Advent Calendar 22nd December

Advent Calendar 22nd December _ 🎄🤶🎅👼💗 22nd day Christmas countdown

Happy Friday everybody !
Are you ready for Christmas? Only a few days left to buy the last gifts and find the right fir tree for those who make decorations on Christmas Eve.

In Italy we use to decorate fake trees and always at the beginning of December (and in my house it usually stays until the end of January...but it should be undone on January 7th, the day following the Epiphany).

I'm talking about the Christmas tree, to introduce today's image: I chose the beautiful Christmas episode of the VICTORIA TV series, because it tells how Prince Albert introduced to England and spread it throughout much of the world the Germanic tradition of the decorated fir tree for Christmas.

The series, whose photos I have included in my graphics, is the beautiful period drama ( 2016-2019 ) named VICTORIA starring Jenna Coleman, Tom Hughes, Rufus Sewell and other very good actors.

Here is a 1848 lithograph which spread the image of the English royal family around the Christmas tree and which contributed to making that tradition loved in much of the world.

I really like the quote I chose, because we often have the flaw of looking back regretting what we have lost, instead of looking at and appreciating what we have in the present (or maybe it's just my flaw) and this quote is an invitation to give more relevant to the present and to live it better even in difficulty times.

Hoping you enjoyed today's image, you can save it and print it to use as a bookmark in your paper Christmas readings.

(NOTE : please forgive my English, it is not my native tongue. Thanks )

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Advent Calendar 21st December

Advent Calendar 21st December _ 🎄🤶🎅👼💗 21st day Christmas countdown

Hello everybody dear friends,
we are almost at the end of Christmas day countdown ...aw...how sad...don't you think? I realize that waiting is sometimes more exciting than the moment we experience the expected events, because they pass too quickly.

But let's not get sad, it's not Christmas yet and today I want to offer you all a classic, which I'm sure many of you have never read, but I consider it a good reading proposal: THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1894) by Anthony Hope, a romantic tale which was then followed by short stories entitled: The Heart of Princess Osra, 1896 (a fix-up novel containing 9 linked short stories) and another romance entitled: Rupert of Hentzau (1898, The prisoner of Zenda's sequel)

___ THE STORY : In the fictional kingdom of Ruritania, the heir to the throne is kidnapped.
Two high officials, loyal to the sovereign, contact a distant English cousin of the prince, to impersonate His Highness until they manage to free him and install him on the throne.
Everything seems to go smoothly until the fake prince falls in love with the future wife of the real heir to the throne and when he is freed and returns...

A beautiful tale of swashbuckling, perhaps a little out of fashion some of you might think, but this is precisely its charm and this is why it cannot be missed at Christmas.

Hope's novel inspired many screen adaptations, but the most famous is the one from 1952 starring a charming Stewart Granger and lovely Deborah Kerr and it's also the version I've got fond of, since is the one I've seen many times since I was a little girl.

(NOTE : I know my English is not so good, my native language is Italian, so please be lenient with me)

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Advent Calendar 20th December

Advent Calendar 20th December _ 🎄🤶🎅👼💗 20th day Christmas countdown

Happy Wednesday everybody,
here we are just a few days before Christmas day.

Today I want to propose a fairy tale known throughout the world (at least the Western one), it is a fairy tale written in the 17th century: CINDERELLA by Charles Perrault and made even more famous by Disney in 1950 with his cartoon animation. Nowadays you can find dozens of movie versions.

There are many versions of this ancient fairy tale, but the best known and still published in books are those by Perrault and the Brothers Grimm.

What is really important to remember, however, is the moral teaching that this fable wants to convey to the little ones: kindness is one of the most important attitudes in life.
This is exactly what the quote I reported in the image tells us.

After the Disney cartoon, many movies have been made, the photo that I have included in my graphics is from the 2015 film by Kenneth Branagh, starring Lily James and Richard Madden.

(As always : sorry for any errors in my text, English is only a second tongue not my native one )



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Advent Calendar 19th December

Advent Calendar 19th December _ 🎄🤶🎅👼💗 19th day Christmas countdown

Hello everybody !
The film that I propose in today's image is one of the musicals that I will never get tired of watching! It's THE SOUND OF MUSIC 1965 starring a brilliant Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.

This timeless musical was inspired by the true story of the VonTrapp family written in the 1949 memoir.

THE STORY in the movie: The Mother Superior of the Salzburg monastery tests the vocation of a postulant, the beautiful young Maria, by making her work as a housekeeper in the home of the Von Trapp family, whose children live under a severe disciplinary regime imparted by their father, a widowed admiral . It goes without saying that Maria will revolutionize the lives of the whole family, bringing them on stage as young singers.

Two years ago I read 2 wonderful memoirs, respectively written by Maria, the main character of the movie and one of the commander's daughters : Agate Von Trapp.
Even though they are non-fiction, I assure you that they are so engaging and fun that you will feel like you are reading an adventure novel.

The titles are as follows:

1) THE STORY OF THE TRAPP FAMILY SINGERS
(1949 memoir by Maria Augusta Trapp)

2) MEMORIES BEFORE AND AFTER THE SOUND OF MUSIC
(by Agathe Von Trapp)

If you want to know more,
you can read my review : JUS CLICK HERE

---> The story that is described in the movie is only the initial part of Maria's memoir and it must be said that there are some differences regarding the behavior of the father of the family, who actually was not so severe, however if you read the two books that you I mentioned and I recommend you, you will not find yourself confused or in disagreement, you will not have disappointments, the books are exciting and I add that the daughter's book is not a repetition of Maria's, but a completion of all the parts in which Maria was not present and both are worth reading.

