I recall a few years ago when I knew without fail that turning to a few specific radio stations the day after Thanksgiving would assure I will be listening to Christmas music. Also, stores would set up their Christmas related stocks up after Thanksgiving (or the week of at the latest). But more recently, this trend has moved to somewhere earlier than expected. This year, at least a couple radio stations started playing “It’s the season to be ..” and related music a week or so before Thanksgiving. While it was unexpected, it was not surprising. I had already seen holiday-ish ads on TV by then. And as for stores, well, I think I saw Christmassy decor side by side with Halloween decor!! What do you think about this trend?

While I hope that the ads and storefronts go back to focusing on festivities only before a reasonable time ahead of the actual event, shouldn’t it always be the season to be jolly, merry, happy, and all that? We certainly don’t need to be singing “fa-la-la” to feel or be jolly, but we can work on being so anytime of the year. Whether it is spring, summer, fall, or winter, it’s the season to be how we want to be; jolly, joyful, happy, accomplished, proud, upbeat, or even grumpy if that is how we choose to be (for a little while at least).

Poetic Sundays: The Joybell Poetic Form For It’s the Season To Be ….

Since we are discussing the season (and it is already past Thanksgiving), I decided to pick a form whose name includes one of the many symbols of this joyous season – bells! The form is called the Joybell. Viola C. Berg (author of Pathways for the Poet) invented this form, among many others.

What is the Joybell Poetic Form?

The Joybell is a shape poem; specifically a bell-shaped poem. It is a 6 line poem with a syllable count of 1/2/2/2/4/4 to give it the bell shape when the lines are centered on the page.  

So, the Joybell poetic form’s basic elements are that it is

• stanzaic: a single stanza of 6 lines, or a hexastich
• syllabic: with syllable count of 1/2/2/2/4/4
• unrhymed
• shaped: by centering lines on the page
• titled (or not): I have seen both versions, so I guess it is up to the writer

Notes: make sure to choose the right words to lend that perfect bell shape to the poem. Granted, the syllable counts will automatically (most likely) help here but picking words wisely will result in a more joyful bell shaped Joybell poem!

My Examples (Attempts, I mean)

Note that this poem does not be presented using images or photos like I have above; it can simply be centered on the page as well

They Light Up My World

Their
tinkling
laughter
swirling
across the dark
brightened it up

~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites

References, h/t, Additional Reading

• Allpoetry

Recently

On My Blog

My recent posts since my last Sunday Scribblings

• A Book From Your Childhood: Bookish Blog Hops
• 11+ Powerful Children’s Books About Disabilities
• A Not So Itsy Bitsy Etsy Gift Guide
• Books with Snow on the Cover: Perfect Cozy Reads
• My Most Wonderful Bookish Memories
• Isn’t it Wonderful Celebrating Birthdays and Events?
• Sunday Scribblings #85: The Hidden Power of Languages

And At Home

Well, it was just another regular week in between the busy ones that are bound to happen. I am dealing with allergies and have been in a drowsy-funky-zombie mode from the past couple of days when I finally decided I cannot go the no-medication-route and got some allergy medication for the first time ever. Well, the initial symptoms improved a bit, but that came at its own cost… Now just keeping my fingers crossed that it all gets better soon.

Upcoming

On My Blog and Home Front

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been doing a lot of YA fiction reading for the Cybils awards. So I hope to give you mini-reviews of the reads this week on my blog.

This Week’s Celebrations

Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)

• Literary birthdays this week include: Jason Reynolds and Garth Stein on December 6th; Willa Cather on Dec 7th; Bill Bryson and James Thurber on the 8th of Dec; John Milton on Dec 9th; Cornelia Funke, Emily Dickinson, and Helen Oyeyemi on Dec 10th; Subramania Bharathi and Jim Harrison on the 11th of Dec; Gustave Flaubert, Sophie Kinsella, and Mulk Raj Anand on Dec 12th

Foodie Celebrations

• December 6th is National Gazpacho Day
• National Cotton Candy Day is on December 7th
• The 8th of December is mmm.. National Brownie Day
• National Pastry Day on December 9th gives us many sweet options
• December 10th is National Lager Day
• While I had no idea of such a thing, December 11th is National Noodle Ring Day
• End the week with Gingerbread House Day and National Ambrosia Day on the 12th of December

Other Celebrations

• National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is on the 7th of December
• You can Pretend To Be A Time Traveler on December 8th, for it is the day for that!
• December 10th happens to be Nobel Prize Day, Human Rights Day, and International Animal Rights Day. It also is Dewey Decimal System Day
• Well, there is an app for that!! And there is a day for apps too! December 11th is National App Day
• UNICEF celebrates its birthday on the 11th of December
• World Choral Day and Worldwide Candle Lighting Day are observed on the 2nd Sunday of December each year.
• International Day of Neutrality is celebrated on December 12th

Related Books and Reads

Suggestions related to various aspects of today’s blog

• On the Horizon by Lois Lowry. My review of the book is here.
• Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson  reviewed here.

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links . If you purchase through an affiliate link, I may get a commission at no extra cost to you. Please see the full disclosure for more information. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post. And do let me know if you plan to celebrate any of these mentioned celebrations this coming week/month?

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon