Christal Cooper – 830 Words
Guest Blogger Helen Losse
I Love Christmas
I love Christmas—the decorating,
the wrapping, red bows, green wreaths, cookie baking, the stockings, the candy
canes, gingerbread coffee, salted nuts, outdoor lights, indoor lights, blow-up
snowmen on the lawn, flickering candles, gifts, Jolly Old St Nick, children’s
happy (and excited) faces, the angels, the church choir, the carol singing with
songs sung in all styles, early darkness, twinkling stars, the special Star
that stopped over the city of Bethlehem, the Christmas story from the gospel of
St. Luke, Christmas cards that show haloes on the members of the Holy Family, the
ever-increasing number of Christmas movies, a Charlie Brown Christmas, a nip in
the air, stray snowflakes, helping the poor, the CSX Santa Train, every single
nativity scene,...and yes, of course, the main reason: the Christ child who
came down from Heaven to die and save all of mankind, and his obedient Virgin
Mother. Not everyone shares my opinion
or love.
In recent years, I have
learned the joy of Christmas (and a practical way to keep from being ready to
throw the tree to the curb on December 26) is to keep Advent. Advent is a
liturgical season of waiting and watching; it’s a way to slow one’s pace and to
examine one’s heart. Advent begins the Sunday after Thanksgiving in most
churches, but you don’t have to go to church to keep advent. Advent culminates
with the Birth of the Savior. I even chose St Nicholas, whose feast day is
December 6. as my personal saint. As an
Advent saint, he will slow me down and help me remember that Advent is a season
of penance and fasting; Christmas is a traditional feast day. In fact, the Twelve Days of Christmas are
feast days. The real party only begins on Christmas Day. Prepare? Sure. Buy and
wrap, decorate and bake, but wait. Wait. Babies are born when they are
ready. The Son of God was born “in the
fullness of time”; The Son of God was born at Christmas; The Son of God is love
incarnate; Love was born at Christmas. I
love Christmas.
I’m not bothered when
Halloween candy sits in the drug store next to the cherry chocolates. The
appearance of both brings me hope; the Holidays are coming. I’m not annoyed when
people say, “Happy Holidays,” for it is clear to me that “the holidays” cover
everything from Halloween to Valentine’s Day: Thanksgiving, Chanukuh, Winter
Solstice, Kwaanza, , New Year’s Day, Eastern
Orthodox Christmas (January 7), and Epiphany are all winter holidays celebrated
by someone. Why should I be annoyed that someone’s view differs from mine? My
tree twinkles through it all. The
sadness is in packing it all away not in bringing it out too early. I am not annoyed by commercials with cars in
red ribbons, although I’ve never bought a car for Christmas; nor am I mad that
other women may get bigger diamonds from the local jeweler. Christmas is a birthday party of world-wide
proportion.
As a child, my family’s Christmas
was huge. We had mountains of gifts, although we were far from rich. Our
packages included ordinary things that we would need and get anyway, such as
underwear and socks, lotion and soap, luxury items purchased on sale that we
would not have had otherwise, bikes, wagons, dolls, and candy and fruit galore.
Soon we learned to love the giving, too.
One year when we were small, we bought Daddy a sheep for the family
nativity scene. He was over-joyed; I still tear up knowing it was just what he
wanted. As we grew older, a late-December allowance gave us enough for “one
more gift for Mummy.” Also as a child, I learned the value of sharing. Our parents insisted each birthday child give
small token gifts to the others “to share our birthday”; It’s not all about me.
Jesus’s birthday is the biggest one of all.
Yes, I shop all year for Christmas, mostly online. Buying things on sale
means I can give more.
Did I mention that I love
Christmas? All the griping in the world about commercialism cannot drive this
love from me, I pray, for I am a woman of faith. “Faith, Hope, and Love; and the greatest of
these is love.” the Bible says.. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus; Jesus
is God; God is love. I love Christmas.
Destiny
Who can deny how gently
tender petals float on the
wind?
Yet each day more flowers
fall,
withered and dying.
Even the leaves
remain where they drop.
Is this not a sign?
Gone—
the pinks of summer.
The wind blows colder now
and hardly for the better.
Stiff brown leaves crunch,
but look—look,
a Rose of Sharon blossoms
from a Virgin’s womb.
And the wonder of it is
it happened just like that.
first published in Domicile and later in Better With Friends (Rank Stranger
Press, 2009)
Photograph Description and
Copyright Information
1
Christmas Photo of Helen
Losse
Attributed to Bill Losse
Copyright granted by Helen
Losse
2
Jolly Old St Nick music notes
and illustration
Pubic Domain
3
Child singers
carrying a star with icon of a saint. Bucharest, 1842.
Pubic Domain
4
"Adoration
of the Shepherds" by Gerard van
Honthorst, 1622
Public Domain
5
Title frame
from A
Charlie Brown Christmas television special.
1965
Fair Use Under
the United States Copyright Law
6
The Virgin and
Child (The Madonna of th Book) panel
Height: 58 mm (2.28 inc). Width: 39.6 mm (1.56 in).
Attributed to Sandro
Botticelli (1445-1510_
Current
location at Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Public Domain
7
Advent wreath,
aka Adventskranz
in its original design 1839, designed by Johann Hinrich
Wichern.
Source: Rauhes Haus, Hamburg, Germany
Nils Fretwurst with friendly permission for public domain use in
Wikipedia granted by the Public Relations & Press
office of the Stiftung des Rauhen Hauses, in Hamburg, Germany
8
Russian Icon of
St Nicholas depicting scenes of his life.
Late 1400s early 1500s
National Museum Stokholm
CCASA 30
9
Baby Jesus in the manger
Public Domain
10
A Jack o'
Lantern made for the Holywell Manor Halloween celebrations in 2003. Photograph
by Toby Ord on 31 Oct 2003.
CCASA 2.5
11
Scan of a
Valentine greeting card dated 1909.
Public Domain
12
1914
|
Stedelijk
Museum De Lakenhal
|
Public Domain
13
A Menorah,
Chanukkah
Public Domain
14
Sunrise
between the stones at Stonehenge
on the Winter Solstice in the
mid 1980s.
|
December 22, 1985
Mark Grant
Public Domain
15
: Ron Karenga celebrating at
the Rochester
Institute of Technology on December 12, 2003
2003 Kwanzaa
celebration with its founder, Maulana Karenga, and
others
16
Fireworks in
Mexico City at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day
Eneas De Troya from Mexico City, México
Cc by 20
17
Epiphany, the Adoration of
the Magi
Bartolome Esteban Murillo
1617-1682
1655 1660
oil on canvas
Toledo Musuem of Art
Public Domain
18
Helen Losse in black sweater.
Copyright granted by Helen
Losse
19
Baby Jesus
Public Domain
20
Jacket cover of Better
With Friends
No comments:
Post a Comment