But, I Will Miss That Christmas Is a Big Deal

Despite my last blog post on the shock of no separation of church and State in Scotland  (and my continuing surprise that my 3-year old is coming home from supposedly secular nursery school singing Christmas songs that talk about Mary having a baby and asking the innkeeper for room at the inn), there are some good things about the ubiquity of Christmas here.

While the anthropologist in me thinks about the Muslims who are feeling left out, the Christian in me really likes the fuss made over Christmas.  Without Thanksgiving to postpone celebration, the Christmas season (or Festive Period) starts here in mid-November and goes all the way into early January.

Edinburgh gets a Christmas market, complete with an outdoor skating rink, and stalls selling spiced wine, hot chocolate and chocolate-dipped marshmallows. But Dundee kicks off with Christmas Light Night, then the West End (the neighborhood where we live) has its own West End Christmas Light Night.  This is a free event, put on by the city/neighborhood, and it involves a concert in the local church, a pipe band to start things off (they even had Christmas lights on their bagpipes but I couldn't get a good picture), the lighting of the Christmas tree, a fireworks display, and Santa and others giving out free goodies to kids (a chocolate sampler, a coloring book, glow-glasses). Plus sparklers. 

Sparklers in front of the tree

More sparklers!

Santa posing with Audrey

We also took part in another Dundee Christmas tradition this year: the Singing Kettle Christmas show (I won the tickets by following a link on Twitter - even better!):

Specific instructions on attire

She's ready!

Though it's not certain he is...

Making use of the reindeer antlers sent by Nana

We still have another month and it is packed with Christmas possibilities - Christmas Fayres (yes, spelled like that) and events, many free, and the general festivity of a city that's decked with boughs of holly and where people have a little more fa-la-la-la-la than for the rest of the year.

And that, I will miss.