Closing of the Year – Putting Away Christmas

Greetings Dear Reader,

I will be taking down the tree and most of the decorations this week.  It always saddens me to do so.  I leave something of Christmas up throughout the year.  There is the small nativity on my desk.  The ghostly Santa face in a light keeps my writing space lit.  The Blue Nativity is in my bed room and there are always Christmas dishes in the cupboard. 

I put away the trappings for Christmas because they are not common to me.  The bringing out and decorating each year is an act of worship.  Their absence is an exercise in keeping the attitude, spirit, and joy without the devices.

My love of Christmas is seeded in the celebration of Christ.  I close the year with the acting out of that celebration but strive to live it out all year long.  I find great joy in being a source of hope and peace to others whenever I can.

I miss the bubble lights but want to always reflect the Light of the World.  I miss the special events but want celebrating Christ and his incarnation to be a daily thought.  I still play the music in my place and car when the mood strikes. 

The stores are busily moving Christmas to the clearance isle.  Joy and Peace are marked down to 50%.  Good will toward men seems tucked away until next fall.  The bells grow silent and the deep mid-winter is upon us.  Not, however, for me.  

I am really one of those who thinks “It is only 361 days until Christmas”.  I think of the celebration of the incarnation every day.  I see the year as a cycle of reminders of the story of redemption.  From December to December I attempt to find a moment each day where I can live the spirit of Christmas with my fellow humans.  I will put away the decorations but never put away Christ.  How about you Dear Reader?

In the Bleak Midwinter – Sarah McLachlan

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow

In the bleak midwinter, long ago

Angels and archangels may have gathered there

Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss

Worshipped the beloved with a kiss

Oh what can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part

Yet what I can I give Him, give my heart

In the bleak midwinter, frosty winds made moan

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part

Yet what I can I give Him, give my heart

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 ͡°)

Opening the Year - Putting Away Christmas – Part the Second:

Greetings Dear Reader,

First I would like to thank my friend Lori for the video she shared.  It really touched my heart.  She also commented on the putting away of Christmas in a way that resonates with me.

Then he left through the front door

And I ran out to ask him back

But he was already gone

And stranger still he left no tracks

So I walked back to my home

Recalling all I've heard and seen

And for the first time since my childhood

That night I dreamed a Christmas Dream

The second part of my thoughts on this are that we should never put Christmas away.  The decorations may need to be stored for ten months to retain their magic.  We need to let the wonder recharge. 

The spirit, hope, love, and joy can remain.  The choice can be a daily one.  I use prompts to remind me of this.  My dishes are holly ringed all year round.  There are Christmas reminders in every room of my home.  I ponder Christmas, plan for it, and pursue it daily.

I do this so that I will be kind to others.  I do this so that I constantly celebrate Christ throughout the day.  If I do it daily then it turns into weekly, monthly, and yearly.  I want to be thought of someone who knows how to keep Christmas if any man possesses the knowledge. 

I want my family to see a good example of a giving spirit without reservation or thought of return.  I want the material part of Christmas to reflect love and generosity instead of greed and avarice.  I want to treat people well everywhere.

As I look out the window at the new snow I realize that as the decorations are put away I can hold on to their beauty by seeing all the world as a chance to celebrate the gift that is Christ.  I can part with the trappings for a time and use my longing for them to motivate me.  The focus can be loving others so deeply that I gift them daily with lights and ornaments of the heart.

As I open the new year and purpose again to live every day as if the gift given in Bethlehem is new, fresh, and alive.  I do so because it is.  After all, there is not a day that I do not wish for peace on earth and good will to all men, women, and children.  

An Angel Returned – Trans-Siberian Orchestra

An angel returned

That night through the sky

But time it was short

He had to decide

And so as he flew

Back over the land

A gift for his Lord

Was there in his hand

It was the glow of a light

It was the heart of a song

It was the tear of a child

Where they never belonged

It was the wish of a soul

On an old neon light

And the Lord smiled at him

On that cold winter night

Hear as they ring through the night

Kyrie among nations

Kyrie among nations

Kyrie among nations

Here the bells ring through the night

Kyrie among nations

Kyrie among nations

Kyrie among nations

Hear as they ring through the night

Listen to the bells as they ring

Listen to the message they bring

Listen to the sound

As they sing as one voice in the night

Hoping that we'll all understand

Every dream we have's in our hands

And for every bell

May they ring all through the night

Kyrie among nations

Kyrie among nations

Kyrie among nations

Hear as they ring through the night

Kyrie among nations

Kyrie among nations

Kyrie among nations

Here as they ring through the night

Listen to the bells as they ring

Listen to the message they bring

Listen to the sound as they sing

As one voice in the night

Hoping that we'll all understand

Every dream we have's in our hands

And for every bell

May they ring all through your life

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 ͡°)

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 ͡°)