Happy Holidays

Christmas Cactus Blossom; Allan Gardens Cactus House

I'm off work this week, so I took the opportunity to make an appointment with my non-surgery related doctor for my annual check up. The clinic is always busy and wait times used to be a real problem, but, they seem to be working on that because I was ushered into a room not long after my actual appointment time, and then sat and waited in there for about ten minutes.

While I waited, my attention focused on a poster on the wall that featured how to say hello in different languages. For example, the poster explained that in France, people say "bonjour". To represent France, the poster showed a famous landmark - the Eiffel Tower - and a rendering of a young woman wearing a traditional outfit - a lace-trimmed blouse, an apron and a white, flared bonnet.  

I was struggling with the spelling and pronunciation of the Russian word for hello when my eyes strayed to the picture for the United States of America, where everyone says "hello" to say "hello."

The representative image for the USA was a farm girl wearing overalls holding an orange cat in her arms and standing in front of a barn and silo. 

A quick review of the other countries - Mexico, Russia, Greece, China - all showed the same thing - people in situations and clothes absolutely unlike how people in those countries actually look and live, but instantly recognizable as the "traditional" identity of those countries.

This immediately put me in mind of Christmas.

Here's a traditional picture of Christmas at the Allan Gardens:

Here are a few pictures of Christmas at the corner of Yonge and Dundas:

Ho ho ho.

Have a happy holiday season and all the best for the New Year!

Karen