Did you have a chocolate advent calendar? I had one from my Oma, my German grandmother, when I was a kid. I enjoyed it all the more that there were no chocolate calendar in France at that time. Chocolate was still a rare treat during my childhood and I remember that there was a year when I wasn't able to resist: I ate the 24 pieces of chocolate on the very first day!! Waiting for Christmas was much more difficult then and I learned to open only one window a day after that!!
I learned the deeper joy of delayed gratification. Growing up is all about learning to wait (and work) before enjoying the fruits of your efforts. Guilt and a bad feeling is what I experienced when I splurged on my calendar's chocolate on day 1. I can imagine that it must be troubling to win a large lottery prize if you're young. The temptation to spend the money quickly and enjoy it all right away must be hard to resist.
Psychologically, it makes sense to reward ourselves after the effort (or to boost oneself in the morning just before, provided we are really committed to work afterwards.) In a certain sense, enjoying great teas in December is already a delayed gratification: we've waited for the year to end before enjoying these superb teas in a very pleasing way.
Nowadays, people have replaced the 'chocolate' Advent calendars with all kinds of gift calendars: beers, cookies and also tea bags! I recommend simply brewing one of your favorite tea each day. And since my choice of tea depends on my mood and the weather, it's not something I can decide in advance. That's why I don't think it would be practical to make a tea advent calendar ahead of time.
And this winter season, it would have been even more difficult, since I selected several teas during the month of December, like this winter green BiLuoChun:
This parade of Chaxi is also an opportunity to use older wares that I collected for over 20 years. It's nice to own some nice tea ware, but the value of teapots, jars, cups, saucers... is in using them! And they gain even more value if the tea is shared with friends and family!
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| Day 8: My White (China Dehua) Christmas Chaxi |
The other advantage of December is the availability of Christmas decoration. It's so easy to make a Christmas Chaxi in this season.
The beauty of a Chaxi just starts with its aesthetics and with its theme. The deeper meaning consists in pairing the tea ware and the tea well. And in setting up each tea ware in way that it's comfortable to brew and pour.
Is the Christmas spirit compatible with Gongfu cha? Christmas is for little kids, while Gongfu cha is all about discipline, experience, skill. Yes, but the ultimate tea drinker is someone who just wants to enjoy the taste of nature with the heart of a child: always remain open for new scents and for sweet aftertaste!
Most people agree that dramas, sad tales are deeper than comedies. Feeling hurt lasts longer than the fleeting feeling of happiness. This reminds me of a French comedian (Pierre Desproges) who criticized a journalist who wrote "This movie's sole pretension is to make people laugh.". He said that this pretension is immense and that it's no simple task to make people laugh and feel happy. So, let's not look down on a joyful Chaxi!
There's plenty of culture to study and learn with tea. But the motivation is the joy of a good cup of tea!
And sometimes also a delicious (homemade Christmas cookie). This one paired very well with imperial OB. This is also something we have learned during our tea pairing courses!
The following by tea friend Linda shows that I'm not alone in making Christmas Chaxi. This one is even more intricate with its gems decorating the Xmas tree!
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| Day 15: Linda's Christmas Chaxi |
Make a nutcracker joke here!
And enjoy the finest teas to celebrate the birth of a child who transformed the world with His love for each one of us.
Merry Christmas!
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