It came with a special christmasstamp. It depicts the Gävle goat that is set up in the centre of Gävle every year in December.

The tradition comes from Julbocken, the Christmasgoat that Father Christmas is supposed to ride in Scandinavia.

Many of us are not as lucky anymore just to walk into the woods and cut a nice one that you’d like.
So for those of you from Northern Europe who still can, enjoy that special privilege and treasure it.

Meanwhile this fairy-like tree from Tove Jansson is the perfect way to soak up some christmas spirit.

Which one is your favourite?

That makes sense, right? But the artist said Walton Ford and seemed American. Why would an American use a German name for his work… wikipedia gave the answer, as ever. Tis splendid artist makes 19th century natural history drawings with a sarcastic twist of his own and puts all kind of jokes and historical criticism in his work.

I am an instant fan.

In her blog, Francessa tells us something more about the painting that is behind the postcard. The story behind this painting is about a black panther that escaped from the Zurich Zoo in 1934 and survived for more than two months in the Swiss winter before it was shot and eaten by a day laborer. Mr. Ford commented on his painting that it tells us something about interaction with animals and that it’s a metaphor for how we treat other people.

I tasted the word bygone on my tongue and felt strangely melancholic.

It is a pity that the card leaves me no date… but the expert in me says this must be late Victorian England, somewhere between 1880 and 1900. How I like to be a geek.

She sent me a card yesterday, Aberystwyth in Black and White. Thank you Phillippa.

Let’s hope time didn’t do much damage to Aberystwyth.
In the meantime, try to pronounce that quickly ten times in a row .

This is the first postcard I received from her.

A picture from the Pooram festival in the south of India (Kerala).
Just a reminder that there are over a billion Indians .

And thank you Aneta, for this wonderful addition to my growing collection of religious art.