Koziar's Christmas Village

I love Christmas.

I love the decorations, the lights, Santa, gifts and the Christmas tree.

I recently got to know about a place that has the best of these in abundance.

I place I hope to visit someday: Koziar's Christmas Village.

 

It is a seasonal attraction located in Jefferson Township, near Bernville, Berks County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. It has repeatedly been listed as the top Christmas displays in the United States.

This village was the property of William M.Koziar and was a working dairy farm. In 1948, he began decorating the property for the enjoyment of his wife, Grace and his 4 kids.

Each year, the display became increasingly popular and gradually included the lake, walkways, trees and fences. Eventually, their private display came to be known as “The Christmas House”. In 2008, the Koziar's Christmas Village celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. It remains a family-owned attraction, currently operated by the Koziars' daughters.

From what I have read about it, there are several large dioramas depicting scenes such as Christmas Beneath the Sea, Christmas in the Jungle, Santa's Post Office, and Christmas in Other Lands. Children may visit Santa Claus at his headquarters on Santa Claus Lane. There are a number of displays featuring cut-out representations of characters from popular fairy tales and presentations of the biblical story of the Nativity. Also there are tellings of seasonal stories such as A Christmas Carol.

Another famous attraction is the Kissing Bridge, where many proposals and wedding have taken place.

This village is a seasonal attraction. It is generally in operation from the first Sunday of November through the first Sunday in January.

Christmas Village has been named Best Outdoor Christmas Display in the World by Display World magazine.

However, when you visit there, kindly reach there around an hour before opening. It will save you from the traffic later coming towards the village and also give you time to park easily. Keep yourself covered to be able to enjoy the place in the cold.

Hope to go there someday soon and get a first hand experience of my favorite festival.

HOME: away from home

Its been a year since my hubby & I moved out & are living in a place of our own.
In this 1 year, there have been various experiences, some happy, some sad, some memorable, and some that made us thankful for being there for one another.
With all elders doubting if we would be able to manage our lives and a household, it has been a good eye opener for them. This year has also given me confidence that I can get through all kinds of things, when my partner is by my side.

Living by yourself, helps you better understand the real world conditions. It gives you scope to budget your expenses and manage them better.
I no more have to listen to sarcasm, every time I step outside the door, on the way I look. We can eat the food we want, I am not judged on the quality of dishes, or the method I make them from. So I can experiment, and cook easy or difficult foods, without any preset expectations.
Having your own space, gives your mind a freedom. Being a young couple, we now have the ability, to go where we want, enjoy life the way we wish, when we deem feasible, without having to take permissions(having already done that so many of life).

During this 1 year, we have managed health conditions, job complications, parents' tantrums, life's difficulties and our own mood swings and emotional upheavals, with each others support.

I look forward to more such years, with my hubby, to better  understand & support ourselves, to love the person we are with to enjoy each others company...

More wonderful poetry

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Old childhood poems revisited

Ferry Me Across The Water

‘Ferry me across the water, 
Do, boatman, do.’ 
‘If you've a penny in your purse 
I'll ferry you.’ 
‘I have a penny in my purse, 
And my eyes are blue; 
So ferry me across the water, 
Do, boatman, do.’ 
‘Step into my ferry-boat, 
Be they black or blue, 
And for the penny in your purse 
I'll ferry you.’

Christina Georgina Rossetti

The Cupboard

I know a little cupboard,
With a teeny tiny key,
And there's a jar of Lollypops
For me, me, me.

It has a little shelf, my dear,
As dark as dark can be,
And there's a dish of Banbury Cakes
For me, me, me.

I have a small fat grandmamma,
With a very slippery knee,
And she's the Keeper of the Cupboard
With the key, key, key.

And I'm very good, my dear,
As good as good can be,
There's Branbury Cakes, and Lollypops
For me, me, me.

Walter De la Mare