Heartwings says, “The light is always there, even if it is not visible just then.”

When I was little my mother put real candles on our tree. She had brought the holders with her from Germany, where she had grown up. My great aunt Alice, who was our landlady was somewhat nervous about having live flames on the tree, so we always had a bucket of water and a mop—the old-fashioned string kind, waiting by the tree, just in case something went awry. Nothing ever did.

On Christmas eve day, my mother and I would decorate each bough of the live tree with the silvery metallic strands of tinsel she saved from year to year. Decorative glass balls were at the bottom, smaller ones up higher. As I grew older, I was proud to graduate from hanging decorations in the back; I was finally told I could help hang the strands and ornaments in the front. My mother was an artist and she was very particular about how the tree looked.

The silvery strands we hung one by one along each branch shimmered in the light of the candles and made an awesome sight. Later when my first husband, then a college student, and I celebrated our first Christmas, we couldn’t afford to buy lights but I hung the tinsel on the branches of our table tree and set it by the window. When the sunlight struck the silvery strands, it was almost as beautiful as the trees of my childhood.

Christmas, while traditionally being about the birth of a child, is just as much about light. In the midst of the darkest days of the year in the Northern hemisphere, the first lengthening of the daylight hours begins. All over the world this time is celebrated with all kinds of celebrations featuring gifts and light.

The celebration of the Jewish Hanukah season is about a miracle involving light, as are other light celebrations of December. These include the shepherds who followed the star to the holy stable, the visit of the three kings who did the same, a day sacred to Santa Lucia replete with candles, a Buddhist celebration of the enlightenment of the Buddha, a day sacred to Zoroaster when worshipers visit a fire temple, and others.

Light as a theme is featured throughout the holidays, including the burning of the Yule log, always to include a piece of the year’s previous one, showing the continuation of the cycle of life. To celebrate at the darkest time of the year seems appropriate. What better way to bring light into the world than to celebrate it with music, gifts and feasting? We honor the return of the sun in these ways, affirming in out hearts that no matter how dark and cold it may be, we know the light burns steadily on. At Christmas I remember always my childhood tree, shimmering, its candles burning on Christmas eve, as my mother played Silent Night on her violin.

May your Christmas memories shimmer brightly and your heart feel happy in their light.

Blessings, Best Regards, and Merry be, Tasha Halpert

PS If you have any Christmas memories to share, I would love to hear them. Thank you, Dear Readers, for your comments, and Happy Christmas to all.