Christmas!? By Ashley
I love Christmas! The lights, the music, the smells, the feelings! My Christmas this year got extended! I got to go to Israel in January and visited the town of Jaffa. (The 5000 year old city where the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale comes from.) Here, where they are Eastern Orthodox, Christmas lasts until the middle of January. I have included some pics below. 🙂
One of the coolest parts of Jaffa was walking into St. Peter’s Church and being totally enveloped again into the season. It was quiet and peaceful but also joyful and alive. Just like Christmas can and should be (minus all the crazy commercialism). Although it does not capture the full-out loveliness of this experience, I have included a video for your viewing/listening pleasure.
As I sat on the pew, letting the sweet serenity wash over me, I thought how nice it would be to carry these Christmas feelings with me all year long. I even lifted a small prayer of how much I needed this feeling of Christmas in my everyday life. And, it’s interesting; ever since I got back from Israel, I’ve noticed little signs of Christmas wherever I go. A bulb left behind on a tree outdoors, or even indoors, a small decoration in a friend’s house, the Noel lotion sitting beside the bank clerk, a person wearing a Christmas shirt in February. The header photo of the green bulb randomly lying in someone’s front yard was taken while I was on a walk only moments after I wrote this post. All of these signs are not random, though. They remind me to keep the peace, to keep the joy, to keep the love of Christmas all throughout the year. And now, maybe, I’m reminding you. Merry Christmas (in April)!
