Tears & Laughter: Christmas Time Across Alabama

There is a quiet calm that falls over Alabama at Christmas time. Stars seem to be more brightly scattered over a broader more open sky. The type of sky with such depth it can make you believe in miracles and wishes coming true. In destiny, and in fate...if you believe in such things of course.

There is a wreath or ribbon on most every door by now and twinkling lights blinking in colors. There are candles in windows, and decorated trees peeking through open drapes. It is the season of peace and hospitality. Children everywhere are excited with anticipation. It is the season of crowded stores and traffic.

Cookies are being baked and Christmas day dinners planned. Frozen turkeys will soon begin being wrestled with, and there are women who will spend entire afternoons trying to follow old handwritten recipes for fruitcake nobody they know will eat.

They may not even like fruitcake themselves. But they miss the hands that wrote the recipe, so they follow each line precisely. We do that. We reuse their iron skillets and set their gravy boats out like center pieces. During the holidays there seems to be a memory in every taste, every fragrance, every song that plays over the radio. Even the wind seems to whisper reminders. An old, faded Polaroid can act as a portal to the past.

We retell our same old worn-out stories and watch the same movies that always work out for the good in the end. We spread handed down quilts over our beds and trace the stitches with our fingers trying to feel in our souls’ moments lost somewhere in time.

Memories are all that get some people through the holidays. Memories, are all some people have. While for many it is the season of hope, Christmas brings to others reminders of loss and the pain of loneliness. The kind of loneliness that makes you feel alone in a room full of friends or on a busy familiar street.

Whoever the first person was that got to harping and singing about Christmas time being the most wonderful time of the year was hitting the egg nog too often. I like Christmas as much as the next person, but we have gotten way beyond simply celebrating our dear Savior's birth.

Unrealistic expectations and over booked schedules can quickly drain joy and energy. It is hard to feel festive when you are frazzled. The constant preparation, cleaning, shopping, and wrapping can make a person crave whiskey and hide from their own family. Try and free yourself from the busyness if you can. Even if it is only for a little while, give yourself some time. There is a quiet that falls over Alabama at Christmas time. The stars seem more brightly scattered across a broader more open sky. The type of sky with such depth it can make you believe in miracles and wishes coming true. In destiny, and in fate...if you believe in such things of course.