Book of Days

I told you at the start of November that this month’s Book of Days Calendar would be delayed, but I bet you didn’t think it would be this late! Anyway, here it is: a gift to you this St. Martin’s Night (or, should you see this on the 12th, a belated St. Martin’s Day gift). Cover star for this month’s calendar: Corn Shocks and Pumpkins, an 1864 oil painting by English artist William Trost Richards. We don’t see fields like this here in Lake Worth, but we do get those skies if we venture west at sunset to where the trees give way to endless sugar fields. The calendar is a printable PDF that is a nice companion to this blog, even if I don’t have as much time to write as I used to. Let the calendar be your reminder that you are never far from my heart. Here is a link to your Convivio Book of Days Calendar for November.

Here’s another gift to you, whether you receive it in time for Martinmas Night tonight or not: it is, I think, a fine gift no matter when you get it. It’s me reading a spooky story for St. Martin’s Night for the online story series Stay Awake: Bedtime Stories for Kids & Sleepy Adults. I’ve read an old Tirolean folktale called “Spooks A-Hunting” for the program. The story is collected and illustrated by Diane Goode and is from her 1994 Dutton Children’s Books edition of Diane Goode’s Book of Scary Stories & Songs. Worry not: The scare factor is minimal, and this story is suitable for all ages. Here is a link to the Stay Awake series at the website of the Jaffe Center for Book Arts. You’ll find my Martinmas tale there, as well as all the previous episodes of Stay Awake by me and other folks, too, like Kianga Jinaki reading the African folktale “The Greedy Hyena,” British artist Davy McGuire reading “That Pesky Rat,” and master storyteller Jonathan Kruk telling the tale of “The Misadventures of Ichabod Crane” (as well as a couple of other stories that I’ve read along the way for the project).

Martinmas brings the time of year when we taste the new wine (which is why the Beaujolais Nouveau wines are released about now) and it is the conclusion of our annual days of remembrance that began with Hallowe’en and the Days of the Dead: All Saints Day, All Souls Day. And now, Thanksgiving is on the horizon here in the States. The days prior to Thanksgiving will bring Stir-Up Sunday, the day traditionally reserved for the making of Christmas puddings and fruitcakes that need weeks to age to develop their flavors, and St. Cecilia’s Day, patron saint of musicians, and St. Clement’s Day, patron saint of blacksmiths and metal workers. After Thanksgiving, the First Sunday of Advent will arrive, and there we’ll be: on the road toward Christmas. Unbelievable as that may seem, so it is.

$10 OFF ONLINE
The current sale at our website: Use discount code JOYFUL for $10 off your purchase of $85 or more, plus free domestic shipping. Click here to shop! And if you think it would be difficult to spend $85 at our website, you’ve probably not visited in a long time. We’ve added lots of great new items, and we are adding even more new items weekly! Highlights right now: Advent calendars from Germany, Advent candles from Sweden and the UK, Christmas nutcrackers, pyramids, smokers, and ornaments from Germany, and candies and confections from Germany, too.

COME SEE US!
Quite a few Convivio Bookworks pop-up shops over the next few weeks; here’s a list of what’s planned. (There may very well be others; we’re still working out the details on a potential date or two in late November.)

SWEDISH JULMARKNAD & SANKTA LUCIA FESTIVAL in Boca Raton
Saturday November 19 from 11 AM to 3 PM. We love this event hosted each year by SWEA, the Swedish Women’s Educational Association, at First United Methodist Church, 625 NE Mizner Boulevard, Boca Raton 33432. Admission $5 (children under 12 free), payable at the door (no tickets required). Click here for full details (in Swedish… if you’d like some information in English, ask below in the comments).

CHRISTMAS MARKET in Miami
Saturday December 3 from 10 AM to 5 PM. It’s our first pop-up shop in Miami! We’ll be at this inaugural Christkindlmarkt at the German American Social Club, 11919 SW 56 Street, Miami 33175. Don’t let the “inaugural” fool you: The German American Social Club is home to Florida’s oldest Oktoberfest celebration, so they know what they’re doing! We’re looking forward to joining in the festivities. Admission is free, but you must register ahead of time to reserve your spot, as there are a limited number of tickets. Click here for the details.

KRAMPUSNACHT in Suburban Lake Worth
Friday December 9 from 7 to 11 PM. This spooky fun event at the American German Club on West Lantana Road kicks off the club’s annual Christkindlmarkt. We’ll be there with our largest pop-up shop ever. Tickets required, and they always sell out, so buy them early! Click here for full details.

CHRISTKINDLMARKT in Suburban Lake Worth
Saturday December 10 from 2 to 10 PM & Sunday December 11 from Noon to 8 PM. The two days following Krampusnacht at the American German Club on West Lantana Road brings their beautiful annual Christkindlmarkt and we will be there with our largest booth ever. Tickets are required, and this event always sells out, too, so buy your tickets early. Click here for full details.

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That’s all for now. No wonder your November Book of Days Calendar is so late! If you’re local, I do hope we’ll see you at one of these fun events. And if you’re from away, get those Advent orders in now so you have your calendars and candles in time for the First of December, which is when our calendars and candles all begin. May you love the anticipation of Christmas as much as Christmas itself, and in so doing, may you enjoy these autumn days fully for what they are. All things in their time. There is plenty of time for Christmas once it arrives.

Image: “Corn Shocks and Pumpkins” by William Trost Richards. Oil on canvas, 1864 [Public domain via Wikimedia Commons].