It’s Christmas Eve Day. Tonight is one of the most magical of all nights. To me the magic is a combination of excitement, and a sense of mystical wonder. There is an ancient feeling to Christmas Eve. Like Dickens, I feel the presence of ghosts on Christmas Eve when the past, present, and future seem to flow together. I have so many memories of Christmas Eves past. I remember when I was a child being giddy with anticipation on this night. And I remember as a grown up with children of my own being giddy all over again for their sakes. Now it’s the grandchildren that make me giddy.
We have a long-standing family tradition for this night. It isn’t unusual. It was the tradition we kept when I was a child and we’ve carried it on into my own family. We read the account of the birth of the Lord from the Gospel of Luke. We sing carols. We eat cookies and gingerbread and drink eggnog. I love the traditions. I love the food. But most of all I love the story. Luke’s account is the most beautifully written of the four gospels. It is full of poetry. From ancient days to modern times passages from the first chapters of Luke have been set to music because they have a lyrical beauty in Latin and English. There is the Magnificat (“My soul doth magnify the Lord . . .”1:46-55), the Benedictus (“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel . . .” 1:68-79), the Gloria (“Glory to God in the highest . . .” 2:14), and the Nunc Dimitis (“Now lettest thy servant depart in peace . . .” 2:29-36). I love the account of the humble birth of the Son of God, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laying in a manger, adored by shepherds, proclaimed by angels.
So many other traditions have attached themselves to Christmas. Many of them came from ancient pagan cultures celebrating the winter solstice – which took place on Thursday. Evergreen trees, lights, holly, mistletoe, even wassailing were all borrowed from the pagans – and I don’t mind that a bit. They have acquired a Christian significance over the centuries. And as a person who pays close attention to the sun’s cycle through the year, I feel to celebrate the solstice too. It’s passing means we’re headed back toward the bright and warm days again. The sun and the Son have a lot of shared symbolism.
Speaking of food. I was worried that my Christmas celebration wouldn’t be as exciting anymore because of my new lifestyle food restrictions. Cookies, gingerbread, and eggnog are way too sugary for me. I considered allowing myself a brief Christmas diet hiatus, a little holiday indulgence, but I know my weaknesses and limitations. I know better than to allow such things. One little indulgence leads to another and there it all goes. Last summer I found a good sweetener that is natural and a zero on the glycemic index. It’s made from chicory root and is actually a fiber. I ran out of it several months ago and never ordered more because it’s a bit pricy. I decided last week to order some so I can have a few Christmas treats. It arrived in time and I will be able to enjoy some traditional holiday goodies after all.
We were hoping for a white Christmas this year. We had lots of snow earlier, but it was warm enough through the week to melt most of it. It even rained which made things a mucky mess. Yesterday it started out raining, and then it turned to snow. So we do have snow on the ground – not much, but enough to whiten things up. The forecast says we should get heavy snow tonight. Waking up to new snow on Christmas morning is the best. I hope it happens.
The Thayns arrived here on Friday and the energy level in the house exploded. It was so fun to see Hazel and June’s excitement when they saw our Christmas tree and all the presents under it. They brought a big Christmas present with them and we opened it right away – a big flat screen smart TV. We set it up in the big room upstairs and have been watching Christmas programs. What a great gift!
We have a long-standing family tradition for this night. It isn’t unusual. It was the tradition we kept when I was a child and we’ve carried it on into my own family. We read the account of the birth of the Lord from the Gospel of Luke. We sing carols. We eat cookies and gingerbread and drink eggnog. I love the traditions. I love the food. But most of all I love the story. Luke’s account is the most beautifully written of the four gospels. It is full of poetry. From ancient days to modern times passages from the first chapters of Luke have been set to music because they have a lyrical beauty in Latin and English. There is the Magnificat (“My soul doth magnify the Lord . . .”1:46-55), the Benedictus (“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel . . .” 1:68-79), the Gloria (“Glory to God in the highest . . .” 2:14), and the Nunc Dimitis (“Now lettest thy servant depart in peace . . .” 2:29-36). I love the account of the humble birth of the Son of God, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laying in a manger, adored by shepherds, proclaimed by angels.
So many other traditions have attached themselves to Christmas. Many of them came from ancient pagan cultures celebrating the winter solstice – which took place on Thursday. Evergreen trees, lights, holly, mistletoe, even wassailing were all borrowed from the pagans – and I don’t mind that a bit. They have acquired a Christian significance over the centuries. And as a person who pays close attention to the sun’s cycle through the year, I feel to celebrate the solstice too. It’s passing means we’re headed back toward the bright and warm days again. The sun and the Son have a lot of shared symbolism.
