Christmas Revisited

Guest post by Suzann Darnall

Merry Christmas!

I shared this basic message before, but I have made a few changes and updates. ‘Cause. Let’s face it, life is an ever changing sequence of events . . . even when dealing with traditions.

Y’all know there is never a guarantee that my posting will be politics-free and, since this is a rewrite, I will warn you there is a bit in the end! However, I am mostly sharing tidbits of the holidays in my home. It is a time of year I thoroughly enjoy. I especially love the opportunities to share my joy and treasures with others!

It takes days (sometimes weeks) at our house to get holiday decorations all out and up. Even then there are often tweakings, additions, and rearranging right up until Christmas Day! I am Santa-san, Mrs. Claus, and head elf all rolled into one! I adore Christmas-ing!!! I like creating gifts, wrapping presents, decorating, baking, cooking, and listening to Christmas carols! Love it all!!!

I am a collector and my Christmas decor shows it in overdrive! And, yet, I have actually given things away over the years, to our daughters, to lessen the accumulation here. I am certain that in several more years I will be passing along more of my Christmas decorations as grandchildren grow up, move out, get married, start families, and want a bit of our traditions as they begin their own. And, then, I am equally certain I will buy a few more goodies to fill in the spaces.

First and foremost I collect Christmas bears. I am not a huge teddy bear fan, but I love white bears and polar bears. Plus, my daughters started buying me Christmas bears when they were little. My collection really expanded when my younger brother sent his Christmas bear collection to me. I now have over three dozen Christmas bears! They range in size from mere inches tall to one that is nearly 3′ long. This year we added an adorable little polar bear from Cabela’s.

My Christmas stocking collection is quite large. There are nearly 3 dozen of them at present. The largest is over 2′ long and the smallest is about 2″ long. They have been collected over my lifetime. One of the smallest hangs on my tree. I stitched it as a small child. I also have numerous other stockings from my childhood, including the primary stocking that Santa still fills each year! There are numerous stockings I have made for family. One, that I made for my husband on our first Christmas, is out of felt, yarn, ribbon, sequins, and beads. I also decorated stockings for both our daughters and made stockings for all six of our grandkids. Some of those have now come back here. And, among my treasures are several made by my daughters for my husband and me!

Then, there is my collection of windup toys!!! Sheer fun! I love them. Have dozens and dozens. Literally! There are a little more than 60 at present.There are sneakers that walk, birds that hop, a frog that swims, and a computer that toddles . . . plus everything in between. I even have four sumo wrestlers that come with their own dohyō. Most of the windups are in a group we call Santa’s Toyland, but a few are scattered about with other collections or holiday-scapes.

While it is not actually a collection, I do have a few Christmas trains. Which makes my grandson very happy! At one time we even had one that attached to the Christmas tree and ran around the branches. Unfortunately, it did not work for long. But, my husband got me a dinosaur train to ease my loss. ~~~hahaha~~~ So, around here, we do not just “ho, ho, ho”, we “whoo whoo whoo” come December!

Our own little reindeer herd, with a couple of Chocolate Moose thrown in, is a favorite part of our decor! The majority of the reindeer are a group that I have put together to represent my husband (PawPaw) and our grandchildren. PawPaw Reindeer is sitting in a rocking chair and wearing overalls. He has a tiny reindeer (Vivien) sitting on his lap. The other grandchildren reindeer (Logan, Lorelle, Tyler, Mckayla, Tabitha, and Reese) are sitting nearby. They range in sizes from big to little, just like the kids!

Our Christmas tree is covered from top to bottom, inside-n-out, on just about every branch with lights, ornaments, bead roping, and tinsel! My desire each year is to have it give the impression of the tree in Cary Grant’s movie classic, “The Bishop’s Wife”! I love that movie and adore the scene where he magically decorates the perfect Christmas tree! Takes us a little longer to work our elfin magic.

I have my little own version of a snow village. Not all matched, but all quite dear to me. Newly added is a lighted ceramic gingerbread house. It goes nicely with my lighted ceramic gingerbread village with a train. Sharing the space are several other buildings, animals, miscellaneous, and an entire collection of snowmen. Two other new items joined the village this year: a porcelain Santa in a sleigh with a reindeer pulling him and a small pastry chef mouse.

Then, there is the sideboard covered with the majority of my Santa collection. It also shares space with some of the reindeer and a few of the Christmas trees. The oldest items in this display are a pair of ceramic Christmas trees made over 50 years ago by my mother. The oldest item in this group made by me is patchwork Santa boot made nearly 40 years ago.

And, last but not least, our tribute to the reason for the season. Our celebration of the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ! We have several nativities and a whole heavenly host of angels. Most are arranged on a set of shelves that also hold my collection of family bibles. We do have the largest one sitting on its own. Some are hand-made or homemade. Others are from around the world. There are single angels and entire manger scenes including the stable. They are made of pewter, wood, plastic, and a variety of materials. Of course, it is nothing to compare with my mother’s collection of nativities which now numbers well of 100! But, hers are definitely the reason most in our family have an affinity for having more than one in our home during the holiday!

For me, Christmas is about so many things. It is of course, first and foremost, about Jesus Christ. His birth, His life, His earthly mission, His eternal plan. It is also about Santa Claus. For me he is the symbol of the spirit of Christmas that I hope to achieve during the holidays. The spirit of giving. The celebrations of family, friends, traditions, and memories. ‘Cause in my world family and traditions are so very important. I think family is the cornerstone of civilization. I think traditions are one of the ways we hold family together down through the generations. And, I think we need to fight to hold on to our families, traditions, and right to worship as we please!

Uh Oh! Here it comes, the political message that I warned y’all was waiting in my holiday ramblings. But, I feel it is crucial so I will share. Not to diminish the joy, but to stress the importance. There is a very real war on Christianity, Christmas, and freedom of religion. Some other religions and holidays are being targeted, as well. There is also a constant nudging by the Progressives to devalue family. To make it all about society or community, which in their reality means all about government. We need to reassert our insistence upon traditional values. Morals and ethics also seem to be targets of the Left.

So, while we celebrate Jesus, Santa, and the holidays, let us not forget the coming battles of the New Year! Let us keep our eye on the goal of forcing those we elected to honor their campaign promises to push the Conservative agenda. Don’t let them get away with being the Grinches who steal our votes and hide them in the cave of “politics as usual”. Some of the RINOs have already dropped lumps of coal in our stockings by making war on our still relatively new president. They are not Conservatives and do not share our values!

But, I will try to shelve my outrage for a couple of weeks and celebrate! Strive to fill up my heart with love, home with joy, and family with memories. Worship my Saviour in honor of His birth. Go to church on Sunday, dressed in a bit of new finery. See my dear family dressed up as well. Hear the wonderful Nativity story and the beautiful Christmas hymns. Play Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Christmas elf to my grandchildren, plus adult family members. Probably eat too much and watch waaay too much TV, particularly football. Sing Christmas carols. Wrap gifts ‘til my fingers ache . . . just so I can help unwrap gifts ‘til my fingers ache! Oh, what fun it is share so many silly and sacred traditions.

Let us all hang on to these freedoms and traditions so long as we may! America is not ONLY a nation of Christians, but there should definitely be room enough within our borders for those of us who do still worship Jesus Christ. We are told to be tolerant, so we have the right to expect that tolerance given back to us. Not just at Christmas, but all the year long! God Bless America and have a very merry Christmas!!!

Sayonara,
Suzann
http://www.suziezoo.com
http://www.woolymammoth.org