Winter Tree.

Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent, which means Christmas is imminent. As I light the fourth candle in my advent candle holder, I remember my family and the holidays of my past.

In my childhood, last week before Christmas was so very special. It was the time when all the scents and decorations became so much more distinct. The atmosphere of happiness and joy so very obvious, the excitement and expectations so strong.

It is a long time ago that my family was all gathered under one roof for Christmas Eve. And it is even longer, perhaps decades by now, when we all lived in the same city. Today we are spread all across Europe and at times it fills me with certain melancholy when I ponder this fact.
However, in spirits we are always together, as we all carry on with the same traditions.

This week the snow has given our landscape a true holiday feel. It has been a while since we had any December snow. There is still an uncertainty in the forecasts, whether the snow will last through the 24th. In fact the suspense grows by each day.

Interestingly, the heavy snow blanket indeed finalized the series of photographs I took in August through November, as a part of my progressive photography. These documented the changes in the foliage of a beautiful Birch tree, which grows just outside my kitchen windows. The winter picture I took this past week completes its three seasons.
In a few months, when the light slowly returns, and with it the warmth of the air, I will return to document its awakening in the spring.

(Please click to enlarge.)