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!
The hardest to find Christmas cookie decorating ingredient this year: green sugar sprinkles.
Blue, red, and purple sprinkles lined the Publix shelves. How many bottles of green? Zero.
Walmart’s kiosk featured every imaginable baking ingredient. Do you need dates or nuts? Lots to choose from. Chocolate sprinkles or teeny tiny multicolored balls? Plenty in stock. Silver balls or cinnamon bits? Load up your cart. Any bottles of green sprinkles? Nope.
With a new (new to us; we bought a used on online when last year’s plastic one broke) aluminum Mirro cookie press locked and loaded, we had to have green sprinkles for the Christmas tree cookies. When we checked online, we could have bought some for $7 on Amazon. No thanks.
My quest last weekend was to find green sprinkles. I was confident that the stores we don’t frequent may have them in stock. Like Target. I came up empty there. If I was making Hanukkah cookies, I’d be all set. The shelf was filled with dozens of bottles of blue sprinkles. No red or green.
On my way out of there, I saw a dollar store. What do you think? It can’t hurt to look. No luck. They had one bottle of multicolored sprinkles.
Around the corner was another Publix, one I rarely go to. I passed boxes of cake mixes, tubs of frosting, all kinds of birthday candles, and found the sprinkles. No green. But wait, what’s that hidden behind a hanging display of kabob skewers and bathtub squirt toys? Green sprinkles! And they were only $3.79.
Mission accomplished. Christmas was saved. The tree spritz cookies looked and tasted great.
I know we’re still a month out, but I’ve been enjoying the Christmas yard decorations on my daily neighborhood walks. This one yard especially caught my attention. The longer you look at it, the more interesting things you’ll notice.
Initially I was happy to see the holy family right up front. While there are a few scattered here and there, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are generally outnumbered by snowmen, penguins, the Grinch, Santa and reindeer. Oh, and did you know they are New York Yankees fans?
Santa is here too, standing guard by a “Happy Holidays” candy cane and a “Let it Snow” sign (yes, even in Florida). Another Santa is off in the distance on the front walk. Large nutcrackers are posted on each side of the front door. Off to the right, not yet inflated for the night, is a Christmas Mickey Mouse. Colored lights frame all the roof edges. And then there is the virgin Mary, in traditional blue, with a white poinsettia in front of her.
I have to give them credit. They have a lot of bases covered. But not everything. I’ve got some other yards I’ll show you soon who feature even more seasonal characters.
I watched with interest yesterday as my neighbor put up his Christmas lights – on November 16, a week and a half before Thanksgiving. As he kept adding more and more to his display, I asked him, “Are you going to charge admission?” He replied, “I hope I can find the rest of my lights!” He just moved in over the summer and hasn’t yet found everything packed away in boxes. I promise to update this post when I see just how big his plans are.
Every year I take time to wonder why Christmas come earlier and earlier. If stores begin stocking shelves a day or two earlier each year, if we decorate our homes a few days earlier, and we begin playing Christmas music a bit earlier each year, it’s only logical to conclue that we will begin celebrating in October before Halloween, nevermind in November before Thanksgiving. And as soon as the first whiff of Christmas comes along, we’re hooked. We can’t resis. We have to do it!
So I have been pondering, “Why?” Why do we do this? Why do we want to do this? Why do we want to get to the celebration of Christmas as soon as we possibly can? Why are we willing to devote a whole 1/6 of the year to this one holiday? I know it is not because of Jesus. We are not that excited about his birthday. There has to be something else.
I do my best thinking when I am out walking the dog, and here’s what came to me. There are actually two Christmases. There is the sacred celebration of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. And there is the Ameican secular celebration of Christmas which revolves around shopping, snowmen and reindeers, Santa and the Grinch, food and gifts. The sacred celebration is a day to observe the birth of the Savior. The secular celebration is months of being nice, feeling good, buying gifts and family traditions. These two holidays are not the same. They are very distinct. And I believe we would be a lot happier if we would just admit that simple truth and not try to or worry about combining the two.
During the church season of Advent, I’m always challenged, “Why aren’t we singing Christmas songs?” I answer, “Because it isn’t Christmas.” We will try very hard to wrap the birth of Christ with decorations and gifts and food. But he never seems to fit into that picture. That’s because he’s not about those things. He is the gift.
Let’s just admit that we’ve got two different holidays on our hands. Let’s not play Joy to the World in Home Depot or Best Buy. Let’s not try to find a place for Santa at the manger. Let’s not worry about whether or not we can publicly display a nativity. Let’s not pretend that movies on the Hallmark channel can teach us about the incarnation.
Let’s adorn our homes with trees, lights and wreaths, but let’s adorn our lives with the fruit of the Sprit. Let’s enjoy singing Jingle Bells and Silver Bells, but let’s fill our churches with the words and songs that praise our Lord for coming to save us. Let’s spend our money on gifts to exchange with family and friends as we gather in our homes. But let’s also use some of our wealth to help the least of these on the streets, those who are homeless, hungry and hurting in our communities.
It’s a win-win. You can have as much worldly Christmas as you want. You can begin whenever you desire and celebrate for as long as you want. No judgment.
You can also have all the Christmas God has in mind for you. It’s just a moment in time when the eternal God becomes a mortal man. It is an instant that changes your life forever.
Don’t try to force the two into the same box or blend the two as if they belonged together. We’ve got two Christmases on our hands, and I hope you’ll enjoy both!
I rounded a corner at Hobby Lobby and was awed by this display of nutcrackers. And they are all 50% off!
But just look at the selection! I see Santas and snowmen, good and bad witches from Oz, magi and a lumberjack, a firefighter and a sheriff, and even the traditional ballet character in all different sizes.
I find it fascinating when “Christmas decor” morphs into characters from every walk of life. Snowmen, Santas and the nativity of Jesus have all been down this path. The Nutcracker is in good company.
This year we received a total of twenty-nine Christmas cards. Unlike previous years, the religious cards outnumbered the secular by 18-11.
I broke out the religious-themed cards into two categories; those that included a baby Jesus, and those that didn’t. Eight of the cards had a nativity. Ten had images of churches, Bethlehem, snowy woods and evergreens with references to the birth of Christ.
All of the cards were very beautiful this year. I know it’s harder and harder to find scriptural cards. You have to look long and hard. But the artwork and poetry make the search worthwhile. Some of my friends sent multiple cards in an envelope, just to make sure which side won this year!
Six of the secular cards were pictures of family. That’s kind of a different category. I enjoy seeing those collages, especially when I haven’t seen them on social media.
I have to admit, we didn’t send out Christmas cards this year. Didn’t send them last year, either. We keep in touch with everyone we know all year round via social media. Sending the cards doesn’t have as much meaning as it did in the past. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Losing the physical to the digital is easy and convenient, but is a little empty compared to holding a card in your hand.
Waite for it... 