Happy Sunday, dear Scarfies, and thank you, Fifi @Living.la.vida.fifi, for your lovely Advent celebration of purple scarves, so many colorful beauties, and to everyone who showed off your treasures this week. I think of this week’s theme as a continuation of the last, as Fifi expressed it perfectly, “The joyful season beckons us to be a little more festive, merry and bright and what better way to show it than with our beloved silks.”
Jingle Bell Rock: Festive Scarves to Rock Your Holidays!
Welcome to the start of this sacred and peaceful time for all of us, a time of reflection, celebration, merrymaking and light. Hannukah, the Festival of Lights, begins tonight, December 18, with the lighting of the first candle of the Menorah. Today, the Fourth Sunday of Advent marks the start of Christmas week. Wednesday is the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, but also the beginning of a ‘new year’ of lengthening days. December 26 begins the African festival of Kwanzaa, or “First Fruits”. Each commemorates the shared promise of rebirth and renewal for all living things, and we welcome this time with joy. So let’s don our festive apparel, our sparkly jewelry, and of course, our beautiful, celebratory scarves as we begin our holiday season!
Festive SOTD, La Comedie Italienne by Phillipe Ledoux. Depicting the Commedia dell’Arte and all its reveling stock characters, I find this gem to be perfectly lovely for celebrating.
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En pointe, also, because today is the 130th anniversary of the debut of Tschaikovsky’s iconic Nutcracker ballet. It premiered December 18, 1892 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.
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Ivan Vsevolozhsky's original costume sketch for The Nutcracker (1892)
In the cast is a character called Mother Ginger whose skirt contains adorable Polichinelles, or little Pulchinellas, a Commedia dell’Arte stock figure of some importance. Here is their dance from New York City Ballet’s 1993 Nutcracker film. Macauley Culkin, already a star, was also a student at the School of American ballet, and was given the starring role of the Nutcracker Prince. Enjoy!
My Nutcracker display, complete with Sugarplum, pointe shoes, and a photo of the composer who made it all happen.
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Thank you dear Karenska for hosting this wonderful week! And for so much inspiration in your introduction. Your Comédie Italienne is so beautiful with its delicately drawn figurines. And I always enjoy the generously shared knowledge about music and ballet
I am so looking forward to all of the holiday beauties that will be shown by other scarfies 
I have it in the sky blue CW and I‘ll try to wear it tomorrow. 
