We need a little Christmas. It is a season of joy, laughter, and hope. Christmas brings out the child in us and gives us permission to show love and gratitude through gift giving. We party with family and friends. We adorn our houses and yards with trees, lights, and all kinds of decorations . . . and many are humorous or whimsical.
Every Christmas I enjoy riding around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It started when my father would take my sister and me out on Christmas Eve to look at lights all around town. I think it really was so that my mother could get Christmas presents ready to put out. But, I did not know that at the time.
We looked at lights while listening to a radio station that played Christmas music. At some point, the station would check in with the “NORAD Santa tracker” radar and see where Santa was in the sky. Then my father would say, “We better get home so you can go to bed and Santa can come to our house!”
This year I have noticed that people have been eager to put up their trees . . . even before Thanksgiving. I have also noticed more Christmas lights and yard decorations. I see lawns filled with cheerful inflatable snowmen, Snoopy on his house, Mickie and Minnie Mouse, the Grinch, large inflatable bears, elephants, and penguins all dressed in bright holiday attire.
Some of the more unusual yard decorations I have seen are holiday unicorns, Santa on a motorcycle, in a helicopter, riding a dinosaur, as a pirate on a ship, and playing a guitar under a palm tree. I’ve seen a holiday Yoda with a candy cane, a holiday dinosaur, and a festive hippopotamus.
I especially love the manger scenes with references to the star and shepherds. Being a church musician, I have spent my life centered around the spiritual and theological aspects of Jesus being born — “God With Us.” Christmas has been central to my life and work. I also celebrate the hope for peace and the expressions of Christmas whimsy that arise during this season.
For we need a little music, need a little laughter . . .
We need a little Christmas now
— Jerry Herman (1931-2019) American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater
Because of the Pandemic, I believe we all need a little Christmas . . . especially the light-hearted music and playful decorations. We need to smile. We need a break from the bad news in the world.
In the musical Mame the song “We Need a Little Christmas” is sung after Mame has lost her fortune in the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and she decides she, her nephew, and her two servants “need a little Christmas now” to cheer them up.
This is my playful arrangement of “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly” from my CD Noël Nouvelet!
From cars with reindeer antlers and red noses on the front grill to light-filled Christmas trees in the town square, I am grateful for signs of cheer. I smile when teacher friends share photos on Facebook of themselves wearing sweaters with battery lights. And, I know that children everywhere will be performing Christmas plays and singing joyfully while parents eagerly snap photos of them. Parents and grandparents make it a point to be there!
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.
— Will Ferrell, Elf
Even this star resting on the curb brings a smile. I wonder if it was left behind. Or, sometimes I invent a story in my mind about why it is there resting. Perhaps it is guarding the one above on the lamp post.
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