Winter Celebrations in Mellowdene

Yes, it's Darcy here, filling in for Jackson. Where could that lazy rabbit be? Haha! Joking. Winter celebrations mean the Buttergloves are busy and I'm more than happy to scribble some lines here.

 

With Coltsfoot Ivory and his family returning to Mellowdene, Cecile thought it would be nice to have a large family get together. All the Ivory families - connected by Colt, Rowan and Cecile - decided to celebrate under one roof. Butterglove House would have been packed, but Merlin Butterglove came to the rescue by securing the village hall for their festivities. And then it grew. Merlin, Eliza and Orton would attend, obviously. But they couldn't exclude Newton's family. And what about Eliza's brother Denzel Dandelion and all the residents of Butterglove Lodge? They even considered inviting the rest of the Cornflowers - but even the village hall has some limits to space!

 

Providing a full hot meal for all those hungry rabbits could have been a problem. Merlin had sufficient culinary helpers but the village hall didn't have facilities for keeping so many meals warm prior to serving. The Polaris polar bears offered a solution. The loan of one of their portable discharger machines attached to a series of shallow metal boxes. I wasn't aware of this technology, but apparently the heat absorbed by used refrigerator coolsalt blocks can be discharged in a controlled manner. 

 

But you don't want to hear all these technicalities! The point is that Jackson isn't available to write this time and you have me instead. So what should I write about? Easy. Other Winter Celebrations.

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Some time ago, when I read Jackson's story about Orton's Wish List, it brought something to my attention that I'd never before considered. It was the fact we hadn't always celebrated Christmas in Mellowdene, and that it arrived slowly via newer residents. Did it originate with you humans? Not my concern. What does interest me is how the festival has grown over the years and combined with other longstanding crittizen traditions. Yes, there were such traditions before we adopted Santa and his jollity.

The bears had a small temple. Not religious as such, but it was a reminder that they were not only Sylvanians - they were bears as well - and this provided a connection to their past. It's still here, but it doubles as a small meeting place for assorted clubs. There are two small statues and the end of the inner chamber that are evidence of its use. 

 

Each month there are opportunities for Mellowdene bears to meet, discuss any issues particular to their race, noting any specific issues that need to be communicated to the village council. Their agreed representative is known as the High Bear and this is currently Forest Evergreen, recently taking over from Otto Huntingdon. These meetings are called Growls. However, at this time of year they meet up, sing old songs and tell tales of famous bruins of the past. This is the Winter Growl. I've heard some Christmas songs have been added to the last few Winter Growls!

I've also heard that the canal jetty near the Mews is particularly busy this time of year. Catsholme and the cats from Mellowdene renew their bonds. I don't know the details.

Dogs? Particularly social at any time, the Mellowdene canines assemble in the less overgrown areas of the grasslands, picnic by torchlight and set off fireworks.

 

You might get the impression from this that the crittizens of Mellowdene shun other races during these winter celebrations. That isn't the case. These events only take up a fraction of the period, partly due to the enjoyment of the Christmas effect.

 

What about me?

Of course, the Mellowdene Examiner is still published, but there's no great urgency. I still attend the Mouse Run with my family. You should not think that this relates to excessive physical exercise, but it does require some mental exercise when planning it. Weeks before, a complex diagram is drawn, connecting all mice families in Mellowdene. We tend to include hamster families too (as honorary mice) and work out a schedule of places and times. The idea is for each family to walk around the village meeting each other family - which might only be for a few minutes - and exchange good wishes, hugs and token presents (often small cheeses) before proceeding to the next place. 

 

Once this is done, the families will congregate on the village green for a dance and sing-along. 

Lots going on. Eating, drinking, chatting, laughing, hugging. A time to celebrate family, friends and Sylvanian life.

I hope that you, out there in your human world, enjoy this festive time. Ah, why be so restrictive? Winter, summer, any season - have a happy life!

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