December 2020 Issue

Aiken Bella PDF

Palmetto Bella PDF

Aiken Bella PDF

Palmetto Bella PDF

Monthly Articles

Palmetto Bella | The Ancient Traditions of Yule

The Ancient Traditions of Yule

Yule, also known as Yuletide, Yulefest, and Winter Solstice, has many traditions that are present in current day religions. If you like history as much as I do, come on an exploration journey with me. First, what is Yule or the Winter Solstice? Solstice is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). During this time of declination, the sun appears to be standing still. This year, that the solstice occurs on December 21. After this day, the days get longer until we reach the Summer Solstice. In ancient times, Yule was celebrated by the Germanic tribes of Northern Europe in anticipation of the return of

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Celebrate with a Piece of Cake | Palmetto Bella

Celebrate with a Piece of Cake

Everyone knows that 2020 has not been a piece of cake, but perhaps one thing that could help us all in this difficult time IS a delicious piece of cake. As the holidays quickly grow near, it’s time to gather with loved ones and bring some cheer. Think about those memorable dishes and traditional recipes you made with your mother, father, sibling, or grandparent. What great moments to remember while creating something that brings comfort and happiness on a particular day! After a bit of turkey, dressings, ham, salad, or green bean casserole, let’s take a stroll to the dessert table. Just a piece of cake can make any celebration

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A Thrifty Christmas Celebration | Palmetto Bella

A Thrifty Christmas Celebration

Christmas in Ireland is a massive celebration over the entire month of December. Normally we would be celebrating Friendsmas, a great huge gathering of my husband’s mates from Blackrock College and their spouses in a nice large restaurant spilling over with people. There is also the grand adventure of The 12 Pubs of Christmas, where friends and family take on a pub crawl that is not for the faint of heart, as revelers must complete a set of challenges for each pub. Anyone sick of his family on Christmas Eve can wander down to his local watering hole, always bursting to the door with people. For television entertainment, there is

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To Keep Christmas Well | Palmetto Bella

To Keep Christmas Well

“…and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well …” It is among the closing lines from Charles Dickens’ classic story, “A Christmas Carol.” It may be one of the best remembered and most cherished sentences in the book. “To keep Christmas well,” I suspect, implies different things to each of us. But in the language of the day when this book was written, it meant to observe, or to honor, or to celebrate something. To actively remember. Perhaps in this year of rather lopsided “celebrations” — with their often double-edged experiences and wobbly sense of imbalance — I have found myself searching for

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