Opening the Year – Putting Away Christmas – Part the first:

Greetings Dear Reader,

It always seems to come and go too quickly for me. 

Photo by Natalie Foley

I must say that I have enjoyed my Christmas decorations immensely this year.  My Daughter Christmas did all the decorating and the house is beautiful.  Her natural artistic ability has shown through the decorating this year.  The time that I have spent simply enjoying the beauty must be credited to this lovely young lady.  This is the week that we sequester the ornaments, trees, bubble lights, and trapping until next Thanksgiving. 

This always evokes a sadness in me that is not deep but is troublesome.  When I was younger it was much worse.  As I have said several times over the last month I now have something to remind me of Christmas out year round.   This year I added a beautiful porcelain nativity that will remain in my sleeping room.

The trees will be divested of their decorations and put in the Christmas room with care.  The bubble lights will be stored in a way that assures their vitality for next year.  We will need to retire one of the trees I think as it seems a little ragged. 

Carefully sequestering the decorations is a first step in preparing for Christmas yet to come.  It is an act of faith that the seasons will roll through their course and bring me back to that moment when Christmas carols are welcome someplace besides in my head.  It is belief that the celebration will return and there will be another time of public wishes for peace on earth and good will to men.

There are other ways I will exercise this faith.  We can discuss that tomorrow.  For now I am going to pour a cup of coffee and spend a little quiet time admiring the beautiful bubble lights and the artistry of my daughter.   After all moments spent meditating on the gift of Christ and yearning to celebrate him are never wasted moments.

The Lost Christmas Eve – Trans Siberian Orchestra

On a street in the night

In the cold winter’s light

A child stands alone and she’s waiting

And the light that’s out there

It just hangs in the air

As if it was just hesitating

And the snow it comes down

And it muffles the sound

Of dreams on their way to tomorrow

And when they appear

This night will hold them near

For where they will lead

She will follow

For here in this city of lights

This evening awakens

The dreams that it might

The winter it conjures

The spells it will weave

The snow gently covers the ground

Christmas Eve

In this scene

On this night

There’s an ancient hotel

Where shadows they do tend to wander

And the ghosts that live here

Hold each moment so dear

For time’s not a thing one should squander

And they recount their sand

As it runs through their hand

And examine each moment for meaning

It can be wished upon

Till the moment it’s gone

Like day disappears into evening

For here in this city of lights

This evening awakens

The dreams that it might

The winter it conjures

The moment is seized

The snow gently covers the ground

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Christmas

Christmas

Christmas

Christmas

Through this night

The dream still wanders

As it was meant to be

And every year this night grows fonder

Of children and circumstance

Caught in this childhood dance

As the world turns around

Keeping dreams on the ground

Windows of frosted ice

Prisming candlelight

And somehow we

Start to believe

In the night and the dream

As it cuts through the noise

With the whisper of snow

As it starts to deploy

In the depths of a night

That’s about to begin

With the feeling of snow

As it melts on your skin

And it covers the land

With a dream so intense

That it returns us all

To a child’s innocence

And then what you’d thought lost

And could never retrieve

Is suddenly there to be found

On Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve

On Christmas…

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store." 

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Why I love Christmas – Bubble Lights

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

Since I was a boy these particular Christmas lights have fascinated me.  They mesmerize me like watching a fire.  I feel they bring elegance to the family tree.  They are hard to find now.  They are expensive.  They are precious to me.

I try to not get too attached to things but this particular thing is a part of celebration for me.  They are reminiscent of when people put real candles on Christmas trees.  I can see them from where I am writing this and the marriage of science and beauty captivates me. 

This year it was very difficult to find replacement bulbs and so they are even more precious.  I love them because they evoke memories of my Grandparents who had them when I was a boy.  They remind me of times I spent watching them during Christmas and feeling the closeness of family. 

The other thing that they do is remind me of beauty and grace in the Christmas season.  When I muse over them I am reminded to see the beauty in simple things. I am reminded to share grace and look for the beauty in others.  The constantly rising bubbles remind me to look upward. 

Lastly and perhaps most important the lights have attached themselves to a song that I love.  Jesus extends such a great and powerful promise with Christmas.  The Advent is the building of the bridge to redemption.  There is so much hope and good potential in Christmas.  God keeps his promises.

I reflect on these lights as God reflects on us.  We are all moving toward an encounter that begins with the birth of Christ.  I cling to the hope and portent of that encounter.  I know that the troubles of life will pass.  These rare and beautiful lights remind me that Christmas has promises to keep. 

Promises to Keep – Tran-Siberian Orchestra

Christmas time

On a cold December morning

All is calm

And the world is still asleep

Christmas lights

That have been caught without warning

Gently glitter on

Stars to wish upon

All the world is at peace

Christmas time and the year will soon be leaving

Cloaked in time till it's just a memory

Christmas stays if we don't forget its meaning

Days go quickly by

Years they multiply

And we go searching for thee

And the dream is still alive

From that first December morning

And it always will survive

As long as we can see

That the dreams we find in life

Are the dreams we tend to seek

And Christmas has its promises to keep

Christmas time

And the moments just beginning

From last night

When we'd wished upon a star

If our kindness

This day is just pretending

If we pretend long enough

Never giving up

It just might be who we are

AND SO IT'S GOOD THAT WE REMEMBER

JUST AS SOON AS WE'VE DISCOVERED

THAT THE THINGS WE DO IN LIFE

WILL ALWAYS END UP TOUCHING OTHERS

SO FROM A FADING NEON STAR

SOMEWHERE SHINING IN THE NIGHT

WE FIND A FATHER FAR AWAY

NOW REFLECTING IN ITS LIGHT

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store." 

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)