Seasonal Simplicity

Mom's paper nativity set

Our Christmas decorations are stored in the crawl space and must be retrieved by someone with a young spine and good knees. We had boxes of seasonal decor that had not been touched for years and many of the collected items were sent to a thrift store this November. I am minimizing our belongings as much as possible while respecting the nostalgic feelings of each family member.

Christmases of my childhood were simple yet special. We moved often and Mom had only one box of seasonal lights and ornaments. She had a paper nativity set that was displayed every year in the living room. I still have it even though it has not been used for years. (my nostalgia!)

Christmas tree selection at Uncle Bill's farm- 1964

We always had a real tree, whether a decorated palm frond in South Africa or a freshly cut pine from Mom's brother's farm. The tree went up a few days before Christmas Eve and was taken down by New Year's Day. As children, we received one item of clothing, one book and one toy and I know that the gifts were subsidized by our grandmother. Christmas baking was also simple:- shortbread cutouts, sugar cookies, Graham squares, graham crumb rolls with coloured marshmallows, and fruitcake with thick marzipan topping for Dad. I was tasked with making place card decorations for the Christmas dinner table each year. Mom combed magazines and newspapers for ideas for inexpensive, disposable decorations. I remember assembling construction paper and popcorn garlands as well as glitter and glue stars and angels.

I am sure Christmas celebrations changed for my three younger brothers after my parents moved to Mexico in the mid-1970s. I married into a family with different traditions who celebrated Christmas on a much grander scale. Times change, people move, ideologies evolve and new traditions are formed by younger generations. My daughter told me her friends turn their noses up at the thought of a big turkey dinner. They prefer more informal pot-luck gatherings where one person is not stuck in the kitchen for hours (or days) making a multi-course meal. Grandma D. hosted many Christmas dinners and I now understand how she struggled to even put up a few decorations in later years. Family and friends are who make holidays special and as we get older our connections often thin out. 

Christmas 2012

Mom's last Christmas was spent with family that she loved. Sadly, not everyone in the family was able to get to Mexico at the same time but I am grateful to have pictures from that day. My brother from Canada and I visited a few weeks later in January so she got to spend time with all her children before her health worsened quickly.

Here are some of Grandma D's recipes, the first two in her own writing and the last one written out by Mom. The lemon square recipe is from Aunt Minnie and is at least 100 years old!

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Darkness to Light

Night sky at Spectacle Lake taken with my iPhone

We spent a night in October at Spectacle Lake Lodge between Barry's Bay and Algonquin Park. Far from city lights in almost complete darkness, I admired the clear night sky with innumerable stars and the Milky Way. The gibbous moon had not risen yet and the electric lights around the lodge were too dim to illuminate the sky. My husband came looking for me at one point and didn't see me sitting in a Muskoka chair near the water's edge. I had to be careful not to fall into the lake as I walked around the property as sky and land merged indistinguishable in blackness. While thoroughly enjoying the night sky, I would not want to live in darkness for long. 

In 1908 Minnie Louise Haskins wrote a poem titled God Knows. It was known later as The Gate of the Year and was quoted by King George V1 in his 1939 Christmas Message to the Commonwealth. It is said that his 13-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth showed him the poem shortly after the start of World War 2. Here is the first stanza that was quoted by King George VI.

THE GATE OF THE YEAR

'God Knows'

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown".
And he replied:
"Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way".
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

During Advent, we observe the transition from darkness to light. Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 foretells the time when

The people walking in darkness

    have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

    a light has dawned...

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 

Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end...

In John 8:12, Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

This year I know too many people who are walking in very dark places, uncertain of what the future will hold. Whether it is physical illness, depression, job and financial stresses, family and social changes, world conflict, or even perpetual outrage at things we cannot control, the darkness can be all-engulfing leading to hopelessness and fear. 

The last three stanzas of Minnie Louise Haskins' poem outline how our imperfect vision is clear to God and how his provision is sufficient in dark places.

So heart be still:

What need our little life

Our human life to know,

If God hath comprehension?

In all the dizzy strife

Of things both high and low,

God hideth His intention.

God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.

Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life's stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God's thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill.

Each year I look for a new Advent devotional book. This year I am enjoying the writing of John Sentame. retired Archbishop of York in his book Wake Up to Advent. He came to England as an immigrant from Uganda at the time of President Idi Amin.  His personal experiences with darkness made him a strong advocate for social justice. His weekly Advent themes are refreshingly different;- Wake Up! Clean Up! Feed Up! Grow Up! instead of the traditional themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. 

Light does wake us up. It guides us in our own challenges as well as waking us up to the needs of others around us.