As a child I was enveloped in the magic of the lights of Christmas just like any other kid. It was only when I got older, and especially in the last 25 years or so, that I became more enamored of the natural colors of the season rather than the often loud, in-your-face decorations and attention seeking set ups. Don't get me wrong. I love a good Christmas decoration just like most folks. In fact my youngest daughter, whom I refer to as my Christmas Baby because of her December birthday, goes above and beyond a few lights and a waving Santa out front. It brings her joy and puts smiles on the faces of everyone who drives by, and that is as it should be. For me, it's all about what Mother Nature has given us for free.
Above everything else, it starts with the color green, the green of the tree, and the holy leaves, and the wreaths, and the swags of garlands hung around the house. After green comes the red of the holly berries and the cranberries strung and wrapped around the tree, and the red stripes of the candy canes. Then, of course, there is the snow, the beautiful, fluffy, white snow that is the finishing touch, almost like a woman accessorizing with jewelry. My own little woodland tree has artificial snow on its branches so that it looks like a Christmas tree for all the woodland creatures like the ones I have nestled underneath - a squirrel, a beaver, and lots of birds.
It's at times like these, when we are all searching for ways to think "outside the box" when it comes to finding clever ways to decorate this year, but we are being told to stay inside the box, that I think back to our ancestors who didn't have a Walmart or a Home Depot to go to for holiday decorations. They took the gifts that Mother Nature provided them with and created their own indoor wonderland. I'd like to think that those were, and still are, the best gifts of all, because they remind us that no matter what happens in the world if people, Mother still takes care of her own.
And so it is.
