Solstice decorations

December is here, and the holidays are around the corner!  Surely most of you are already getting your house ready with your preferred decorations.  

Yesterday, I found out that Kassandra also is, which was quite shocking.  I asked her if she would be celebrating Christmas or some other tradition.  She said that it is the use of her family to celebrate the December Solstice.  She specified that the longest night of the year was something worth celebrating for a vampire - unlike the Summer Solstice.

She has set up a lovely and tiny Winter tree in her parlor; but the most intriguing thing for me were the gift packages under it:

I found them very curious-looking, and asked if they also had the tradition, like humans, to exchange gifts.  "Of course!", she responded.  "It is the only moment in the year we get presents.  We do not celebrate human holidays, such as Valentine's Day, or birthdays.  Most vampires tend to forget what day of the year they were born.  I cerntainly do not know what day I was born.  I only know that it was Summer."

And then I asked about the original boxes she had used to wrap her presents.  "Oh, are they not delightful?  A very talented designer made them.  I do not like the overuse of shiny red, green and gold humans tend to use this time of year.  It all looks very fashion and stylish, but people have forgotten about the elegance and good taste we used in past times to wrap presents."

She proceeded to ask me to sit down to enjoy some spirits, and was talking about how difficult it would be for her to keep her daughter Perséfone from munching on the decorations.