Christmas Decoration!!

CHRISTMAS DECORATION! Merry Christmas
&
Happy New Year

]
Before the actual date of celebrations, it is the Christmas decorations which herald the arrival of the holiday season. You will find people getting busy buying accessories, looking and thinking about ideas for decoration and coming together to help the family deck up the house for Christmas. Christmas decoration is a very old tradition, and many changes have been incorporated in this. There is a wide ranging variety, when it comes to choosing accessories for the decorations. Simple decorations always score over complex and flamboyant ones. So, whatever idea you might have in mind, make sure that you keep it simple. Some of the things which one can decorate are doors, stairs, balconies, indoors, outdoors, backyard, garden etc. Christmas is the celebration of goodwill, happiness and joy among others, and the decorations help in giving a special touch to the celebrations.

The various things associated to decorations are:
1. Christmas Decoration Ideas:
Creativity helps a lot, when you are thinking about Christmas decoration ideas. The Christmas tree is the most popular symbol, so you can start with that. Use lights to decorate the tree, the pattern in which you use it can give an elegant touch to the tree. Set up a Christmas crib in your house to depict the birth of Christ. Hanging up the crib near the tree will give a nice touch to the decorations.
2. Christmas Decoration Items:
Decoration is all about lending a personal touch to the surroundings and for this one can use many items. Some of the popularly used items are: candles, flowers, pictures, Christmas tree, figurines of Santa, angel, stockings, cards, bows, ribbons, candy cane, lights, wreaths, poinsettias, mistletoes, sticky mirrors, red-white color balloons etc.
3. Christmas Tree Decorations: Decorating the Christmas tree is perhaps easier to do, as compared to decorating the other things. You can either use a natural tree or an artificial one, depending on what is feasible. The tree can be placed at the centre of the room, where guests gather and other activities take place. The tree should be brightly decorated and for this, you can use Christmas lights of various shapes and sizes. Some of the other things, which can adorn your tree, are rings, bells, candies, stockings, small gifts wrapped in colorful papers etc. It is important that you do not overdo the decorations, just keep it simple and make spread the festive mood.
4. Indoor Christmas Decorations:
The decorations inside your home give you an opportunity to impress your guests, with some out-of-the-box thinking. The colors traditionally used for decorating the interiors are red, green and white. Use of simple items like scented christmas candles, lights, fresh flowers, drapes, bows and ribbons, red and white balloons can very easily transform your home. 5. Christmas Home Decorations:
There are many ways of decorating your house for Christmas; you must select something, which you help you spread the festive cheer. When you are decorating your homes, you must pay attention to the outdoor decorations as well. Life size figure of Santa, a Christmas tree and Christmas lights, are some of the things which can be used to decorate the exteriors. 6. Inexpensive Christmas Decorations:
Decorating your house for Christmas does not always have to be expensive. Even if you are a little short on money, there are some easy ways though which, you can deck up your home. Buying Christmas decorations every year will turn out to be very expensive, so it is sensible to preserve the decorations of this year to be used in the next year. Making handmade decorations is another good idea. In fact when, everyone is using decoration brought from the store; you can give a personal and unique touch to the decor with the handmade things. Some of the simple things, which you can use for this, are strings of popcorn, family pictures and used Christmas card among other things.

Fruit Abacus!

Fruit Abacus !!

The abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes.

Skewered Dried Red cherries mounted on a banana.

Tempting for the kids :-)

RANGOLI

RANGOLI

The Tradition of Rangoli

Rangoli is an Indian traditional or folk art, which is generally created on the floor on some festive occasions. This ancient Indian art is believed to be originated from the Indian state Maharashtra, from where it get gradually dispersed in the rest of the country.

Origin of Rangoli Festival

Rangoli is named differently in different Indian states like in South India it is called Kolam, Madana is Rajasthan, Chowkpurna is the name of rangoli in Northern India, Alpana in Bengal, in Bihar it is called Aripana, and so.

Rangoli as a Creative Expression

'Rangoli' is a Sanskrit word, signifying a creative expression of art by means of colors. In ancient times, beautiful rangoli patterns and designs were made on the entrances of Indian homes for beautifying them and welcoming the guests. Although rangoli is made on many occasions in India, but the Diwali festival witnesses the greatest use of rangoli. People made rangoli on the entrance doors of their homes on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, not only to welcome guests, but goddess Laxmi (the goddess of wealth and fortune). The formation of an ideal rangoli art demands the attentive use of vibrant rangoli colors on a properly cleaned floor. However, rangolis are simple two-dimensional designs, but even the modern three-dimensional art becomes graceless before them. Freehand use of vivid colored powders is made while making a rangoli. The most common way of making a rangoli is to pinch the thumb and the forefinger and let the color to freely run out from the gap.Rangoli was one of the major decorations or embellishments in the ancient times, but they have not lost their charm even in the modern context. These traditional embellishments are still used in India on various festivals and special occasions like engagements, marriages, birth ceremonies, and so. Although rangoli making is a popular art across India, but they are like a tradition in Maharashtra, where they are most prevalent. On the Diwali festival, people usually make various types of geometrical patterns and designs between which they place oil lamps (diyas). You can see below the photos of some of the Rangolis made by me and decorated by diyas :-)