It’s simple and humble. I’ve seen several like this around my neighborhood. Christ is making a comeback in the annual yard decorations of Christmas.
But wait. There’s more. Let me pan out just a bit.
For some reason, the Lord just wasn’t enough. These folks had to add the ever-popular Santa-hatted snowman and French bulldog.
Don’t get me wrong. I love dogs. And I love snowmen who wear hats, gloves, and scarves. I was old before I learned that snowmen get cold, even in Florida.
In scripture Jesus humbled himself and in our world, Jesus continues down that road of humility, taking a back seat to the Grinch, Santa, penguins, snowmen, angels, wiener dogs, Mickey and Minnie, and anyone else who dons a red hat on his birthday.
That’s what God looks like.
That’s what love looks like.
The big dog and I have accumulated a collection of Christmas lights and inflatables from our morning and evening walks. You can look forward to that post and our commentary on Christmas 2025.
“Hey, thanks for your Christmas card. It was really great reading about your year.”
Two people said that to me yesterday. But in the past few weeks, as classes and meetings and activities have resumed, I’ve heard it from three other families. I had no idea that a Christmas card, along with a simple one page letter about our 2023, would bring a grateful response.
This past Christmas was the first time in seven years that my wife and I sent out cards at all. Back in the nineties, before social media, we sent out about forty or so each year, and received at least as many. It was the way to keep up with family and friends in the places where we had lived.
In time, the amount of cards decreased. If we hadn’t heard from someone for three or four years, we dropped them from the list. As our list of friends on Facebook grew, we already knew what was going on in everyone’s life, so a Christmas letter was redundant. Emailed cards and greetings replaces those delivered by the mailman. Our mailing list shrunk until we finally concluded, “Let’s not.”
This past year we met a lot of new people and made a lot of new friends. We wanted to and needed to strengthen our connection with them. However, we’ve retreated from the advertisement-ridden, spam-filled, and bot-controlled social media world. “Let’s do it. Let’s send out Christmas cards this year.” So what if we had only gotten about two-dozen this year? So what if we would send out a variety of left-over cards from years gone by? So what if first class postage costs a whopping $.66? We’ll enclose an illustrated letter about our year and see what happens.
Of the cards we received this year, only contained had a newsletter. It was three narrow-margin pages of single-space, small-font prose, with a blurry photo collage on the fourth side. It was the epitome of TL;DR (too long; didn’t read). I was in charge of the letter, so I was sure to include lots of white space, a few high res pictures, and the facts, just the facts.
Next we had to assemble our mailing list. We had very few. Some we could look up online. But most name and address searches want your money before they will give names and addresses. My wife sent off a few emails to the right people, and we got all the info we needed.
When we had them all addressed and ready to go, I waited in line at the post office for about twenty minutes to get some Christmas-y looking stamps. We got them in the mail on the last day for delivery before Christmas. Mission accomplished.
We’re thankful for this chance to cultivate new and old relationships. (Oh, and by the way, we send out cards with baby Jesus on them. Just sayin’.)
Yesterday, I took down and packed away the Christmas tree, decorations, lights, and other Christmas-y knick-knacks. Before tossing them, I glanced through this year’s stack of Christmas cards and noticed, as I usually do, the conspicuous absence of Jesus. Two of the twenty cards we received portrayed the infant Jesus. One made a reference to “him,” as in, “O Come Let Us Adore Him.” The rest were picture collages of families.
As I reflected on this year’s mail, I realized that these really aren’t Christmas cards. The photos show how much the family has grown. More detailed letters list the year’s adventures, joys, and blessings. They are annual reports. And that’s OK.
We sent out letters in cards this year for the first time since I don’t know when. Everyone’s life was displayed on social media, so annual reports seemed redundant. But we’ve got a lot of new friends, we’re spending a lot less time on social media, and we want to cultivate connections in our retirement years, so we got them all in the mail just in time for Christmas.
Anyway, the place you want the world to see Jesus isn’t on the front of a card (or a billboard, a bumper sticker, or t-shirt). Since we have “put on Christ,” others will see him in the way we act and speak, in the way that we treat and help others, and when we forgive. Don’t send a Jesus-Christmas card. Be the Jesus-Christmas card!
