The 2022 Holiday Spiritile - #273 Believe - has finally arrived, and beyond the excitement of its release and individual beauty, there is a far deeper story, a far deeper meaning to this unassuming snow globe. Dear collectors, a story has been weaving through these festive Tiles since 2015’s release (#175 Tannenbaum) and we would love nothing more than to take you through that story, Tile by Tile, opening you to the joy of things you may not have noticed. While we can’t be certain of the future of the Holiday Spiritile from this year forward, we are more than happy to celebrate the singular vision that has weaved this tale through a beautiful holiday collection.
"Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers." - Kahil Gibran (2015)
2015 saw the introduction of our 'Tannenbaum', the snowy green tree at foreground, planted firmly in the snow-covered fields. It is decorated in bright crimsons and golden yellows, and bore the theme of kindness. This unsuspecting tree is important as it is about to play a much larger role in future Holiday Tiles.
"For us, home is more than a place. It is all of us — together." - Unknown (2016)
In 2016, we are reminded of the wreath, the Yuletide symbol that welcomes us home each holiday season, that hang on our doors in our gathering place. 'Gathering' is, after all, the name of this Tile! We are tasked with remembering that the very act of gathering is the purest, the most potent, the most salient form of festive cheer.
"May you have warmth in your home, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart." - Inuit Blessing (2017)
'Aurora' in 2017, sees our first introduction to the cabin. Perched under the Northern Lights, it is a modest and yet entirely magical and an intoxicating sight. We feel instantly the inherent warmth of glowing windows in a frozen landscape, and the mystery and magic of the Aurora Borealis dancing in the sky. This little cabin of wonder doesn’t know the future ahead of her!
"May the blessing of light be upon you, light around you and light within you." - Irish Blessing (2018)
2018’s 'Glow' greets us with the heat of a flickering lantern by the window, the window of our dear Aurora’s cabin. The simplicity of the scene is entirely the point. The warm light is entirely the point. The light and levity of the holiday spirit that wanders into our hearts every year takes up residence by this window, this lantern; that is the very light we see emanating from the windows in Aurora. Embracing that spirit is what makes the light shine brighter.
"Christmas is Love in Action." - Dale Evans (2019)
Our beloved Tannenbaum comes back to us in 2019’s 'Yuletide', perched in the back of an old (festive) red pick up at the foreground of the Tile. It takes our breath away, but if we’re paying attention, we can turn our sights to the background and to Aurora’s cabin at the end of the fence line. We are immediately filled with festive feelings, merry memories, and the emerald energy of the Holidays. We are setting the stage.
"The best of all gifts around any holiday tree, the presence of a joyous family allwrapped up in each other." - Rumi (2021)
2021’s 'Greatest Gift' brings us back inside the cabin from Aurora, back to the crimson and gold decorated tree from
Tannenbaum, back by the window lit up by Glow. We’re looking at anticipation, it is palpable in the postures of huddled children in front of the tree. And so too are we looking at the true meaning of the season, the gathering of hearts inside a home, built from tradition and from love and from light.
“Seeing is believing. But, sometimes… the most real things in the world are the things we cannot see.” - The Conductor (Polar Express) (2022)
2022, 'Believe'. Now we see it. The whole beautiful picture comes together. The tree, the cabin, the glow, the light, the levity, the anticipation, the years of individual tiles merged into one heart-stopping truth; we were in this little snow globe all along! It is hard not to smile your broadest smile because nothing brings delight better than a twist of fate! Nothing brings jubilation like being let it on the secret! The gift of this year’s Tile is the gift of believing, and the stirring rush of remembrance of Tiles gone by that make us all feel whole.
Given this culmination of many years of hard work, we cannot be sure of the future of the Holiday Spiritile. Houston is anything but predictable, and as this process reveals, he enjoys a good surprise so we will not rule it out! We shall see. Until then, what fun it is to Believe!
