“Why is it no one pays attention to the light until it’s covered by darkness?” An excerpt from one of the scripts in the hit TV series, Touched By An Angel, and featured in the collection When Angels Speak: Inspiration From Touched By An Angel, compiled by Martha Williamson, Executive Producer, and published by Fireside Books.
William Bradford wrote: “One small candle may light a thousand.”
“A candle left burning all night in an empty room on Christmas Eve would bring light, warmth and plenty all year.” That superstition from a book of Christmas Memories published in 1993 by Better Homes and Gardens, an imprint of Meredith Books in Des Moines.
This is an excerpt from the Reader’s Digest collection Why In The World: All You Ever Wanted To Know About The World Around You But May Never Have Thought To Ask! published in 1994. “Old customs die and, like smouldering embers, spring suddenly to life again. From the earliest times, light has signified comfort and joy, and darkness the fear of the unknown. Ancient peoples, aware of the changing seasons, lit fires to encourage the return of spring. Romans, during their Saturnalia, decked their homes with lighted candles and greenery. … Long before the birth of Christ, Jews marked their winning of religious freedom by holding an eight-day Festival of Lights. In early Christian times, Pope Gelasius proclaimed Candlemas, February 2, as the day for blessing candles in church… From these origins came the medieval custom of burning a mammoth Christmas candle whose light, it was hoped, would glow until Twelfth Night. When we put candles or fairy lights on a Christmas tree today, we are following the traditions of ancient Rome, or those passed on from Martin Luther, whose tree glowed with lighted tapers.”
In A Christmas Tree written in 1850, Charles Dickens wrote: “The tree was planted in the middle of a great round table, and towered high above their heads. It was brilliantly lighted by a multitude of little tapers; and everywhere sparkled and glittered with bright objects.”
“When is it that the gold of a Christmas bauble seems most brilliant, the shimmer of tree lights most expressive? It is when a child is nigh–sleeping quietly, as did the Babe in the Christmas story, or standing at the foot of the tree, spellbound. To adults, a tree trimmed with family treasures and the most beautiful adornments to be found is a thing of inspiration. But to a child, hushed and reverent, it is pure magic.” An excerpt from an article and pictorial in the December 1993 issue of Victoria, contributing editor,Susan George-Calsmer.
“Red, green and white have long been associated with the Christmas season. Red, the color of greatest excitement, represents fire, blood, and charity. Green is the symbol of nature, youth, and the hope of eternal life. Christmas is a feast of hope… White stands for light, purity, joy, and glory. We see white in the robes of the angels and in holiday decorations and snow.” Again an excerpt from the 1993 Christmas Memories published by Better Homes and Gardens.
I would like to refer you back to a recent blog called The Christmas Tree. One of the ornaments on our main tree is a Li Bien ornament. As it said in the accompanying literature, “In Chinese, the phrase ‘Li Bien’ means “inside.’ The Li Bien ornament showcases the age-old skill of inside painting. Through a small opening in the ornament, the artist repeatedly inserts a miniature brush to paint the artwork. The process is painstaking and time consuming requiring two days to paint each ornament. The resulting ornament is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind keepsake.” It also reflects the lights on the tree beautifully.
One last thought about the light, a light that shone brilliantly in the mind of a mystery person in the States. I tell this story every year at this time because it is one of those true mysteries of Christmas that continues to inspire me. For well over ten years–without fail and lasting until the time of this writing–a Christmas miracle took place on a lonely stretch of highway just north of Phoenix, Arizona. Late one night, a stranger, at what I would imagine was great risk to his or her own personal safety, decorated a huge juniper tree that sat in the median of Interstate 17, 120 kilometers north of Phoenix. It was quite a feat considering how huge this tree was. How this one person accomplished this in one single overnight period is beyond the comprehension of most local residents. It could have been undertaken by more than one person. The thing is no one had ever seen it taking place in real time. They woke up one morning in December and it was done. Drivers on the interstate would always be amazed to see it completely decorated from its lofty tip right down to its base. It’s against the law to do this on highway property in Arizona but the police didn’t seem to be in a hurry to apprehend the culprit. You see, after the holidays, the person returned late one night and took away all the decorations. The tree stood bare until it was done again the following year. Remember this was done faithfully every year for ten years until the time of this writing in 1995. It may still be going on for all I know. The reason behind the mystery? We may never know, but it “lightened” the hearts and spirits of all the drivers who drove past it. It is a Christmas mystery that I don’t think should ever be solved.
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Don Jackson
