Taylor the Teacher

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Apologetic Preface: I hope my Jewish readers won’t be offended that I’ll probably be talking about Christmas too much in the next couple of months. I promise not to start too soon after this, though. I’ll try mightily to wait until after Thanksgiving to talk about it after today. Don’t want to annoy with overindulgence. Then again, at least I’m not selling anything.

The time change has me really shocked and upset that the days are so short. It’s 6:15. It looks like midnight.

Can you imagine 100 or so short years ago when practically nobody had electric lights? Even without daylight savings time screwing up your sleep and rhythm, it had to suck. They were done at this time. No more going out, eating out, reading, playing, working…. Firelight is all you’re going to get. Plus it’s freaking cold. And if you’re farming, the harvest is over. (Or winding down? Don’t know. That’s how citified I am.)

Depressing. Even today with electric lights I find this mildly so. In another month, the Christmas lights will be my favorite thing around.

We need those lights. We need them. They are not for selling scarves and electronics. They’re part of a gut response to darkness.

Last December, I really believed that our Christmas tree was the most beautiful tree around. The best thing I’d ever seen. Almost brings tears to my eyes now that I’m sitting in the dark. But looking at the pictures now, it doesn’t seem like anything spectacular.

I’m telling you, it was. Could be I can’t take pictures. Could be the beauty couldn’t properly be captured on film. Could be I was biased because it was mine.

My guess is that the month of darkness has something to do with it.

Doesn’t matter. It was beautiful.

I’m aware this is a trite observation. You know, cultural and religious holidays occurring around the winter solstice. Not a new idea.

But I don’t want Christmas to be an idea.