I must admit, I love outdoor dispays! The whole world seems to light up for Christmas!
When my children were younger, we made a point of setting aside a night or two to ride around and
look at all the displays. I pretended it was for them - but it really wasn't.
I've always wanted a big outdoor display. I've planned it over and over for years. I'd like
to have the house look like a cross between Santa's workshop and the Gingerbread House from
Hansel and Gretel - "gingerbread" boys and girls and giant candy canes lining the pathway
up to the house, "candy" trim around the doors and shutters, and thousands of lights. However,
last year, with two measly strings of lights and our Christmas tree, our electric bill more than
doubled, so, unless I win the lottery, I'll probably have to settle for admiring other people's
dispays. Christmas Displays is a great way to
do that - all year long, from the comfort and warmth of your own home. Check it out!
My Mom, who was a fantastic artist (but, alas, unknown) would paint elaborate scenes on our front windows
in tempra paints. I tried it for a few years but, although the paints wash off the glass easily enough, they started
staining the window molding, so I gave it up.
Growing up, we had a beautiful stable my grandfather had made. The roof desperately needs re-thatching now (My grandfather died in 1943
so it hasn't been done since then!) but it's out every year - and every year I stick to the traditions
my mother laid down. She put the creche out in early December - but Mary and Joseph were "off in the
distance", baby Jesus was hidden in the attic. There were basically just a few shepherds in the fields, an empty manger, a few cows and sheep,
and plenty of straw. Each time one of us kids did a good deed we were to (surreptiously) place a straw in
the manger so that Jesus would have a nice, soft bed when he arrived! On Christmas Eve, after church, we
would gather around the creche and read the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph would arrive and the infant
Jesus would be placed in the manger. The shepherds would kneel in adoration. The star would appear overhead and the nightlight, which was hidden in the attic
of the creche would be turned on (symbolizing that Jesus, the light of the world, had been born) - not to be switched off until January 7 (The day after Epiphany), when all our Christmas decorations would be taken
down.
My Grandfather's Creche
The wisemen are off to the left. It isn't Epiphany yet!
Few of us could imagine Christmas without the Christmas tree.
As a child my father bought the tree and we always put ours up on Christmas Eve and took it down January 7 (after the twelve days of Christmas).
With my children we always made a big deal of "choosing the perfect tree" and
we'd put it up the third week of advent. January 7 was always the target date for getting everything down but it rarely ever happened! I discovered the first year my daughter was able to get around that Christmas trees are dangerous things in the vicinity of a toddler. I was always rescuing
her from the wreckage of some glass ornament or other. That year I was very busy indeed with my needle and the following Christmas all the ornaments on the tree were handmade - usually of felt or plastic canvas. Each year I'd try to add an ornament relative to something that had happened
in our lives - from a vacation, a hobby of the kids or something that was important to them. I still love unpacking all those old ornaments at tree-trimming time and re-living all those old memories even though my children are grown and out on their own and it seems ridiculous to have Big Bird on the tree
to remind us of the year Christmas Eve on Sesame Street came out and allayed all fears as to how Santa was going to get into our house without a chimney. I keep meaning to "do" an "adult tree" but nostalgia is a heavy thing and I think I'd miss reminiscing about the year my mother made this particular
ornament or the vacation to Pennsylvania Dutch country where I got the kits for that ornament ... and so the tradition goes on!
Our Christmas tree
Ornament of Lil' Jack Horner
The tree below is a very special tree - a Chrismon tree. The lights are white and the ornaments are
white and gold, symbolizing purity and majesty. The ornaments are also Christian symbols: for instance, a fish which the first Christians used as their symbol; the Messianic rose; the butterfly which stands for new life; the Alpha and Omega;
the fleurs-de-lys which is Mary's symbol and also stands for the Trinity. Our church got a group of women together, handed out felt and trims and
each contributed an ornament for the tree. If you would like to know more about Chrismons or make your own please visit Chrismons.
A Chrismon Tree at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Fort Salonga, New York
