From My Window

Our nation has just celebrated Thanksgiving. The brave took to the road, tired of being apart from loved ones and confused by the information from our leaders and others. Now everyone is saying this Christmas will be different. As I look back over the past nine months, I wonder how we can make this “different” better.

Since we moved to Virginia, I’ve been working from home. My day starts around 6 a.m., sometimes earlier. In the summer, the sun was already up, shining over my red roses. I sip my coffee and start my work day, with meeting after meeting. We are busy but everyone used to be cheerful.

Across the street at a day care, cars used to arrive one after another, dropping off little children dressed in colorful clothes. They were like little chicks running around: some laughing from excitement, others screaming, unhappy to be apart from their mothers. The noise bubbled over until 8 a.m. before everything returned to normal—quiet. Later, around 5 p.m., the street would return to life as people got out of work and parents returned for their kids. This time all the children were excited: some ran toward their moms with pictures in hand, others with crafts.

Since March, the scene is different. I see no one riding on the school bus.The street is still and eerie. My morning is missing the colorful flock of chicks, their giggles and screaming. The cars are getting dusty in everyone’s driveways. We go quickly to get food and return to our “ship,” our safe harbor. People turn on the TV to see some light, some hope, but the news makes us feel even worse. We worry about family, friends, our jobs. Everyone is getting tired, too tired at times to even keep worrying.

On the other hand, I’m happy I can work from home. It’s a privilege and I’m grateful. I feel the tension at work as we’ve had a few rounds of layoffs and more are on the horizon, but we still are supporting each other.

The bad, the pain, has forced us to slow down and think about the important things in life. Will Christmas be different this year? Yes, definitely. But its intent can be the same if we keep the main reason behind it alive. Now more than ever we need to take care for those in need and share what we have. Some remain prosperous, others have less, but I think we can all share something of ourselves. We can buy fewer non-essential goods that only end up piled up in our closets. We can make donations to people in need and make their Christmas brighter. Check on your neighbor. Maybe they lost their job and can use some extra cash to get food or pay their rent or other bills.  After all, sharing and love are the true meanings of Christmas.

To cheer friends and followers, I recorded one of my stories, The Christmas Thief, in English and Bulgarian. You can listen to them on YouTube.

English: https://youtu.be/NaphVVd7KgQ

Bulgarian: https://youtu.be/4BtBA7_JoPE

Let’s bring calmness to our busy, stressful days and see the lights of the season. Sit next to the fire, relax, and enjoy.

I’m confident next year will be better. The kids can return to school, play sports, and have birthday parties. We can go to movies and games and have a huge bucket of popcorn or a hotdog. We need to believe!

Christmas Books

Here are a few Christmas books from author friends of ours. We hope you find something to make the season merry. Health and Blessings to everyone.

eMagazines

Mom’s Favorite Reads eMagazine December 2020: https://books2read.com/u/4EPpV0

Mom’s Favorite Reads eMagazine December 2018: https://books2read.com/u/4DgDM7

Short Story

The Gift by Rhonda Hopkins: https://books2read.com/u/bprYvg

Children’s Stories

 

The Christmas Thief by Ronesa Aveela:
https://books2read.com/Christmas-Thief

Secret Santas by Sylva Fae: https://books2read.com/u/4XLepv

Children’ Christmas Collections:
(boxed set of all 4 ebooks): https://books2read.com/u/3yzQAn
(paperbacks): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1670783774/

Christmas in Greece by Millie Slavidou: https://books2read.com/u/4NXez6

Christmas Elfabet by Katie Weaver: https://books2read.com/u/baaqeQ

Cami and Wyatt Share the Christmas Spirit by Stacy Bauer: https://books2read.com/u/b6KGN6

The Very, Very, Very Bad Gingerbread Boy by Cusper Lynn: https://books2read.com/u/mKyVnZ

Romance

Mary & Bright by Katherine E. Hamilton: https://books2read.com/u/mBGDQy

A Country Christmas by Melanie P. Smith: https://books2read.com/u/4XLER9

Christmas Surprise by Melanie P. Smith: https://books2read.com/ChristmasSurprise2

Crafts

Christmas Crafting with Lacey by Lacey Lane: https://books2read.com/u/mYAqwP

More Christmas Crafting with Lacey by Lacey Lane: https://books2read.com/u/bQde8Z

Adult Humor / Graphic Novels

The Ugly Christmas Sweater Cats’ Revenge by Cusper Lynn: https://books2read.com/u/bWP6Xz

Snarking All The Way by Cusper Lynn: https://books2read.com/u/3kABRG

Nobody Can Drink from an Empty Cup

We are all experiencing anxiety and fear these days. It’s to be expected as we’re seeing our world and lives change. A crisis like this is too complex to put into words. In times of human struggle, the world needs kindness and empathy.

