I have one last Christmas image to share this year. This is a photo of the holly tree in my parent’s yard. I used an out of the box filter to make it look like a painting. Evergreen trees are a symbol of immortality. Over the years I have come to learn that the secret of the evergreen trees is constant renewal. As we exit the Christmas holiday and head into the New Year my last Christmas wish is that we are renewed in body, mind and spirit.
Tag: Christmas
Merry Christmas Worldwide
Being a grown-up means setting your own rules. I’ll spot him this year if I have to stay awake all night! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO PLANET EARTH!
The Angel Story
By this time tomorrow most of the United States will be covered by a blanket of wrapping paper. I can picture in my mind that the responsible member of house is standing by with a snow shovel ready to plow through a brightly colored avalanch of Christmas joy. Great care must be taken during this task lest small chilchildren be lost within an embankment paper and empty boxes. It’s easy to be swept up in the trappings of the celebration when you are only two feet tall. As an adult, it’s easy to to get lost in the excitement and preperation of the season. We have a tendency to focus on the doings and overlook the beings. I imagine that when the angel visited the shepherds that they may not have noticed at first. Tending livestock requires multitasking. Hedges must be maintained, animals are constantly wandering off, adequate food and water needs to be available and sibling rivalry has to quelled. Its very much like managing a family gathering. The Herald Angel would have needed to use that trumpet to get everyone’s attention. “HEY, OVER HERE! EVERYONE FOLLOW ME! WE’RE HEADING INTO TOWN TO SEE THE BABY JESUS!”
When they arrive there is more chaos. The sheep are still wondering off, the wisemen’s camel train has taken over the parking and now the cattle are lowing. Mary would have been a nervous wreck without the grace of God. Everybody is there to see the precious gift laying in a manger. The noise and clamor of the inn fade away into the night as the baby opens his eyes and the true gift is realized.
It’s easy to get lost in the excitement. There are plenty of distractions. Everything from twenty-four hour T.V. specials to making dinner and enjoying the surprises under the tree. Take a little time to stop and let all these things fade into the background and appreciate the true gift of Christ.
The Orange Story
One of Christmas traditions that my family practices is peppermint candy and oranges. Every year my grandfather would buy a crate of oranges and bag them up with peppermint candy to hand out to friends and family. This was the thing he looked the most forward to every year. The story behind this gifting tradition goes back to the Great Depression. He came from a large family and during those times almost nothing was bought from the store. They played with hand carved wooden toys. They wore handmade clothes. The food was raised and harvested at home. An exotic fruit like the orange was a luxury. But his father would splurge at Christmas and there was enough money for each child to have one orange and a large piece of peppermint candy. One year one of his sisters had just finished peeling her orange and dropped it into the dirt. My grandfather couldn’t allow her to go without Christmas and gave her his orange. The simple act of sacrifice became an expression of love every year. The true meaning of Christmas is sacrificial love. The original gift that was given was the child in manger who grew up to hang on a cross and restore to us that which was lost.
Christmas is forever
Everyone is a child at Christmas. Every year we all revert back to the days of excitement and wonder. Our journey in childhood is aided by colors and lights and smells of the Christmas season. I remember when one of the special parts of Christmas was the yearly tradition of handmade decorations. The process of transformation from everyday home into a winner wonderland had a personal touch. The tree topper was made from a recycled cereal box that was either painted or simply covered with tinfoil (and later aluminum foil). The ornaments on the tree was sometimes hand carved from thin scraps of wood. Construction paper chains served as garland. One of my childhood friends would go out in the woods and collect acorns in the Fall and paint them for use as ornaments. Whatever the process and materials used it was the bonding of friends and family that made the memory. Today we have projectors and lasers and inflatable Santas that are produced on an assembly line (probably by robots soon) and then sold in the stores. Our modern plug and play Christmas provides us with a great deal of splendor but how much spirit? Time is of great value in our busy lives. The “Christmas Rush” is on and in a lot of lives the pressures of earning a living shows no mercy. Time is the most valuable resource we have. It’s a resource that we can possess but not own. However, I have learned that it is in fact entirely possible to freeze time. Not through some contrivance of technology or secret of the ancient Magi but through the simple act of bonding with friends and family. This year I encourage you to incorporate some homemade Christmas in with the technological splendor. The time you spend with your loved ones is the greatest gift you can give.
LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC 