It was an ordinary day. Jotting down some notes on Christmas past. Had a few exciting times, a few laughable times and a few reflective times. Actually too many for just one story so I will type a few for this story and finish with a few more tomorrow.
1. Last year my daughter gave us a Jimmy Buffet CD with Christmas carols by him and the Coral Reefer Band. Never listened to it until about two weeks before Christmas when we loaded it into the car's CD player. Some really great songs, but our favorite is Christmas Island and our favorite part of this song is Would you like to spend Christmas .....on Christmas Island? Would you like to hang your stocking on a great big coconut tree? Well, Christmas Island is in the Indian Ocean which is North of Australia. For Carol and I, that would be a real treat, but we would really miss opening presents with the family. So, for now, that is on the Bucket List.
2. Christmas Eve at St. James Episcopal Church is always one of my favorite services. The church is decked out with beautiful Poinsettias on the altar as well as all the window sills under the stained glass windows. The children's Nativity Story is the highlight of the service. All the youth of the church dress up in costumes to re-enact the birth of Jesus. Barnyard animals, angels, Wise Men, Shepard's, Joseph, Mary and naturally baby Jesus. The last few years the pageant has changed slightly with this year being no exception. Tonight the service was entirely the very young children of the parish. No adults as kings and no teenagers as Shepard's. The assistant minister was the narrator and the children acted out the manger scene. Went perfect! Then our minister, Rev. Peck talked to the children about building the Christingle. I must admit it was news to me, also. An Orange is used as the center of the Christingle which represents the earth. Around the Orange is wrapped a red ribbon which is God's love for the world. Four pieces of fruit are attached with toothpicks around the top, equally apart and they represent North, South, East and West. In the center on the top is placed a large candle which represents Jesus, the Light of the World. With me so far? Now he announces to the children that everyone will get their own Christingle and ....... they will all light them as they surround the manger. These are children dressed in costumes which may or may not be flammable and are who are mostly in elementary school and younger. The congregation looked at each other in amazement or should I say astonishment. Rev. Peck announced to the congregation, mostly families of the children and told them not to be alarmed because they had buckets of water and extinguishers ready. Nice to know. The children were unbelievable. They all had their candles lit and we sang Silent Night, all THREE VERSES. No problems, and it looked beautiful with all the lights turned out in the church except the Star above the altar and the children rimming the manger. Brought tears to my eyes. And me, without my camera! I won't forget it for next year. I do remember, as a young choirboy, walking down the aisle at the end of the Christmas Eve Service, carrying a lit candle in one hand and my Hymnal in the other, and always surviving.
3. As the service ended, Carol and I turned around to greet the couple in the seat behind us, John and Suzanne S. Suzanne teaches health at Manheim Township Middle School and John just retired last year from Hempfield High School where he was an Assistant Principal. He had worked with me and his wife at MTHS for years before leaving for Hempfield. As we talked we asked how their daughter and son-in-law were doing. They had purchased our old house on Janet Ave. a few years ago. They told us they were heading there now to share Christmas Eve with them. Told us that they had renovated the third floor and made it into a master bedroom and redid the bathroom on the third floor and added a walk-in closet. It was back in the early 80s that I had made the third floor into a bedroom for our two boys and installed a bathroom with washbowl, toilet and shower stall. They also told us they had redone most of the second floor, but had not touched the kitchen, since it was still in great shape. Before we moved 15 years ago, I had totally re-did the kitchen with new cabinets from Lowes and a new ceiling and tile floor which my son Tad helped me install. Would love to see what it looks like now and they told us they would mention that to their children.
Fun reflecting back on events past. I do have a few more and will write them tomorrow. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary day.
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