“Putting Away Christmas”
The phrase, “Putting away Christmas” jumped out at me on Facebook yesterday. The phrase reminds me of the small artificial green tree that I set up one Christmas in the back of my classroom. I enjoyed the twinkle of the lights that reminded me of the Joy of Jesus, for He is the light of the world. I reminded me of the celebrations past. The year that we dug up a tree when I was 8 years old. That tree was planted to grow tall and proud at 330 South 14th Street in Clinton, OK.
That tree reminds me of the tree Mother told me about – when they lit candles in the tree (with a bucket of water nearby). It reminded me of the first Christmas of my parents. Mother was so homesick for her family and their Christmas celebration, that Dad found a tree in the panhandle of Oklahoma, placed it outside the living room window. He found electric lights, and used ingenuity (no electricity in the house in 1928) to hook the lights to the car battery.
The Christmas tree reminds me of a blue-bird light, until it burned out, and became an ornament. It reminds me of the tempting smell of fresh popped popcorn and cranberries that we strung on the tree instead of tinsel. It reminds me of the laborious hanging of silver icicles, one by one, that sparkled in the light.
That Christmas tree reminds me of the Siemens Christmas celebrations – and the foot long 2 inch diameter peppermint sticks that Grosmom (Emilie) Siemens bought her grandchildren for Christmas for a nickel each. (A huge price in 1930’s) One Christmas Dad was delegated to purchase the huge peppermint sticks. Dad asked if I wanted to go to the candy store where they were made in Clinton, OK. I remember yet the smell of hot sugar that hung in the air and watching the making of the stripes around and around the peppermint sticks.
It reminds me of the trips to Corn, OK. Later, in the 1950’s, the 10 miles of dirt road were paved, but during our early tr
ips – that 10 miles of dirt taught me faith. The narrow road with deep ruts rocked us from side to side, threatening to catapult us into the ravines that bordered the road. My two brothers, Jim and Gene, and I felt like popcorn kernels being shaken in a hot skillet. No seat belts then, and I often sank to the floor of the car praying for safety.
The tree reminds me of the one year we drove to Grandpa and Grandma’s for Christmas in deep snow. The trouble driving was when we turned off the highway to the 10 mile road. The snow obliterated the fence posts on the side of the road in a world of white. Dad drove off the road and we were stuck. No cell phones then, but Mom’s Dad became concerned as it became dark and sent Uncle Jonas and Uncle Eli to look for us. We were huddled in the car wrapped in blankets. Then came the ride in the wagon pulled by horses to complete our trip.
Another car, another year, 1949, and we again made the trip to Hillsboro. No tree with lights in the car, but it wasn’t needed as Luke 2 was read. Carols made the miles fly by, and prayer. Dad kept his eyes open as he drove, and listened to us pray. We were together and we worshipped our Lord. Christmas.
My classroom tree, sitting in the back of the room, was not returned to the dark box to hide for a year. No, it was re-decorated by my 6th graders each month and the lights twinkled….with snowflakes in January, hearts in February, shamrocks in March, rain drops in April and flowers in May. Those Christmas lights twinkled and created a remembrance of peace and good will in our classroom.
If Christmas is gifts/decorations/vacations to us, then we miss the essence of Christmas, which is Jesus and Who He is. Jesus cannot be stored away, for His life creates goodness in us that cannot be hidden away in a box, just as light cannot be put away.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
For the second year we have enjoyed our Christmas Cross. The lights on the cross remind us of Jesus and his birth, his death and resurrection. He is the light of the world. The lights on the cross will remain shining through the celebration of His resurrection.
In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:4-5
Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. ~Janice Maeditere
This was really great, Mrs. Combs. I can well imagine the bleakness of the Oklahoma panhandle in the Depression; you've compressed more moving stories into this one blog post than I'll usually find in a week of internet browsing. I am going to keep reading.
This was really great, Mrs. Combs. I can well imagine the bleakness of the Oklahoma panhandle in the Depression; you've compressed more moving stories into this one blog post than I'll usually find in a week of internet browsing. I am going to keep reading.