Christmas traditions

It was wet and grey today, not conducive for outdoor photography so instead you have a photo of clementines, which are part of a Christmas tradition that is centuries old. Most people know that you place a clementine (or satsuma/orange/tangerine) in a Christmas stocking - do you know why? This is thanks to St Nicholas, the 4th century Greek priest, who was renowned for using his wealth to help others. He learned of three sisters who could not be married as they were too poor to afford a dowry. To help them, St Nicholas dropped three sacks of gold down their chimney where the coins landed in the stockings which were drying by the fire. The clementines/oranges we give today came to represent the gold and generosity of St Nicholas.

I went to the hairdresser today and all the staff were dressed in crazy Christmas outfits with headgear made of tinsel and flashing lights, such fun to see. I handed over some more presents today, so the only ones now left are for the family.

I am looking forward to all the boys coming home tomorrow. Tommy is also bringing Inca home just for the night, she has been busy on a vet placement for the past 2 weeks working long hours so I hope they can get away early. I expect the roads will be so busy tomorrow and I always worry when the boys travel on such busy roads. There are no trains coming in or out our station due to the rail strikes.