Today's melody: "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by the man with the velvet voice, Johnny Mathis.I grew up listening to Christmas albums by artists Johnny Mathis, Ed Ames, Andy Williams, Ray Coniff, Mitch Miller, and an old favorite, Dennis Day (with Jack Benny). Wow! Talk about a "time warp." I've got whiplash! A couple of years ago, my brother found me the old album by Ed Ames "Christmas is the Warmest Time of the Year," which gave me a favorite carol, Some Children See Him... It was one of my favorites, and while I've added Amy Grant, Kurt Bestor, Mannheim Steamroller, as well as Christmas tunes from my favorite bands of today, Johnny Mathis and Ed Ames still get equal time on my holiday playlist. My top ten favorites?
1. Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant
2. Stille Nacht by Mannheim Steamroller
3. I'll Be Home for Christmas toss up between Johnny Mathis and Karen Carpenter (The Carpenters)
4. A Christmas to Remember by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
5. Grown Up Christmas List by Amy Grant
6. Wonderful Christmas Time by Paul McCartney
7. Last Christmas by Jimmy Eat World
8. Boots by The Killers
9. White Christmas by Bing Crosby
10. Some Children See Him... by Ed Ames
I pulled out the several plastic tubs full of Christmas decorations this weekend because I couldn't face housework. This way, I give the dust a "holiday feel"...literally. My theory is if I put enough angels, nutcrackers, snowmen, and Santas at eye level or above, no one will notice the floors need scrubbing. Add colored lights, dim the overhead ones, and put a fire in the fireplace and company will never notice the hand prints smudging the woodwork, or the dog's nose print on the glass insert in the back door. That's why we spike the wassail and serve rum saturated eggnog. It completes the holiday illusion. Everything appears wonderful and sparkly.
Does your heart do a little pitter-pat when you open your decoration boxes and find your favorite ornaments? I collect angels and nutcrackers. I also have a fetish for Christmas dishes. But my favorite decoration? My nativity. It's the first decoration I put out and the last one I put away. Why? Because it symbolizes "peace." Arranging my porcelain figurines to create a scene depicting a sacred moment, reminds me to keep my heart open, allow forgiveness, quiet my snarky tongue, and find the good in everything. Not an easy task in this world. I really believe that's why we look forward to the holidays (even Grinch found his adrenalin rushing in anticipation of the season). Granted, the commercialism, overspending, and expectations dim the shine of the golden moment, but push all that aside and reflect on the "feeling" of Christmas. When you walk into the mall to do your shopping, there's a festive air. Carols play over the speakers, decorations hang from ceilings, and the smell of cinnamon almonds, roasted nuts, and chocolate fill your lungs.
And overall, people smile more. After Black Friday takes its casualties, people seem kinder, more patient waiting in line...more giving. If the Salvation Army volunteers stood outside grocery stores ringing their bells in August, do you think they'd get as much? Would you be inclined to drop that $5.00 bill in the red can mid May as you would mid December? We crave the "spirit" Christmas creates.
So why does it take twelve months for us to notice the neighbor who is struggling, or the homeless person huddled against a building to avoid the wind, or sadly, become mindful of the soldier away from home this one month versus the other eleven in the year? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could carry the gentle charity of Christmas beyond December 25th? That's why I won't put my nativity away until the last moment. As long as it sits across the room lit up with tiny white lights encased in angel hair, it's a glowing reminder of the kind of person I should try to be year round...not just at Christmas.
What decoration do you cherish, regardless of how ragged it's become over time? What ornament completes your tree? Mine? Small framed pictures of my children and grandchildren on Santa's lap that I tuck within the evergreen branches. Funny how no matter how old they get, when they come to the house, they all look to see where their picture is. I've even found them "re-arranged" to make sure they get front and center attention over a sibling.
So what ornament or decoration places you in the time capsule and zaps you back to a time or place where life seemed simpler? What certain carol puts the familiar ache in your heart or the tear in your eye?
