By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina and Johna Till Johnson
Maybe it’s because we spent last Christmas on the waters of the Florida Everglades. Or maybe it’s because this year has held more than the usual vicissitudes. For whatever reason, this year we found ourselves focused intently on the traditional trappings and rituals: A live tree, with real candles. A wreath, with ribbons and a bell. Roast goose, mashed potatoes, and cabbage. Christmas carols.
And they were wonderful: As the sun set on Christmas Eve, the apartment filled with the scent of roasting goose (overpowering the fresh fragrance of pine). Dinner that night was magical, with light glittering everywhere, and the sound of Christmas carols on the air.
Christmas Day, we slept late, then spent a splendid several hours opening gifts. Okay, more like a few minutes doing the actual opening—but since most of the gifts were books (and most of the remainder was food), we spent a lazy afternoon listening to music, reading, and nibbling cookies. On Boxing Day, we did the official tree-candle lighting (complete with obligatory stand-by bucket of water and fire extinguisher).
All the trappings were there, and the rituals were most satisfactorily observed. But even more than the trappings and decorations, what resonated most with us was the meaning of Christmas: light in darkness, hope for better times to come.
As we wrote a few years back: “What’s different about Christmas is that it celebrates not that which is, but that which is to come.
Every other holiday celebrates an accomplishment or achievement: Thanksgiving is a classic harvest festival, in which we give thanks for the year’s bounty. The Fourth of July celebrates the attainment of independence. Hallowe’en is the remembrance of the dead, and New Year’s celebrates the arrival of the New Year. And so on.
Christmas alone is a celebration of hope.
For Christians, of course, the celebration is the birth of Jesus. But the birth of Jesus is, in a very real sense, the arrival of hope, the hope that an innocent child can be stronger than the worst evils of this world, that God is returning to His people, and that love will conquer evil. The birth of Jesus is just the start of that hope.
And the hope isn’t just for Christians. Regardless of when the birth of Jesus happened historically (and there is considerable speculation on this point), the ancient Christians elected to celebrate the birth of Christ roughly concomitantly with an older festival: Winter solstice.
Solstice, too, is a celebration of hope: The hope that the days will once again begin to lengthen, light will conquer darkness, and warmth will return.
Whether you’re a fervent Christian or an equally-fervent atheist or something else, in other words, celebrating Christmas is an act of existential courage. We are celebrating the hope that light, goodness, and warmth will return to the world.”
That, to us, is the true meaning of Christmas this year, and every year—even more than the tree, the goose, or the carols.
_______________________________________________________
(Click on any photo to start slideshow)
Yeah, best Xmas tree ever !!!!!!!! See you soon! This is a wonderful post. All our love, from landlocked Arizona :) Jean & Alex
LikeLiked by 1 person
See you soon, guys!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful post… I hope you have a wonderful 2015 ahead. Best wishes. Aquileana :D
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, and best wishes for your 2015!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Just Think and commented:
Merry christmas
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing. Really, deep messages. Love it :D
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for posting, and for reblogging!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful post! Wishing you all the very best for 2015!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sue! And the best to you, too, for 2015!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your tree is beautiful. I love Christmas trees. I will get out my tripod and take a picture of mine. You day sounds wonderful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh Connie, you definitely should. And yes, it was wonderful. Very peaceful… with the smell of the tree and the Christmas carols (we play them nonstop, the old kind that is). Merry Fourth Day of Christmas!
LikeLike
lovely!!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!!
LikeLike
season’s greetings and all good wishes for the year ahead…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same to you! Congratulations on the retirement—I hope one of your voyages brings you to New York! (And if you decide to do any consulting work in shipping and logistics, NYC can always use your talents!) Best wishes to you and yours for 2015!
LikeLike
Eloquently said and true. (Relieved to hear you keep a bucket of water and fire extinguisher close to hand!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! And it’s funny–like all Americans, I’m paranoid about fire from the candles.
But we’ve never had an incident (knock on wood). And really, the chances are minimal, with a well-watered tree and attention paid to candle placement. But we Americans have been taught to worry….so we do!
LikeLike
I’m really impressed you did the actual-candle thing! It looks a lovely tree. And roast goose, now that is traditional. Here’s to hoping for a good 2015. See you soon as well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vlad is big on the traditional way of doing things, yes. I used to worry about the candles but I’ve come around–like most risks, it can be mitigated. And they are soooo pretty. Not sure if we’ll make the Jan 3 event but will definitely see you soon–on the water I hope!
LikeLike
Thanks Johna! A lovely expression of the Celebration. The din of our commercial Christmas makes keeping the true meaning of and reasons for it hard to keep in focus. You have dialed it in beautifully.
Merry Christmas to you both.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, George! For us it retains the ancient symbolism… and I’m grateful for that! Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you!
LikeLike
Merry Christmas. The little red horse really catches my imagination.
LikeLiked by 1 person
:-) Merry Christmas! It caught Vlad’s, too, evidently!
LikeLike
Thanks for the very thoughtful post and the beautiful pictures,
Pit
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are most welcome, Pit! Merry Christmas to you and yours.
LikeLike
Great post , I am an Atheist Myself but do enjoy the Traditions and trappings of the Holidays along with spending time with Family . Gotta get Me one of those kayak ornaments you have on your tree :) ..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for posting, and happy solstice! You can get the ornaments from Sweetwater Kayaks: http://sweetwaterkayaks.wordpress.com/. Or likely from any good outfitter near you.
