Thanksgiving

Holidays are great ways of telling stories. A day you share with all your countrymen. Your neighbours, family and friends will all (probably) celebrate the same day. Sharing the story of the day, the meaning of the day.

Luckily with Thanksgiving (Day) it is easy to get the meaning of the day. Saying thanks for the preceding year. And in history also a big thank you for a good harvest. Hence all the lovely food at a Thanksgiving dinner.

A few of you will be wondering, what is this Dutch woman talking about. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving in The Netherlands. And I have to agree with you, we don't. But that is the lovely part of stories and sharing stories. I do get into the feeling of Thanksgiving.

Thanks to Facebook and connecting with people you share an interest with, I got connected with Rebekah. A Lord of the Rings-friend from the United States. She included me in sharing her Thanksgiving preperations. So even when I wasn't in the USA, and unfortunately couldn't join her for her dinner. Because, wow, it sounded so amazing what she had been cooking. I got the feeling of cooking together, preparing all the lovely dishes, the huge amount she cooked. And later also the fun of the dinner, sharing with her family and friends. 

With a big Thank You to Rebekah and the story of Thanksgiving, now this Dutchie got to enjoy a Thanksgiving Day, even when it was from a distance.

I hope all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving will have a lovely day with friends and family. And you will all survive Black Friday (something else I only get through stories, but for this one, I'm actually glad I don't have to cope with).

I smell a story

Scent is very important. It brings back memories, and memories are usually the best stories, because they were worth remembering.

One of my favourite books, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, has a wonderful chapter about the power of scent in stories. The Night Circus tells the tale of a magical circus, that "Opens at Nightfall and Closes at Dawn". One of the main characters in the book is Bailey, a boy from Concord, Massachusetts. Living there in 1897. He falls in love with the circus and visits as often as he can, becoming good friends with some of the artists in the circus. One night he wanders through the circus on his own and encounters a single tent, with a sign that says.

"Bedtime Stories

Eventide Rhapsodies

Anthologies of Memory"

Intrueged he enters to find a tent filled with bottles, jars, small and big pots. He opens one and this is what happens.

"As he peers inside he smells the smoke of a roaring fire, and a hint of snow and roasting chestnuts. Curious, he inhales deeply. There is the aroma of mulled wine and sugared candy, peppermint and pipe smoke. The crisp pine scent of a fir tree. The wax of dripping candles. He can almost feel the snow, the excitement, and the anticipation, the sugary taste of a striped candy."

I hope, you, like me, can see what he is seeing. Christmas. Although my Christmases have been rather different, there is still so much recognisable. I do remember those first days of Christmas. My mum would go down before we even woke up and turned on the lights in the Christmas tree, leaving the rest of the house in darkness. So when we would come downstairs, I could already smell the pine scent coming from the Christmas tree, and opening the living room door... All those lights flickering in the tree, standing alone surrounded by darkness. And up to this day, the smell of pine trees brings back the memories and stories of Christmas to me.

And you? Do you have a story related with a smell? Please, do share your story.

The power of words

Yesterday I said stories define our world. An important part of those stories are the words you use to tell them. This video, I think, is very inspirational, how words can change your story and the outcome of it.

A new story

A new blog, which means, a new story is beginning.

Stories define our world, they form the base we start from and the legacy we leave behind. We all remember our grandparents telling us about their childhood, we can see them running around with just a can or a hoop, playing in the fields. Our parents, telling us what not to do, because something bad happened to them. Friends, who can convince you with just a few lines to go with them on that wonderful trip. Or a co-worker inspiring you to help them on that amazing project. All done with stories.

And what gives society us. Books, to curl up on the sofa and travel with Frodo to Middle-earth or find Aslan besides Lucy in Narnia. Movies, chasing tornados in Twister, escaping the Titanic together with Jack and Rose or visiting Pandora and flying with the Na'vi. Music which brings you to different places with just sounds. Or lyrics that touch you deep in the heart. Commercials to laugh at, or to wonder, why don't I own that product?

Everything tells us stories and everybody has a story to tell. Let's discover the world of stories. And start a new story here.