Crism!

I have a Sonos system and each morning at 6:30 a playlist starts playing in the kitchen. Currently, depending on what time I make it downstairs, I might be greeted by Nick Cave's live rendition 'Papa Won't Leave You, Henry', the sombre tones of 'The Daily Planet' by Mark Hollis, or the uplifting 'Loveland' by the B52s or any one of thirty-five other songs. 

After I've made coffee I go back upstairs and shower, and when I come back down, the playlist will, of course, still be playing. Except this morning it wasn't. Dan had jumped onto Sonos and put on Michael Bublé's Christmas album. Now, that might strike some of you as an act of aggression but, for me, it was one of the most thoughtful and moving things that anyone has ever done for me. 

It's not just that I love Christmas and that, in my book, this is the first justifiable day of Christmas traditions and indulgence, it's also that it's a great album in a fine American tradition, and I love Dan for knowing how much I would enjoy it.

Incidentally, those red berries in the photo represent Christmas to me; the warm, homely heart that sees us through this bleak time of year.