My mother's sister, next to her in age, Fannie, had married and lived in town. With my parent's grandparents, we visited her for a meal. She owned an electric refrigerator, my mother, grandmother, had never seen anything like that before. She actually made ice cream in her refrigerator. None of us had ever eaten ice cream except hand-churned. To this day, the food I love best on earth, ice cream, tells the whole story of just how much things have changed in one lifetime.
At this Christmas season, a friend went into a store and found nothing pertaining to Christ, except up on one back shelf, dusty, he finally located a Nativity set...Mary, Joseph, the Christ child, the wise men, the angels, the animals. 75 years ago, there were no artificial trees, no Christmas tree farms, if there were, we would not have money for such. I remember, as a young boy, roaming the woods with my ax to locate a Christmas tree, cedar, holly, pine, something with a decent shape or at least 3 sides with a good shape, the bad side turned to the wall. We would string popcorn, along with a few, tinsel decorations. Later, when electricity finally came into the community, my mother bought some electric lights, which were a curiosity in the community.
My father's sister was in college in Raleigh. Going there, to pick her up for Christmas holidays, I saw the first city decorations: wreathes on light poles, lights strung across streets. We noticed that some homes even had lighted candles in the windows, beautiful decorations on doors. The store windows in Raleigh were like a fairyland, we had only seen such beauty in the Sears and Roebuck Christmas catalog (As an antiquarian book collector, I have owned 250 of these catalogs, which I have sold all over the world...such memories).
Thank God, we are not stuck where we start. God had designed before the creation of the world, His intention for this country boy, to travel the planet, even at Christmas time. One newspaper wrote a long article about the various ways Christmas is celebrated around the world, as seen by me, in my world travels. Athens, Greece was by far the most beautiful city I have ever seen at Christmas. Only in Christian nations, do you have Christmas decorations, certainly none in Muslim or communist countries. Even in Israel, the land in which our savior was born, I saw one Christmas decoration, in a small store, just across the road from Absalom's tomb.
In this day of nauseating lights, bells, advertisements, which have leeched out everything pertaining to the true meaning of Christmas. When Christmas has become a nightmare shopping holiday, of spending and spreeing. It would do most people good to think of the true meaning of this holiday, proclaiming the greatest Event in the history of the world, and how it was celebrated as a holy day, by our ancestors. I am not one to justify in any way, the dishonesty involved in Christmas...Santa Claus, flying deer, elves, credit card excesses.
Having been in cold Bethlehem in Christmas eve, having studied of the likelihood of the time of the birth of Christ, we know that He was born 33 AD, probably in August. I have stood in the cave, over which is built the Church of the Nativity, I rejoiced in the historical splendor of it all. It is true, it happened, every historical event, date, points to the joy of it all.
I do not want to forget, the humbleness of the event, not just the poor shepherds on a hillside, but the way poverty-stricken people have found joy in the occasion. At that small country church in which I was reared (built in 1874), this was the only time of the year in which you saw smiles, heard laughter, from many of the poor people of that community. I do not believe a Christmas tree should be found in the sanctuary, but they did have one there, decorated, gifts under the tree for all the children in the community, for many of them, their only gift.
Even then God portrayed the inequities of life, even in the celebration of His birthday. I remember one wonderful lady, Ms. Peeden, one grandchild, she wanted him to have the nicest gift under the tree (he died recently, he was about my age). Once, she put a small car, one you could ride in. He would not let the other children ride in his car. Some of these poor children had never seen an orange...had to be taught how to eat it, but they went home from the church thrilled for the knowledge of having been given a gift, and food, from the generous people of the church. After all, this is, in essence, what it is all about. Beyond all comprehension, beyond all comparison, the message of the greatest gift known to man. God, giving everything for life, including redemption from sin through His only Son, a free gift, and our, in return, only giving back to Him, thankfulness for the gift of everything that is good in our lives.
If the supercilious bells, lights, often ridiculous tunes, indulgence by overeating, overspending, partying and spreeing have robbed you of the real meaning of Christmas, it is your fault. If, at this season, this marvelous season, when you look at the many lights, you do not see the light of the world. If when you look at the holly leaves and berries you do not see the precious drops of blood of Christ, the thorns which pierced His precious brow, you have missed the true meaning of Christmas.
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