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<\/a>Isn’t this a great sign?<\/p>\nThis festive sentiment hung over the door of the 2014 Great Dickens Christmas Fair.\u00a0 Interestingly, though, it wasn’t over the entrance<\/em>.<\/p>\n As you notice, it was the exit sign–or one of the last things people saw, when leaving the Dickens Fair, to head on back into their “everyday” lives.\u00a0 As though to remind them that Christmas isn’t just one event, one day, or even one season–but something we take away with us.<\/p>\n Today is January 6th, Twelfth Night.\u00a0 According to tradition, that’s when Christmas is “officially” over.\u00a0 But–even though the calendar says it’s time to get back to routine, there’s still a lot of Christmas-keeping going on.<\/p>\n Besides the internal process, as old Scrooge said, of “honoring Christmas in my heart and keeping it all the year”, there are a number of activities, right now, that are either in the planning stages or already in progress, for Christmas 2015.<\/p>\n (Photo courtesy of Camilla Podowski and SWEA San Francisco, and used with permission.)<\/p><\/div>\n Also, the Swedish Women’s Educational Association will need volunteers for their annual Christmas Fair, which is a popular event that recreates a Swedish Christmas market!\u00a0 As SWEA San Francisco Christmas Fair co-chair Camilla Podowski mentioned in an earlier interview<\/a>, the Christmas Fair is always the first Saturday in December.\u00a0\u00a0 And they’re going to need volunteers to help them with setup, decoration, and, very possibly, creating some amazing Swedish crafts.\u00a0\u00a0 According to their Facebook page<\/a>, they’re already looking ahead to Saturday, December 5, 2015!<\/p>\n (Please note–if you are in another part of the country, you may still get an opportunity to get involved in this special Christmas celebration.\u00a0 A Google search turns up SWEA Christmas Fairs not only in Los Angeles, but in New Jersey and Boston.)<\/p>\n Photo courtesy of Scott Newton and Marcella McSorley.)<\/p><\/div>\n And at this point, with 2015 almost a week old, “Christmas keepers” in Seal Beach are already in the middle of preparations for this year’s Seal Beach Christmas Parade<\/a>!\u00a0 As parade co-chair and public relations coordinator Seth Eaker explained in an earlier interview<\/a>, his committee will have been working for almost a month on this year’s parade.\u00a0 They review what went right and what they’d like to do differently on the Monday following Parade Day.\u00a0 They, too, would welcome volunteers for their thirty-seventh <\/em>annual parade, happening in early December.\u00a0 You can reach them by contacting the Seal Beach Lions Club. (Photo courtesy of Bleu Cotton Photography, Inc., and used with permission.)<\/p><\/div>\n If you and your family would like to see the 107th annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade from a waterfront restaurant–believe it or not, you may already be too late to make reservations!\u00a0 That’s according to 2014 parade co-chair David Beek, who warned us in his interview<\/a> that the parade is such a family tradition that some families book their reservations for next Christmas as the boat parade is happening.\u00a0 So, if you have a favorite restaurant and would love to spend a pre-Christmas evening there with the special people in your life, “oohing” and “aahing” over the gorgeous lighted boats and homes, you may want to check that restaurant’s availability now.<\/p>\n (Photo courtesy of Markki Pesce, and used with permission.)<\/p><\/div>\n But, one thing for which you’re right on time is Nelson’s Columbia Candy Kitchen<\/a>‘s candy-cane lottery for a special event in Columbia State Historic Park.\u00a0 This is the Christmas tradition where, on pre-Christmas weekends, those whose postcards are drawn get to come to the family-owned Nelson’s Candy Kitchen and make their own old-fashioned candy canes–for free!\u00a0 Columbia Candy Kitchen proprietor Janice Nelson talks about this special celebration and how to qualify for it, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, Merry Christmas, once more, to you and your family–and to all, a Happy New Year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Noella Noelophile\u00ae Isn’t this a great sign? This festive sentiment hung over the door of the 2014 Great Dickens Christmas Fair.\u00a0 Interestingly, though, it wasn’t over the entrance. As you notice, it was the exit sign–or one of the … Continue reading <\/a>First of all, the Great Dickens Christmas Fair<\/a> welcomes volunteers.\u00a0 No word as yet on when they begin recruiting, but if you’re in the Bay Area, you may like to keep it in mind for Christmas 2015.\u00a0 Here is a link to their e-mail list<\/a>; they require that volunteers have an approvable costume, and can give you more information about helping them re-create Christmas Eve in the nineteenth century here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>And–just a couple of quick notes for you, for Christmas, 2015.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>