The Reindeer

From 'Pre-blogging Era' archive 'inklingz': A Reflection While Taking Down Christmas 2000

The Reindeer
Originally uploaded by Moonflower Studio ❄

Since the first year I saw Boston Store’s “forest” of Christmas trees, I’ve made an annual stop in their “Trim-A-Tree” section. That first year, there was a tree decorated with animals of all sorts...perfect additions to my Peaceable Kingdom themed tree. I don’t recall if I bought any myself-probably not. I did tell Mom about it. That same year my Christmas gift from her was a large assortment of the animals. Before the 12 Days of Christmas ended, I received more animals. Mom said they were a ‘Feast of the 3 Kings’ gift.
And so I’ve gone back to Boston Store almost every year, hoping to find more. Mom continued to find animals there, as well as other places. She’d present them to me on occasions or for no reason at all.
Funny...we never went to Boston Store together...
The “Trim-A-Tree” department has changed over the years, There’s no “forest” anymore (sigh) but they still have an unusual collection; unique things you’re not likely to find elsewhere.
I remember stopping there in 2000, Mom’s last year. The array of ornaments was just as enchanting as ever. But even with the bustling crowd of shoppers, there was a bittersweet emptiness. I knew one of Boston Store’s best customers would not be with them this year, or any year to come.
I continued to survey the glittering goodies, hoping to ease the sadness I felt. I was drawn to an assortment of snowmen, and to my delight, I found an ornament for my own daughter’s snowman collection. It was a miniature “snow couple” roasting a marshmallow over a candle. The little ‘snow lady’ appeared to be blowing on the candle’s flame, as if to toast their holiday morsel faster. Perfect...and it was on sale! A new mother /daughter tradition was born.
I made one more wistful inspection in hopes of finding a unique animal. There, back in a corner was a reindeer. He (she?) was a contemporary and graceful creature, with a sleek white body. Its antlers were sparkly green tinsel. Its legs were whimsical red and white striped wires with a curly twist where its ‘knees’ would be. A wreath of metallic holly encircled its neck.
The sleek white body reminded me of an angel’s grace. The green tinsel antlers appealed to my sense of tradition. I was reminded of the passion Mom and I shared for all things red & white striped. Those fanciful legs were yet another twist we’d have enjoyed.
This surely would’ve been the animal Mom would’ve found for me this year. Perfect...and it was on sale!
I came away from the “Trim-A-Tree” at Boston Store with a heart less heavy, and with treasures to keep and to share.
I have a new tradition to carry on. I think Mom would be proud.

BACK IN THE U.S.S.R

When I began looking for references for the Orthodox celebrations of Christmas for the January 6 post, I had hoped to clarify just which Orthodox church the holiday belonged to, and where these ‘festivities' took place. I wanted this clarity for myself, but also to share. Maybe in the global web-o-verse, I could have a chance of wishing Merry Christmas to some faraway folk. I encountered both clarity and more confusion in that January 7 was also considered as Christmas Day, and there were Eastern Orthodox and Russian Orthodox churches. I used sources from Minsk and also from RT, which I think could stand for Russian Television. A common theme pointed to an increase in such celebrations because there was more religious freedom now than there used to be.
Later in the evening, my husband turned to a program on a local Public Television station called
'How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin'
and I overheard Minsk in the narration. Irony is not befitting enough a word for the story that unfolded. I was immediately transported back in time when Beatlemania ruled all the corners of the free world. It had never occurred to me what it meant to those behind the iron curtain. While I was making fledgling sketches of guitars, there were young people making black-market bootlegs of Beatle records on (of all things) x-rays. Turns out that x-ray of Uncle Chekov’s ribs was suitable material to cut record grooves in. And the Beatles may very well have influenced whether or not there are religious observances of Christmas in Minsk. To learn more about the Beatles influence on the Kremlin, click HERE . I also highly recommend watching the program, and you can find a link to that HERE.
(Merry Christmas!)

Epiphany

There are many notions about when Christmas is celebrated, and for how long. To learn more, click here. These differ within the United States, and throughout the world.
As my daughter boxed up her Nativity set for the year and proceeded to put it away, I offered a question. “So what are the 3 Kings gonna do when they get here?” I was being facetious, and she knew it, so her answer was equally tongue-in-cheek. Then she seemed to think an excuse was needed and pointed out how little time there was to keep on top of things, etc.
She did not really need to justify her actions. Her family has more irons in the fire than a 19th century blacksmith. And just because the Crèche is packed away doesn’t mean she has no room in her heart for 3 visiting wise men.
My job, as I understand it, is to gently remind the world of the traditions and symbols we share, no matter how different we seem to be. That is whether those differences occur in our history, cultures, religious persuasions or geography.
For those of you playing along at home today is either the 10th, or the 11th Day of Christmas. For those of you on the 10th (like myself) this is the day to ponder the 10 commandments. For those on the 11th, it is time to contemplate the 11 disciples that remained faithful to Jesus (personally, I think God forgave Judas anyway). I added some more Christmas Carols from Amazon’s Mp3 downloads just to maintain the atmosphere either way.
There is not going to be a test later; nor am I trying to round up converts to any of these views. I’m simply extending the celebration of a Baby in a manger in my little corner of the world.

Does this sound familiar?

Dont have time to blog, or tweet...photographer/blogger Liz might be on to something. Check out her take on this at Mabelsblog