If you have not figured it out yet, Christmas is my favorite time of year! Every December I remember a little boy at my church growing up who would get up to sing the Christmas song his class had prepared – his voice was always the loudest and most exuberant. As the song progressed, ”…it’s Christmas time, it’s Christmas time, there’s joy in all the land…” he would get so excited it sounded as though he were hyperventilating. Something inside of me has always resonated with that little guy as my excitement over the Christmas season is almost too much to hold inside!
Here are some details and stories to go along with my Christmas decorating this year! With my husband’s post-graduate studies I had to have everything laid out to make our traditional decorating time efficient. I spent the day unwrapping ornaments and setting out decorations. When Devin arrived home the cocoa was ready and we started in.
I remember each year setting out the nativity with my mother. She had a way of making everything exciting and fun! It was like opening gifts as we unwrapped each piece for the scene and I was always so happy when I was the one to find the baby Jesus. This year I finally realized that it was no accident that EVERY year I “happened” to be the one who found him first! Thanks Mama! Two years ago, our first year in New York, my precious mother-in-law sent me a Willow Tree nativity set for our home. The muted colors and captured moments of each figurine are so special. It is wonderful to have a nativity set of our own.
Starting your own home and a marriage is an exciting time of new memories and the melding of old traditions. Devin and I have so enjoyed the last three years of creating our home and traditions together. Our subtly-bird-themed tree has new pieces added to it each year, such as the bird ornament in the photo, who is our latest addition and something I picked from my favorite boutique (Common Folk), on a recent trip home. My great-grandmother was one of the coolest people I have ever known, she used to make beaded ornaments as gifts for each home in our family. Sadly, we lost her to cancer before I had my own home, but my mom gave me a piece from her set when I was married. So many memories of card games, pots of coffee, embroidered hankies, and pink lipstick flood me at the mere site of this ornament. Angel Chimes are a family tradition from as long as I can remember. Chatting with my mom tonight I learned that the tradition started on my second Christmas when my mother’s best friend brought her a set and shared with us her family’s tradition. I thought she had brought them from Morocco where she was born; however, my mother recollects that she had finally found them in the States after looking for years. Although the details are blurry now the tradition is clear. In the evening we light the candles that create heat and spin the fan on top. The fan is connected to little angels that spin around and hit the bells on the side. The sound they make is a rhythmic chime and the pattern of the fan on the ceiling is mesmerizing. It is a family time where we all sit around or lay on the floor, drink something warm and chat about our days. So special!
At the end of a busy day of cleaning and decorating I go through the house turning off lights, feeding the cat, etc, the tree is always the last thing I turn off before retiring for the night. Tonight I stopped and just enjoyed the peaceful moment for a time. The quiet stillness was piercing. Perhaps this is why I love Christmas so much, it is one of the few times of the year that everything seems to be as it should. I leave you with a little piece of the moment I had tonight! Sleep sweet.