Speaking of food. I was worried that my Christmas celebration wouldn’t be as exciting anymore because of my new lifestyle food restrictions. Cookies, gingerbread, and eggnog are way too sugary for me. I considered allowing myself a brief Christmas diet hiatus, a little holiday indulgence, but I know my weaknesses and limitations. I know better than to allow such things. One little indulgence leads to another and there it all goes. Last summer I found a good sweetener that is natural and a zero on the glycemic index. It’s made from chicory root and is actually a fiber. I ran out of it several months ago and never ordered more because it’s a bit pricy. I decided last week to order some so I can have a few Christmas treats. It arrived in time and I will be able to enjoy some traditional holiday goodies after all.
We were hoping for a white Christmas this year. We had lots of snow earlier, but it was warm enough through the week to melt most of it. It even rained which made things a mucky mess. Yesterday it started out raining, and then it turned to snow. So we do have snow on the ground – not much, but enough to whiten things up. The forecast says we should get heavy snow tonight. Waking up to new snow on Christmas morning is the best. I hope it happens.
The Thayns arrived here on Friday and the energy level in the house exploded. It was so fun to see Hazel and June’s excitement when they saw our Christmas tree and all the presents under it. They brought a big Christmas present with them and we opened it right away – a big flat screen smart TV. We set it up in the big room upstairs and have been watching Christmas programs. What a great gift!
 |
| The Thayns are here! |
 |
| The first gift of Christmas! |
As usual when we’re together, we spent most of the day yesterday playing games. Hannah had a fingernail painting session with Hazel and June. They loved that. And when we’re not gaming or eating, we just love being together.
 |
| Playing Risk. |
 |
| One of several games of Carcassonne. |
 |
| Another game of Carcassonne. |
On Saturday after dinner we had a little Hanukkah celebration. We even had potato latkes for dinner. Stacey and I used to work for Jews when we were first married and we became interested in their religion and culture. We bought a menorah that we use mostly as a Christmas decoration. Hanukkah officially ended on Wednesday, but we do an abbreviated version (in the years we remember) – just one night, all the candles lit at once, and no gifts. This year we did it so we could tell the story to Hazel and June. I told them the story of the conflict of the Jew and the Greeks in ancient Jerusalem and the miracle of the temple menorah at the rededication of the temple when one nights’ portion of holy oil burned for eight nights. Then we lit our menorah and sang some Hanukkah songs and played dreidel.
 |
| Telling the miracle story. |
 |
| Lighting the menorah. |
Today at church we only had Sacrament meeting. I was in charge of the program. It was short and simple. I had several narrators read accounts of how some of the latter-day prophets kept Christmas. In between the narration, we had music. We sang some carols with the congregation. Hazel sang a little solo, Christmas Bells Are Ringing. Hannah, Miriam, Daniel, and I sang While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks. One of the brothers played a Christmas piano medley. We were done early and that seemed to be fine with everyone.
So we’re home now. Lunch preparations are underway. Games are being played in the meantime. We’ve got a fire going in the wood stove. The house is full of laughter and chatter and Christmas carols. As the day wears on and night settles in we will keep our Christmas Eve traditions. The last tradition we’ll keep this night is to light a bayberry candle. Others do this too. The common tradition is to burn the candle for good luck and happiness in the coming year. In our home we burn it to remember those who are not with us to celebrate the holiday. Some are not with us because they live far away and could not come. Others are not here because they have passed on. We let the candle burn all evening and tomorrow on Christmas Day we will light another.
Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!
So we’re home now. Lunch preparations are underway. Games are being played in the meantime. We’ve got a fire going in the wood stove. The house is full of laughter and chatter and Christmas carols. As the day wears on and night settles in we will keep our Christmas Eve traditions. The last tradition we’ll keep this night is to light a bayberry candle. Others do this too. The common tradition is to burn the candle for good luck and happiness in the coming year. In our home we burn it to remember those who are not with us to celebrate the holiday. Some are not with us because they live far away and could not come. Others are not here because they have passed on. We let the candle burn all evening and tomorrow on Christmas Day we will light another.
Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!
 |
| Merry Christmas from the Thayn family! |
 |
| And the Howe family! |
