Today is the first Sunday in Advent. In Finland, people are singing "Hoosianna, Daavidin poika" ("Hosianna, Davids son" in Swedish), a beautiful and much beloved Advent song and nowadays the first hymn in the (Finnish) Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal. It's lyrics are based on Matthew 21:9: "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!"
It's snowing weakly now; the ground is still bare. This is a winter scene photographed two years ago - exposed in two different ways:
Which one do you like more?
Sometimes I buy Christmas cards that I find so beautiful I end up adding them to my small collection, instead of sending them to somebody. The card below is one of those. By Aquarupella, it's actually printed in France, but the scene looks very typical of Scandinavia. My photo does not do the image justice (the colours should be more brilliant, and the glitter used is not reproduced very well), but it's better than my first effort with a scanner.
You can find this card ("Cabin in the snow") at online shops as well.
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| Photo: Jorgen Larsson |
Joining Judith for Mosaic Monday. For more mosaics, visit her lovely blog!
Have a blessed Advent!
Oh Sara, I love your little nativity figures! They are just sweet! I'm going to set up my nativity today. Your winter scene is gorgeous!! They are both beautiful but I think I like the second one a bit better- love the touch of blue and the "glow" in the sky. Despite its cold temps, I have to admit, winter is beautiful! Thanks for sharing the beauty with us!!
VastaaPoistaThank you so much, Linda!
PoistaI'm really fond of those figures. I found them in a department store and thought they were the cutest nativity figures I'd ever seen.
Have a joyful Advent!
A very lovely Nativity set and I hope that your Advent season is all very special for you and your loved ones~
PoistaThank you, Mary!
PoistaWishing you a lovely Advent!
I love your nativity figurines! :) I just brought out my set this morning with other decorations and my grandson is now assembling his Christmas Polar Express train up in the toy room :)
VastaaPoistaOh, Deb, that sounds so sweet! I can imagine how cute he looks!
PoistaHave a joyful Advent!
Happy and blessed first Sunday of Advent, Sara! We light candles in an advent wreath this morning at church. I like the brighter winter scene--the trees look so bright and beautiful! The Christmas card could also be a scene in rural Colorado! Very pretty!
VastaaPoistaThank you very much, Pat!
PoistaWhat you wrote about Colorado is very interesting.
Have a lovely week!
Lovely figurines and very lovely landscape photos. The most common Advent Hymn here in Sweden for the 1 st Advent is 'Bereden väg för Herran'. Have a nice week.
VastaaPoistaThank you, Ingmarie!
PoistaI found on the internet the hymn you mentioned. I hadn't heard it before, and that is a little bit surprising, since many of our most beloved hymns are originally from Sweden. :)
Happy Advent!
Hi Sara, I love your photos and what a beautiful country Finland is!!! Your nativity scene is so sweet and I love the pretty Christmas card. Visiting from Mosaic Monday party -- thank you for sharing your lovely Christmas images with us!
VastaaPoistaBlessings,
Denise at Forest Manor
Thank you so much, Denise!
PoistaI often admire your beautiful Mosaics. The Christmas images on your today's post are lovely!
Joyful Advent!
Hello Sara
VastaaPoistaYou have a sweet nativity scene to share today as the first candle of the advent wreath is lit.
As for the snow covered forest, I like the photo with the blue through it best. It seems to add more depth, which do you prefer?
Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday.
Thank you, Judith!
PoistaThe woodland in the photos is not especially spectacular, but I do like the cold colours in both of them. Just think that, according to the camera, the photos were taken at 11.20 a.m., and the sun was so low, behind a small hill.
Thank you for hosting Mosaic Monday! :)
The first candle of Advent was lit in church this morning and then we ate lunch with ours at home lit, too. Such a beautiful season.
VastaaPoistaThe Christmas card is lovely, all snowy with the cozy cottage in the centre. Of your two photos I like the first one best - a little bit lighter and softer.
Thank you, Lorrie!
PoistaThis is indeed a lovely season.
Have a joyful Advent!
Beautiful woodland images, I like them all. Your Christmas card is so pretty, who wouldn't want to snuggle down and hibernate in there!
VastaaPoistaThank you very much for your comment, Maggie! It helped me find your beautiful blog!
PoistaHave a joyful Advent!
Such a sweet Nativity set. May you have a wonderful Advent season also. Like here, the trees are so pretty covered in snow, but I'm a little weary of it mid January. lol
VastaaPoistaThank you, Judy!
PoistaIn my ideal world, the first snow would fall, say, three weeks before Christmas, there would be plenty of it, but spring would start in February... :)
What a fabulous picture...I like both exposures ut perhaps the second a bit more...have a lovely Advent!
VastaaPoistaThank you, Donna!
PoistaMeet you at "Seasonal Celebrations - Winter Wonders"!!
Have a lovely week!
Hirmu suloiset seiminuket! Olen monta vuotta haaveillut jonkinlaisista seiminukeista, mutten ole löytänyt vielä sopivia, etsintä siis jatkuu... Mistä olet omasi hankkinut?
VastaaPoistaNe ovat Anttilasta!! Ostin ne muutama vuosi sitten, olivat edullisessa läpinäkyvässä muovipakkauksessa. Ja tosiaan mielestäni parhaat, jotka olen nähnyt!
PoistaI love your beautiful figurines and your pretty snowy scenes.. Lovely post!
VastaaPoistaThank you so much, Eileen!
PoistaHave a lovely new week!