Christmas musings

I thought I’d posted this on Christmas, but just realized I posted it on Substack and Facebook but not here, my own website. So here, a little late but at least before New Year’s Day is a Christmas reflection:

When I was a teenager with a little pocket money from babysitting I loved Christmas shopping. I’d ride the Burlington Northern train with my sisters and friends into downtown Chicago, and it seemed to me everyone in the Loop had an extra bounce in their step—whether they were exuberant teens like me or office workers speeding by to get a last-minute gift during their lunch hour.

I’m sure some folks were stressed out, as I often am these days, but the overall uplift in the air was palpable. People who didn’t ordinarily smile, did so. People would stop in the midst of the rush to join in caroling, help pick up packages that someone had dropped, or admire the fully decked-out storefronts of Marshall Field’s, Carson Pirie Scott, Montgomery Ward and other department stores.

Our home didn’t resemble the cozy scenes depicted in those windows. My family didn’t have the money for it. But it didn’t matter. The fact that so many people were focused on giving to others lifted my spirits like nothing else. I thought this yearly gifting extravaganza was a good way to celebrate the gift we were given in the baby Jesus, however small our gifts might have been.

So when Christmas rolls around, I love singing along to carols, traditional and new. My favorites in childhood were “Away in a Manger” and “O, Little Town of Bethlehem.” I still enjoy those. But I can’t let the season go by without singing along to “Silver Bells.” It takes me right back to the city sidewalks of Chicago’s Loop, and my heart spills over with joy.

Merry Christmas from my home to yours.