Merry Christmas!

Today I drove to Monchique and found this Nativity Scene beautifully carved in wood. My photos don't do it justice.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I apologize for the terrible photo but I wanted something original and you have no idea how hard I worked to get this onto my computer. I took it on my smartphone this morning because I finally realized I must have left my camera at the north house. Then I discovered that my smartphone isn't talking to my laptop (via bluetooth or wi-fi). This is the best I can do without expert help. 

Anyways, 

May the spirit of Christmas be with all of you!

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Nativity scenes are very popular in Portugal and this year the little town of Guia, famous for its chicken piri-piri restaurants, has a very interesting one that invites you to walk along its narrow streets between two churches.

You start here, then cross the  road and walk along...

And, to the left and further up you find the second church.

 

 If you like churches, you may like to visit my Portuguese blog, where I'm going to start a Sunday post featuring churches from different parts of the country.

 

Merry Christmas!

May you be blessed with peace, health and joy.

My gingerbread man

Yesterday I went to a Christmas fair in Lagoa. 

It was supposed to be a quick, low-budget visit. Then I saw the writer of this Gardening magazine and had to buy a copy, Then I saw the Christmas crackers and decided to buy some to take into my English classes and then I fell in love with the gingerbread man! He came from a Canadian lady's stall, where everything smelled scrumptious! I had forgotten to take my camera so gingerbread man survived until after the photo was taken...

The fair was held at the former Lagoa Winery, now turned into an Art Gallery. About that all I can say is "Wow!"

If you are in the Algarve, go and see for yourself.

Do they know it's Christmas?

I wish you a Happy, Peaceful Christmastime!

Personally, I'm not ready for Christmas. This afternoon I thought I'd just pop in to the nearest shopping mall for a few things but after seeing the queues, I drove in and out of the underground parking area in less than 5 minutes!

You see, instead of shopping yesterday, I drove all the way to Lagos to visit a dog shelter. Instead of resting or shopping or putting up the Christmas decorations, I lost my head and adopted another dog, a female that has spent her entire life in the shelter (nearly 2 years), and looking back at all the others that were left behind, it occurred to me, "Do they know it's Christmas?"

Blue Christmas

In complete contrast to the previous one, here's a modern Nativity scene in my favourite colour!

It's looking a lot like Christmas...

A traditional Nativity scene

It's December and it's looking a lot like Christmas. However, I can't stand the "buy, buy, buy" aspect of the season so I've decided to focus on Nativity scenes until the 25th. The first one reminds me of the ones my cousin used to lay out in a corner of my grandmother's living room, after an outing into the woods to gather moss.

Most or all of the photos will be from an exhibition I happened upon unexpectedly in January of this year. Many of the materials used to create these Nativity scenes are recycled, as you will see.

Christmas Lights

Those Christmas lights light up the street

Down where the sea and city meet  

May all your troubles soon be gone  

Oh, Christmas lights, keep shinin' on

These lines from Coldplay's song "Christmas Lights" are perfect for this post.

My photos today are of the Christmas lights in the town of Espinho (a seaside town, packed in summer with beach-goers, year-round thriving commercial centre, where many shops have closed or are struggling under the effects of the crippling recession in Portugal. 

Lighting up the Casino

23rd Street

Also on 23rd Street

19th Street - main shopping area (bad photo)

My favourite

Those Christmas lights light up the streets

Down where the sea and small town meet  

May all our troubles soon be gone  

Oh, Christmas lights, keep shinin' on

Christmas

I wish one and all a Very Happy Christmas!

In my family we have a tradition - every year we buy something Christmassy to add to our collection, whether it be another flower for the flower arrangement, another Santa, another snowman or some more baubles for the tree (you get the drift). As a result I have ornaments that are over 40 years old and some that hardy ever see the light of Christmas day!

This is a nativity scene I got for my first Christmas in the Algarve. I bought it at the "Feira da Serra" in Loulé, at an arts and crafts stall.

And here is a nativity scene set up this year in the middle of an Algarve roundabout.

These Santas drove past my house yesterday. They gave the reindeer a rest before the big day and tried some modern transportation instead! (None of these are part of my collection :-)

This post is for Jake's  Sunday post challenge.

Grab a lift with one of those Santas and check out Jake's blog for Christmas posts from all over the world.

Related post: What compells you to collect?