The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon is also called the frequency illusion or recency bias. It’s a label for those times in life when something you’ve learned or talked about suddenly shows up everywhere.
For example, let’s say you’ve been talking with your about buying a new car. When you’re driving to work the next day, every other car on the road seems to be the make and model you discussed.
Or, you’ve been debating whether or not to get a smart watch. You stop by the store and it seems like everyone has one on their wrist.
How about when you learn a new word, and suddenly you notice it everywhere? It’s in the books and articles you read. It’s pops up in conversations.
One person you’ll see a lot of in December is Santa Claus. Though he faces stiff competition from the Grinch and other wintery characters, he’s the guy everyone wants to see on the float at the end of parade.
So I’m sitting in bible class at my son’s church last Sunday. I glance over and see this guy sitting there. My wife just rolled her eyes when I leaned over and said, “Look who’s here!” I don’t blame him for looking tired. He’s got his work cut out for him each Christmas Eve. After the worship service prelude, he sat down and played a beautiful arrangement of “Joy to the World.”
Speaking of Christmas Eve, I sat behind a gentleman at the candlelight service. He also had a long, bushy white beard and longish gray hair tied back in a pony tail. I leaned over the said to my daughter, “Isn’t he supposed to be working tonight?” She giggled and an elbow to my side made me straighten up for the rest of the service.
I like to imagine Santa doing everyday things between Christmases. I hope he gets to go out for supper and try new cuisine, get to some sporting events and concerts, and a movie.
Keep an eye out. I’ll bet you start seeing him more often now!
Last Friday night, we went to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens with our Texas family. It was chilly, but we really enjoyed the seasonal “Holiday at the Arboretum.”
From what I could see, every tree in the arboretum was wrapped in lights. A Christmas village featured little shops for kids to visit and get treats. The twelve days of Christmas were displayed in gazebos along the garden walkway. Lights on the giant Christmas tree flashed colors and shapes in time with music.
I can’t even imagine what it takes to prepare the gardens for this event. I do remember people hanging lights and setting up gazebos when we were there for the pumpkin displays in October.
The youngest Texas grandchild belts out, “Five golden rings…” about once an hour. All the kids were excited to see the larger-than-life gifts from the song.
My wise son and his wife brought along thermoses of hot chocolate and tea. The Arboretum had vendors charging $8 for a small cup of tea or cider. Yikes! But the weather was cold so the line was long.
It was a great family outing and a great way to continue our Christmas celebration.
At Christmas supper last night, we posed the question, “What was your most memorable Christmas?” That was a toughie. Many Christmas memories blend together in my mind.
Twenty four hours later, I’ve zeroed in on 1983 as my most memorable Christmas.
This was the first year I didn’t go home for Christmas. I was in the middle of my second year of seminary education in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I decided to stay there to play trumpet for Christmas Eve services at historic downtown St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, and then drive to my fiancée’s home in Columbus on Christmas Day.
But it was cold. Really cold. 30 below zero cold. Almost all the other churches in the city cancelled their worship services that night. I was driving a 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit diesel. Diesel fuel has a problem with sub-zero temps and the sad, slow rowl-rowl-rowl of the starter let me know my car wasn’t going anywhere that night. A well-meaning friend suggested, “Just have them inject some ether. That’s how they start up the big rigs.” Since I wasn’t a big rig parked at a truck stop, I called around and got a ride to and from church that Christmas Eve.
The next morning, some friends of my fiancée’s family were headed to Columbus, and gave me a ride to join the family for Christmas Day. From there were were supposed to drive to Philadelphia to spin time with my family. My Father-in-law let us use his pickup truck for the trip. It had dual twenty-five gallon gas tanks to quench its thirst for fuel and got us there and back safely.
On this trip, my future wife got to meet my parents, Labrador Retriever, and former coworkers from Bell Labs.
By the time I got back to Fort Wayne, the temperatures had moderated, and my car started right up. A memorable Christmas in the books.
It’s 9:00 am Christmas morning and my across the street neighbor is detailing one of his pickup trucks in his driveway. Portuguese music fills the air. I stepped out front to let Shazam listen to it, and found out it is Oh Minha Mae (Oh My Mother) by the Brazilian group Mundo Novo.
