Twelfth Night.... or, What You Will

Tomorrow being 6 January will be twelfth night by which time, the story has it, all Christmas decorations should be taken down otherwise bad luck will befall you!

I included the title What You Will since this was the alternative title given to this classic William Shakespeare play.  Like many of his plays this one centres around mistaken identity.  I remember one of the characters, a pompous steward named Malvolio.  This was only because when I was at school I played this character and loved wearing the outlandishly brightly coloured knee high socks.  Malvolio thought they were very fetching! 

However, the play has also garnered much critical attention for its nuanced and sometimes elusive treatment of issues of gender, ambition, and love.  There was a lot of cross dressing but we move on swiftly!

Going back to the start of this post I do mention that in UK it is the latest date by which you are supposed to take down the tree and remove any Christmas decorations.  We did this over the weekend and it is lovely to get the house back to normal.

Another description of Twelfth Night is Epiphany Eve which some areas of Christianity celebrate the conclusion of the twelve days of Christmas.  In some countries the Epiphany or Adoration of the Magi is marked by the exchange of gifts the this night takes on the same relevance as Christmas Eve.  In modern times food and drink are consumed heartily (when are they not?) with traditions going way back.  For instance in UK a punch called the Wassail was consumed particularly on this date as well as throughout the Christmas period.  Indeed some catholic countries this time marks the start of the carnival season which lasts right through to Mardis Gras Day!

Searching through the BBEST team for items to cheer us up I came across this beautiful suncatcher from Diana's Stained Glass

Peace Dove Ornament-Suncatcher

A reminder in some of our troubled times when the peace dove can be welcomed into our homes.

 

Do you have 'thank you' notes to send?  Why not take a look at these lovely ones...

Thank you Notecards - A play on patterns in blue and tan, set of 4

by Green Willow

 

 

I could not ignore this listing, could I?  The butterfly is one of my favourites so I just had to include it!
 

Yellow Butterfly Ornament

by Talking Dog

 

 

 

And so, my friends, in my first post of 2009 to our team blog I have covered a wee bit of history, legend, drama along with some offerings to show off our very talented team!  May 2009 be kind to us all!!!!