Dark...and Light
Christmas is most tangible for me at night with a blue black sky sprinkled with stars and a chill in the air that causes me to snuggle into my coat or, better yet, closer to someone I love. Maybe it is because my mother would drive us around to look at Christmas lights in the old Vega with a Christmas 8 track playing while me would lay in the back watching stars pass. Maybe it’s because I would walk to the local church for midnight mass when I sung in the choir. Maybe it is just the nativity is set at night. Many faiths celebrate light at this time of year. The druids, pagans, and those who worship the old gods celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day which is followed by progressively longer daylight. Many of Jewish heritage celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, also called the Light if the world. People greet the sun in nature while Christmas lights and menorah candles are lit to celebrate. But these lights were