I know it is easy to get caught up in drama of the holiday season (and I am not talking about catching a rerun of Bad Santa or The Santa Clause). I know that the mall with its screaming children and pushy shoppers can be a nightmare. I know that twisting yourself up like a pretzel over what to get your second cousin Ed is the the farthest thing from fun you can imagine. I know, in all seriousness that laying awake at night wondering how you are going to make it through the holidays without re mortgaging your house can drive a person to the depths of despair.
However I am here to remind you (and myself) that there are so many marvelous things about the Christmas season.
I love pictures of little kids sitting on Santa's knee.
I friggin' adore Christmas lights. I am not kidding, I am nutty about them, every time I see them I squeal with glee.
I LOVE Christmas carols. I am not talking about some new fandangled Christmas Song that every Tom, Dick and Brittany is releasing... I mean Christmas Carols! The kind you sing at church. I love O Come All Ye Faithful, & O Little Town of Bethlehem. You wanna see me cry? Play me a great rendition of the First Noel. Although I confess I am pretty fond of some older Christmas songs such as White Christmas or I'll be home for Christmas. One year when I was 9 or 10 my brother Stephen re-wrote the words to White Christmas and to this day Purple Christmas has a deep and special place in my heart.
I love visiting with young Children on Christmas eve. I love watching them squirm with anticipation. I love watching them leave their treats for Santa and his entourage. I love watching them looking out the window trying to catch a peek of the big guy. I love how they go to bed so willingly to try and be good and you just know there is NO WAY they are going to sleep.
I am absolutely besotted with Nativity scenes/Crèche('s)/Mangers! I have been as long as I can remember. There is something about the scene that pulls on a cord very deep inside of me. However I issue you a note of warning. Woe to you who puts snow on the roof of your manger (unless it is outside and you can't help it)I will seriously take a fit it I see this. My poor Mother used to get so mortified when I was a wee lass and she would take me visiting over the holidays; if I saw a nativity bedecked in snow I would walk over and pluck it right off. I can remember the nativity we used growing up with perfect clarity. My brothers had hand painted all the figures (or clay lumps as the case may be) when they were very small. They were so funny looking. I loved them and wanted to keep them around all year. I also loved dressing up as the "Blessed Virgin Mary" and with my own baby doll recreating the scene for my Mother.
My own nativity now is a funny cardboard punch out nativity dating from the mid 1940's. I found it in an antique store a few years ago and it was in mint condition. I fixed that pretty quickly. Some day I am going to get a beautiful one. Or maybe my kids can hand paint one like my brothers did so many years ago.
I love Midnight mass. Not quite as much as I used to since it is no longer at midnight and that cheeses me off beyond all reason. Despite my faltering Catholicism of the past few years I still love Mass in general. There is something so comfortable and familiar about the service. But Midnight Mass... that is magical. Marking the beginning of Christmas day, the service is so joyous. Often priests who like to follow tradition closely open the service with these words from the Second Psalm: “The Lord said to me: You are my Son, this day I have begotten you”. That just gives me shivers!! I love it.
Well I have more to say about Christmas Eve but I think I will save that for another post.
For now I hope I gave you a smile and pause to think about what you love about Christmas. Feel free to share with me!
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