanksgiving turkey.’
And already still November
Drapes her snowy table here.
Fetch a log, then; coax the ember;
Fill your hearts with old-time cheer…"
What’s your favorite thing about winter?
"The dreamed Christmas,
flakes shaken out of silences so far
and starry we can’t sleep for listening
for papery rustles out there in the night
and wake to find our ceiling glimmering,
the day a psaltery of light."
Snow by Gillian Clarke
What’s your least favorite thing about winter?
"In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter..."
In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rosetti
What do you like to do in the snow?
"...with a reindeer sled, explore
The colder countries round the door."
Winter-Time by Robert Louis Stevenson
What’s your favorite holiday tradition?
"We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing...."
How do you usually celebrate Thanksgiving?
"Thy mighty hand o’er all the land
Hath still been open to bestow
Those blessings which our wants demand
From heaven, whence all blessings flow...
Then lift we up our songs of praise
To thee, O Father, good and kind..."
A Thanksgiving Poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
How do you usually celebrate Christmas?
"Awake, glad heart! Get up and sing,
It is the birthday of thy King,
Awake! Awake!
The sun doth shake
Light from his locks, and all the way
Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day."
Christ's Nativity by Henry Vaughan
What’s your favorite type of pie?
"Essence of winter sleep is on the night,
The scent of apples..."
After Apple Picking by Robert Frost
What’s your favorite Christmas song?
"Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart."
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus by Charles Wesley
What’s one gift you would like to receive for Christmas this year?
A collection of Malcolm Guite's poetry! It doesn't matter which one; his poetry is wonderful. I just finished reading David's Crown, and it was breathtaking. I promptly started reading it again.
What about you? Feel free to comment below and share your answers to some of these questions!
(Photo credit to Annie Spratt on Unsplash)
Ah, what a fun idea to respond like that! I absolutely loved your unique approach, and 'Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus' has been played a lot in my house lately - in addition, I also want a Malcolm Guite poetry collection for Christmas 😅
I already have a Christmas post scheduled, otherwise I would have been interested in this challenge! Thanks for tagging me.