Can you push through your anxiety and find blessings in these challenges?

I’ve learned a lot about myself in 2020. One thing is that I shouldn’t take for granted the little things in life.

Like many of us, this year has made me look at my life and see what’s most valuable. What I’m thankful for. I think it’s a simple but hard question for many: what do you value most? For me, my family and my health are the most important. My family, because I love them dearly. My health, because as my baba use to say, “Nobody can drink from an empty cup.”

Christmas has a special place in my heart. While I was growing up, Christmas was forbidden in Bulgaria by the Communist party. We only celebrated New Year’s, but my grandmother was always able to keep the Christmas spirit and traditions alive. In this post, I’ll introduce you to one of my favorite rituals, “fortune bread.” I weave rituals and traditions from my childhood into all my books, to keep them alive and pass them on to future generations.

December is magical in Bulgaria. The harvesting is done, wheat is in the mills, wine is ready for drinking. It’s a time to stay near the fire, cook hearty meals, and celebrate with family and friends.

The beginning of the winter festivities starts in late October and continues until early spring when nature awakens and people need to go back to the fields and vineyards. This is the time when name days abound. These are special days dedicated to a person’s name, and are an important part of the celebrations. For Bulgarians, name days are even more important than birthdays.

One major celebration is St. Nicholas day, Nikulden, on December 6. Everyone who has a name related to “Nicholas,” whether male or female, celebrates this name day.

The saint is not only the patron of the seas, sailors, and fishermen, but also a patron of merchants and bankers. According to beliefs, he helps young people to get married. On his day, people prepare a meal of ritual bread, baked carp, and wine.

For me, Nikulden is the start of the Christmas preparation and celebration. Christmas Eve, or as we call it Budni Vecher, is one of the most beloved and cozy family holidays. People from near and far return to their families to celebrate Christmas and wish all the best for the coming year. On Christmas Eve, we perform rituals and traditions that have been observed in Bulgarian families for centuries.

Before setting the festive table on Christmas Eve, the owner of the house lights a special tree in the hearth, called a budnik. The wood is pear, oak, or beech. I created a new tradition in my family by keeping the trunk from our Christmas tree and using it as a budnik log for the next year. It feels like the tree carries the magic of Christmas and our memories.

The meal is an essential part of the evening. The dishes on the table are an odd number and are healthy. Seven is popular because it’s signifies the number of days in a week, and people make a variety of nine dishes because nine represents the number of months of a woman’s pregnancy. In some parts of the country, they make twelve dishes, as many as the months of the year, but I guess they like to cook.

I don’t have enough time for that. I usually do only seven dishes, because it takes time to cook everything from scratch, and nowadays we work full-time jobs and juggle other household tasks. Besides, seven is my favorite number.

Honey is a must have on the table to make sure the new year is sweet and prosperous. I like to include walnuts, because we do fortune telling using walnuts. Each person selects a walnut and if the nut is good inside your year will be healthy and happy.

But my favorite ritual as a child and even now is the fortune bread called pitka. It’s always home-made, as it’s a symbolic sacrifice. We put a coin wrapped in foil inside the dough. Whoever gets the coin in his piece of bread will be the lucky one during the year.

Christmas is a special time for many people. The holiday can be chaotic and has become one of the most commercialized days of the year. Yet, still, it’s a holy day for many people, despite the fact that the stresses of the season take over. We talk about this holiday in our book Light Love Rituals. You can also learn a little more about Budni vecher in our children’s short story The Christmas Thief, where a little boy learns about sharing.

If you want to make this ritual bread yourself, you can download the recipe here: https://storyoriginapp.com/directdownloads/b5a2b185-261d-4837-b1cb-54ec785cd618.

Wishing you a blessed and happy Christmas and holiday season. Stay safe and happy!