Silver Threads: Tales of Christmas vast

T’was the morning of Christmas, and all through our dwelling,
The flavors of a feast were rising and swelling.
Pa in his chef’s hat and I with my duster
Were cooking and cleaning, with all the might we could muster.

For we’d partied so late — only hours before
Our Christmas Eve crowd had walked out our door,
Leaving wrappings from gifts we’d opened last night
And stray tinsel and ribbons that caught morning’s light.

Crumbs still speckled the table, bowls with remains of gumbo
Sat near glasses still sticky with Beaujolais nouveau…
When out in the front, there arose such a clatter,
That I sprang down the hall to see what was the matter.

Our little red dachshund, so lively and quick,
Was announcing the arrival of — could it be? … St. Nick!

I was going to borrow again from the work of Clement Moore,
but it’s not really Christmas, it’s now two days before,
and it looks as though I‘ll be making another trip to the store …

Bettye Anding

Gosh, it’s hard to get into prose when you’ve such a talent for verse. As I write this, it’s the morning of the 23rd, and I’ve just been reading a newspaper piece about Sarah Palin’s new book, which presents her thoughts on the secularization of the Christmas season. Secularization, for those whose memories at times need refreshing (and if you’re one of my contemporaries — boy, does it ever) is the transforming of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward nonreligious values and institutions.

That got me to thinking about “The Night Before Christmas,” or “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” as Moore called it when he wrote it in 1822, and whether the folks who read it in a New York newspaper on the morning of December 23, 1823 got upset because it didn’t mention the religious origin of the holiday.

Just 20 years later, on Dec. 17, the serialization of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol began in England. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miser who is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet-to-come and, subsequently, whose outlook on life is profoundly changed. The book came out when, simultaneously, there was strong nostalgia for old Christmas traditions and a desire for the introduction of new customs, such as Christmas trees and greeting cards. A Christmas Carol doesn’t mention the birth of Jesus Christ; however, Dickens’ sympathy for the poor is evident, through the his characters’ transformations.

I mention these two works because they’re beloved holiday classics and, along with much of our Christmastime music and Santa Claus and holly and mistletoe, can be appreciated by those of all religions. And I give Palin credit for probably thinking so too. But can she see that Christmas has become very inclusive? We should remember that the holiday is about loving and giving and sharing, and anybody can get in on that.

In fact, when you tell a friend of another religion ‘Happy Holidays’, you’re really saying ‘Happy Holy Days’, aren’t you?