Beyond decorations, feasts, and gifts, Christmas has always carried a deeper promise: the idea of love and joy shared in the darkest season. Across centuries and cultures, the holiday has been a time when generosity became ritual, kindness a tradition, and joy a collective act. Medieval Charity In the Middle Ages, Christmas was a momentContinue reading “The Spirit of Giving: A History of Love and Joy at Christmas”
Category Archives: Monthly Picks
A Christmas of Light
At the heart of Christmas is light: candle flames against the dark, lanterns in windows, fairy lights strung through trees. More than decoration, light is symbol — of hope, of renewal, of winter’s end. Candlelight Rituals In Scandinavia, Saint Lucia’s Day crowns a girl with candles to banish the darkness. In churches, midnight mass glowsContinue reading “A Christmas of Light”
Jewels of the Season
Christmas has always glittered — in candlelight, in snow, and in jewels that capture the season’s sparkle. Jewelry has long been tied to festive rituals: as gifts, as adornment, as symbols of light in the darkest months. Fabergé and Imperial Winter The House of Fabergé turned gifting into art with its legendary jewelled eggs andContinue reading “Jewels of the Season”
The Winter Feast
The Christmas table is as much about taste as it is about sight. Across centuries, festive meals evolved from medieval spectacle to Victorian tradition to modern comfort — a culinary story of abundance, ritual, and memory. Medieval Banquets In the great halls of Europe, feasts featured roasted boar’s head, spiced pies, and gilded confections. TheseContinue reading “The Winter Feast”
A Cinematic Christmas
Christmas has always been a backdrop for cinema’s most enduring visions — snowy small towns, glowing windows, glittering ballrooms. Film doesn’t just show Christmas; it has helped define it. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Frank Capra’s classic gave Christmas its redemptive myth, with small-town America dusted in snow and angels whispering in the wings. ItsContinue reading “A Cinematic Christmas”
Festive Fragrance: Scents of the Season
Scent is memory’s most powerful key, and at Christmas, it is the invisible architecture of atmosphere. The sharp resin of pine, the spiced warmth of clove, the sweetness of orange peel studded with star anise — these are the notes that summon the season before a single decoration is hung. Ancient Aromas Frankincense and myrrh,Continue reading “Festive Fragrance: Scents of the Season”
The Christmas Tree Through Time
Few symbols of the season are as instantly recognisable as the Christmas tree. Whether crowned with an angel, dripping in glass baubles, or pared back with candles and citrus, the tree has become a universal emblem of winter celebration. Yet its story is as layered as its branches — a tale of pagan ritual, royalContinue reading “The Christmas Tree Through Time”
Christmas in Literature: The Season on the Page
Some of our strongest images of Christmas do not come from memory or ritual, but from books. From the glowing hearths of Dickensian London to the snowy Welsh villages of Dylan Thomas, writers have long used Christmas as both backdrop and metaphor. On the page, the season becomes not just a holiday, but a prismContinue reading “Christmas in Literature: The Season on the Page”
The Golden Age of Christmas Cards
Before Instagram posts and glossy adverts, the Christmas card was the medium through which the season’s spirit was captured and shared. Sent across continents and tucked into mantelpieces, these small works of art carried not only festive greetings but also the design sensibilities of their age. Today, they remain symbols of both tradition and creativityContinue reading “The Golden Age of Christmas Cards”
The Art of the Christmas Table
Every December, the table becomes more than a place to dine — it becomes a stage. It is where families gather, where traditions converge, and where the season’s beauty is distilled into linens, glassware, and candlelight. The art of the Christmas table is timeless: part ritual, part design, and part theatre. From Banquet to IntimacyContinue reading “The Art of the Christmas Table”
My World of Interiors 