Personally, these two books entered my heart and gave me not only a breath of optimism and hope, but a new way of looking at life when I am through difficulty.


( Please forgive me for any errors in my text, I'm from Italy, English is not my native tongue )

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Advent Calendar 18th December

Advent Calendar 18th December _ 🎄🤶🎅👼💗 18th day Christmas countdown

Good morning and happy start of the week!

Well well...17 days have already passed and Christmas is just a few days away... I can't believe it, this month has been as fast as the blink of an eye.

Today in my Advent calendar, I propose a novel, a film and a quote that only a Scrooge person could not appreciate (but then in the end he too changed his mind!) What? ...No, it's not A Christmas Carol, but you almost guessed it, indeed I'm talking about: THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS ( 2008) by Les Standiford.

A beautiful film was made from this book in 2017, starring the famous Christopher Plummer (do you remember the musical "The sound of music"?) and Dan Stevens ("Downton Abbey" fans?).

__THE STORY : In 1843, four years after the success of Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens suffers from financial difficulties due to the failure of his last three books.
Rejected by his publishers, he decides to write a new book and publish it himself, to restore his finances.
Seeing inspiration around London, particularly a rich man's funeral which is largely unattended and a mean old man who gives him the catchphrase "Humbug" and the inspiration of a new character, he begins to write A Christmas Carol , which will be published by Christmas.
He risked everything, despite his friends and publishers telling him that the book would also be a failure since Christmas (at the time) was considered irrelevant and few people celebrated it.

...And he was right, because we all know how it ended: all the world knows and loves A Chritmas Carol by Dickens !!!



(NOTE : I'm from Italy, so please forgive any errors in my text since English is not my native tongue. Thanks )

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Advent Calendar 17th December

Advent Calendar 17th December _ 🎄🤶🎅👼💗 17th day Christmas countdown

Good morning my dear readers,
today is the third Advent Sunday and I couldn't put something religious in my Advent Calendar's images.

Mind: religious does not mean boring, indeed today I propose a novel, from which a film was made, very cute and funny : THE BISHOP'S WIFE (1928) by Robert Nathan.

The most famous film based on this book is the film of the same title, from 1947, starring a fantastic trio : Cary Grant ( the angel ), David Niven ( the bishop ) and Loretta Young ( the bishop's wife ).

THE STORY : Dudley is an angel sent by the Lord to Earth to help the Episcopalian bishop Henry who is going through a difficult period: too much work distances him from his wife. Henry would also like to build a cathedral, but he has no funds and risks falling for the blackmail of the richest woman in the city, ending up neglecting his friends and the old parish.
Everyone is fascinated by Dudley, even the non-religious professor Wutheridge. Everyone except Henry!!! ... And when Dudley spends a lot of time with Julia, the bishop becomes jealous and anxious that his now unwelcome guest will finish and leave.
For his part, the angel feels attracted to Julia and this is where the major complications arise...

This is one of my favorite movies to watch around Christmas time.
I don't know why, but old films have the power to give me that magic of feelings that I can no longer feel around me in the frenetic modern world.

If you like my Advent Calendar's images you can download them all and print and glue onto cardboard, to use as a bookmark or simply build your own Advent calendar with them for next year.

(NOTE : English is not my native tongue, please forgive any errors you may find in my text Thanks )



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Advent Calendar 16th December

Advent Calendar 16th December _ 🎄🤶🎅👼💗 16th day Christmas countdown

Hello dear friends, today's story doesn't need any introductions: MARY POPPINS (1934 ) by P. L. Travers from which Disney was inspired for the homonymous and unforgettable magnificent film (1964), starring the equally magnificent Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dicke.

A story for children and adults, capable of warming every heart and cheering up every soul.
I never fail to watch the film on TV in the days around Christmas (but it is beautiful at any time of the year).

Have you read the book? Well... the book and the film have various differences and unlike what usually happens, I must admit that in this case I preferred the film, it is much happier than the book and Mary Poppins is much nicer than the novel.

CURIOSITY: In 1934, P. L. Travers, pseudonym of the Australian Helen Lyndon Goff, published the novel Mary Poppins, which tells the story of the magical flying nanny who comes down from the sky to help the Banks family.
The sequel was published in 1935, followed by six more novels, published until 1988. The first novel, however, is the main basis from which the film was based.

According to the story told in "Saving Mr. Banks" movie (2013 starring Tom Hanks ) and the special features of the 2004 special edition DVD, Walt Disney's daughter Diane fell in love with the books in the series and made her father promise to produce a film based on her beloved books .

A first attempt by Disney to buy the rights from Travers was made in 1938, but this proposal was rejected by the writer, convinced that a film version of her books would not do justice to her creation.

Disney tried for more than twenty years to convince Travers to produce a Mary Poppins film, only succeeding in 1961, although the writer asked for the right to approve the film's screenplay.
The Sherman brothers composed the soundtrack and helped write the script, suggesting moving the events from the 1930s to the Edwardian era. Pre-production and songwriting took two years!!! The music, songs and scenography are absolutely timeless and manage to fascinate today's audiences as much as those of more than 5 years ago.

A sequel to the film was made a few years ago (Mary Poppins Returns 2018) and I have to admit that it's not bad, but it's a long way from being as iconic as the fantastic film that Disney brought to the screen in the 1960s.

(As always : sorry for any errors in my text, English is only a second tongue not my native one )



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