Deck the Halls

Smells, Tastes, Feelings, Sights and Sounds

I always advocate (but fail to get) an artificial Christmas tree in December so my family win every year and the smell of the real tree has become, for me, the smell of Christmas. The tastes of Christmas include pigs in blankets, mince pies and Christmas pudding. The feelings are Dickensian: bonhomie to family and friends, gatherings of games and gorgeous gluttony. The sights are everywhere: gaudy, romantic, occasionally religious, red and green. And at some point on Christmas Eve, the talents of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes and Anne Whitfield in White Christmas will crystallise the sound of Christmas.

Michael Curtiz's film of White Christmas

Lyrics to White Christmas by Irving Berlin

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

Day-glo table for the Lancelot-Barrs