I find it interesting that on a day when much of the nation has set everything else aside to observe Christmas, for some it’s just another day. There is no mail delivery or trash collection. Banks, schools and most stores are closed. Highways and airports are packed with travelers. Church attendance spikes for an evening.
But hospitals are open and staffed, along with firehouses and police precincts. Cooks and servers work their shifts at busy restaurants. Winston (the Westie) and I saw most of the usual dog walkers this morning. I’ve received all the usual spam email.
I guess the latter is more biblically Christmas-y. Shepherds do shift work. Contractions come closer together, moms give birth, and newborns cry. Governments govern, stars dot the night sky, and people gossip. Life as usual.
When God arrives in the world, he falls right in step. When you think about it, most of Jesus’ life was ordinary. Do the math. He lived on earth for thirty-three years, but his public ministry which included amazing teaching and miraculous works lasted only three. That’s less then ten percent of his life. A lot of that time was spent walking, sleeping, eating, and spending time with friends.
But in the ordinary rhythms of life, Jesus did the extraordinary. He was obedient. He died and came back to life. That not only gives us a future, but redeems our ordinary todays, too. His life and love gives our usual moments meaning and value, too.
I was looking for something else on my computer when I came across this picture from a 1958 Christmas, gleaned from a collection of my dad’s slides. That’s the one-and-a-half me in the red jumpsuit. That’s my mom sitting in the chair, and I’m pretty sure that’s her dad on the left.
My gifts included a ball, a train building set, and a classic Lassie dog. But in this moment, I was all about the red balloon on which my mom must have drawn something.
I think this is my grandparents house in northeast Philadelphia. The live tabletop tree, carefully decorated with individual strands of tinsel, is encircled by an O-gauge Lionel electric train. A tiny nativity on the table is surrounded by a little host of angels.
Mom’s ever-present ashtray and cup of coffee are perched on the arm of her chair. I’ll bet I’m the reason why she looks weary on this Christmas morning. She was twenty-four in this picture.
My earliest memories come from when I was six years old. This is a Christmas flashback by virtue of the fact that my dad caught it on film. This Christmas memory is one I don’t remember. These pictures tell my story, a story that fascinates me.
My dad’s slides included three or four pictures from each Christmas. Not many compared to the dozens of digital photos we take every year. But enough to make me want to sift through them to learn more about my childhood, memories I don’t remember.
As my twice a day dogs walks take me through the streets of my neighborhood, I’ve intentionally captured the wide variety of Christmas yard decorations. Some are traditional. Some are way out there. Here’s a little tour, with a little commentary.
Snowmen rule the front yard displays this year, even here in Florida. As you can see, snowmen are happy, marry and raise families, and are athletic. They all dress for winter weather. I especially like the unique green imitation shrub snowman.
Interesting animals show up to celebrate the holiday from large dogs to elephants to dinosaurs.
And speaking of interesting animals, I thought this yard was worthy of it’s own place in my gallery. Be sure you don’t miss the narwhal, llama, fox, and brontosaurus, all decked out for the holidays.
The Christmas Basset Hound about to howl along with the herald angel makes me smile every time I walk by. Snoopy and Woodstock are classic, too.
This is the best of the nativities I’ve seen on my walks. The nicely built stable makes it stand out among the silhouettes, inflatables, and light-outlined figures in front of homes. Since none of the Christmas cards we’ve received picture a baby Jesus, I am glad we get to see him on this block.
Santa isn’t getting a lot of shade this year, but he still shows up here and there. I like this Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The Grinch isn’t as popular as he was last year. I thought this was Santa scrambling up the ladder, until I saw the green hands. Yep, Mr. Grinch.
Oh boy! Of course Mickey and Minnie will show up for Christmas.
Here’s a collection of strange characters. This year, someone decided gnomes looked enough like elves to include them in Christmas decorations. The cast of Christmas characters now includes Jack Skellington, Grogu (baby Yoda), Baby Shark, a goat, a unicorn, polar bears, and a frightened crab.
This one is for all you minimalists out there: a Santa hat on a stick.
And I’ll leave you with these two iconic characters. That is a very nice, big nutcracker outside a front door. Then I was delighted to see Saint Nicholas welcoming all to this home.
When I was growing up, it was candles in the windows and strings of lights on the eves of homes. Now you are likely to see anything and anyone celebrating Christmas!
Waite for it... 