Deck the Halls

Today (this evening), I will attend a family Christmas event. I am not a Scrooge. Nor, am I the offspring of the Grinch. I swear. Oh, wait, I shouldn't swear at Christmas should I? Therein lies of the root my problem. I am not a fan of hypocrisy. I believe that people should conduct themselves with kindness and good will toward man 365 days/year not just the week of Christmas.

Now, back to the family Christmas event. This edition of the blog is titled Deck The Halls because my aunt decked my mother at a family gathering a few years back. It was a time of heightened emotions- their father had died and they were dividing his personal belongings among themselves and their other 4 siblings.  I was an adult and thankfully, not present when the Decking The Halls occured. I avoid conflict and do not like to be around angry (or grieving) people.

This was an ordinary gathering of brothers and sisters. We are ordinary people. Separated from other families only by a lack of any extraordinary happenings, this could have been your family. Since I was a very small child, each Christmas my mother's siblings and their children gathered. My cousins and I would choreograph and perform some sort of Christmas pageant. We would construct makeshift costumes and sets and the production was the highlight of the evening. Sometimes, there were wise men. Often, there was a Joseph and Mary. If there was a new baby in the family, it earned the distinction of portraying Baby Jesus. This was sort of an initiation into the particular family.

Years passed and we grew up. As time moved on, we brought our own Babies Jesus to this Christmas gathering. There have been no further Decking of the Halls (although at some point I predict someone will Deck my sister). Like spawning salmon, we continue to come together for this annual pilgrimage. There are no gifts. Most of us are scattered far and wide and must travel to attend. But, within moments of returning together we are transported to another time. A time where we were dressed in cotton sheets as robes. A laundry basket served as a manger. And the animals of the Nativity looked suspiciously like my cousins Spencer and Stephanie.

Christmas means different things to different people. I plan to take a moment at tonight's gathering and remember the grandfather who is missing these days from it. I will look around the room and remember these people I don't know very well anymore as they used to be. And, I will be thankful that Christmas came and provided the opportunity to connect with fond memories of my past.

Khris