LikeLike
Your tree is lovely. What I like the most is that your Christmas dinner table is right near it. Beautiful message, too. 🎄
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for posting! And we’re in New York, so everything is right next to everything else :-). Merry Christmas!
LikeLike
Cute.
LikeLike
love this post – and the tree looks GREAT!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, and thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love photo collages because they show you so much about a blogger’s life that can’t always be put into words.
Happy New Year
LikeLike
Perfect! Yes, hope for the future lies at the very heart of Christmas. Perhaps hope is the magic that is Christmas.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Michael! And yes, I believe hope is the magic that is Christmas.
LikeLike
Lovely post, and I so enjoyed looking at your picture gallery. Happy New Year to you and Vlad. :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy New Year to you, too!
LikeLike
Light goodness and warmth. Amen. :-)
Happy whatever. As long as it’s peace-filled and happy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
And there’s goose… so mote it be! Thanks for posting.
LikeLike
Gorgeous photos. And how brave to use real candles on your tree! It makes it very beautiful and real!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful indeed! Thanks for reading, and posting!
LikeLike
A wonderfully beautiful post – filled with hope and positive thoughts. Happy Holidays to you all!
LikeLiked by 1 person
And Happy Holidays to you, too, Leya! Thanks for the good words.
LikeLike
Lovely thoughts, lovely post (love the kayak ornament and of course, the candles) and let’s hope 2015 is a bit more gentle, eh? Best to you two!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Re 2015, as they say, “From your lips to God’s ears!”. Thanks for reading, and posting. And yes, we’re fond of the kayak ornaments!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome blog! and great posts! just stumbled across. followed! you’re doing a great job here. :)
please spare some time to visit my blog at saadiapeerzada.wordpress.com.
I will be grateful. :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Saadia!
LikeLiked by 1 person
:)
LikeLike
What a wonderful Christmas celebration! Merry Christmas! Best wishes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks–Merry Christmas to you too (we still have 8 more days to enjoy it, of course!)
LikeLike
Great post. Anna and I were there with you both in spirit.
Much love. John
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, John! And very much so. Hope you both had a restful and relaxing day, as did we!
LikeLike
Love this post even though I am late! I was just about to ask if you had a kayak ornament or 20?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Three, actually. Our friends got us a lovely couple of ornaments to go with the one we already had!! And thanks for reading, and posting—you aren’t “late”, we have 8 more days of Christmas to go!!
LikeLike
Thank you and True I am still on the 8th day of Christmas!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope indeed, great tree! Have a wonderful New Year!
LikeLiked by 1 person
HI MJF, thanks! And also to you. I love your “Christmas” post–breathtaking!
LikeLike
I like that you have a fire extinguisher for the candles, though Pepper and I were more concerned about that scary extension cord for the lights.
(Talk about an inside joke…)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Scary extension cord has been consigned to the dustbin of history. Well, the dustbin of kitchen, anyway (despite Vlad’s somewhat pro-forma protests–that Eastern European unwillingness to throw anything out!). But the electric lights no longer flicker–funny, that!
LikeLike
I’ll have you know that the extension cord had been exhaustively tested through at least 20 years of reliable service, whereas the Christmas tree candles, not nearly so long… And speaking of scary wiring, have you taken a look at the rest of the wiring at 92?—from the 1960s, if not the 1930s… :-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love the arc of your Christmas celebration – thanks for sharing it with us
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are most welcome, Catherine—a very happy New Year to you!!
LikeLike
Definitely captured Christmas with this set Vladimir – the smell descriptions made me quite hungry
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unfortunately, we ate everything already… but come round next Christmas! ;-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thats dangerous Sir – Scotsmen are notorious part crashers 😃
LikeLike
Having lived in Scotland, I am aware of that ;-)
But if you take the trouble to cross the ocean, it’s the least we can do :-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
huge grin back across the Atlantic
LikeLike
Hi Scott, you DO realize there’s a small contingency on that invitation, right? You have to bring over some haggis! :-) We both love it. And we’ll supply the single-malt (Vlad has very good taste–he likes Laphroaig, my preference is the more prosaic Oban). And we will happily provide the goose and pie…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Guys your malt taste is questionable – clearly you haven’t been to Speyside (which is where Lossiemouth is) my current passion is “The Singleton of Dufftown – Tailfire” – here is a map to evidence my claim http://www.aboutspeyside.com/scotchwhisky.php and here is the link to http://www.alexanderandjames.com/singleton the Singleton – as I said be careful what you wish for – Happy New Year Guys – cant stop packing for Norway ha ha (did I really drop that in) and finally here is a link to a very close and famous distillery you may have missed :-) http://skm1963.com/2014/11/16/after-dark-strathisla-distillery-1786/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Scott–hm. Maybe you’ll need to bring the single-malt AND the haggis! But you are most welcome (seriously) :-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
A most wonderful New Year for you both! Your tree always rocks…
LikeLiked by 1 person
And it’s bigger this year than ever before! The downside is that before we can summon the strength to take it down, it’s late January or even February in some years ;-)
A very happy New Year to you!!
LikeLike
Apparently the longer you keep it up the luckier your year will be…
LikeLike
We’ll have to do a careful multiyear study :-)
LikeLike
Pingback: Our 2015 Calendar | Wind Against Current
Happy Holidays!
LikeLike
And a very happy New Year to you! :-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Farewell Christmas Tree | Wind Against Current
What a warm and lovely photo essay. I came to it a bit after the fact but I can at least wish you both Happy New Year and excellent paddling!
LikeLike
Thank you so much—and a most happy New Year to you!!
LikeLike