CHRISTMAS IS! 12/29/08

I know that Christmas has passed but wanted to continue for a few days talking about Christmas and then end the week with some New Year's chatter.

Sort of like the ‘The Five Little Peppers and how they grew’, Jean and Lisle were there at the beginning! They were the ones that watched, as our family grew and grew. We lived in a small two story house on 4th Avenue, with Mom & Dad’s bedroom on the ground floor. Such a large family and yet we survived without the luxuries and great economy of today. You would have thought because of the perplexity of the times, holidays would have come and gone without our ever realizing it. Not so! Holidays were part of our growing up which has created in us a desire to continue with the traditions established by our Mother, regardless of the economy.

Jean and I were reminiscing about the Christmas tree. I only remember we had one! Jean remembers that we didn’t have one until Christmas morning and they always thought that Santa Claus brought it. Turns out that the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even one child. When all was quiet, Mom and Grandma would go to the tree lot where it was already closed for the season and trees were there for the taking. They would select a tree, bring it home and decorate it.

I remember Mom staying in her bedroom all hours of the night and into the early morning She would sew! She would pick up broken or unwanted toys and bring new life into them by repairing, painting, dressing and even redoing the faces on dolls. Come Christmas morning there was something for everyone! Christmas morning, at our house was no different than any other home except that the rise and fall of the economic thermometer did not dictate how our Christmas would be. Our circumstances financially, were always the same. Poor!

There is lot to be said for good times! When there is plenty to go around and most have jobs, life is good. You have enough left over to play the stock market and even put some aside in the 401K’s. There is lot to be said about the big homes and how easy it was to get one! No down payment necessary, until you find that the monthly payment is really out of reach and you become bogged down with the creditor’s pounding at your door. There is lot to be said when Christmas rolls around and you find that your pocket book is near empty and you can’t afford the electronic gadgets that are so much in demand and everyone either has one or wants one.

There is much to be said about the good ole days when the outdoors was the playroom and keeping up with the Jones was just a phrase most people laughed at. I have never tried to keep up with the Jones, the Johnson’s or even the Millers on the corner. I would rather take my whole family out to dinner and enjoy one another’s company than to think about having to get the house painted because our neighbor just painted theirs. I am not saying that we shouldn’t get the house painted but it is not my priority.

When Jesus was born, his parents weren’t concerned about the nursery and how they wanted to decorate it. Their concern was about the child that was coming into the world. The child that would prepare the way! The child that would calm the sea’s. Not just the torrential ones but the storms that sometimes rage inside us. The child that would bring us face to face with the heavenly Father and say; "When you have seen me, you have seen the Father"!

Christmas is so much more than tree’s, exchange of gifts or even a feast enjoyed with family and friends. Christmas is; The Christ Child, who brought us peace and promise; The young Child that at an early age said; "I must be about my Father’s business"; The young man, along with some friends, who found Himself at a wedding turning water into wine and said; "My time has not come"; but He did it anyway. A sacrificial Lamb who prayed; "Not my will but thine be done". Christmas is Jesus! No money required! By: Jane Ann Crenshaw 11/14/08