Decorating
I’ve been known to have a few
peeves about Christmas such as the folks who string all the lights
about the house, yard, children’s play equipment and highway
right-of-way accented by the illuminated plastic replicas of Frosty
the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Mary, Joseph, Wise
Men, Shepherds, and little Jesus reclining on a bed of iridescent
straw. Such distorters of the Christmas message are also questionable
in their patriotism because of their drain upon the power grid.
Having said that you can imagine my chagrin upon being asked, “Why don’t you decorate for Christmas?” The tone of voice seemed to imply there was something amiss in my interpretation of the Advent event. I caved in.
The box was pulled from the attic. The contents were studied. The selection made. The afternoon was dedicated to converting my apparently plane and dull abode into an expression of the season.
So if you pass the intersection of Highway 53 and I-75 sometime between now and that Holy Day, head east a quarter of a mile. Stop. Look to the northeast after the sun recedes from the sky. See it? That house on the hill, that one over there, the one illuminated by the one candle in each window. That’s me. This year I decorated.
And now for a story from the other end of the spectrum. A friend of (J)'s family was something of a wood-worker. Back in the '70's, before all of the pre-made, pre-lit displays became ubitiquious he decided to make his own Christmas Display. He started simple, Jesus, Mary, Joseph in a manger. He got creative by adding a light wheel and some motion (Mary rocking the baby, etc.) Each year thereafter he added another element: Sheep & Shephards, cattle, donkey, etc. You can see where this is going: By the time (J) and I married he had an enormous display, animated and set to music. Their big circular drive became a holiday tradition in Edgewater, with local law even directing traffic some nights. It was quite a gift to the people of his community. He has since passed, but the Christmas after he died his sons set it up one last time, in tribute to their Dad's work of love. peace
Posted by: DannyG | December 11, 2008 at 06:51 AM