Lighting Candles

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.

The town common in Grafton was alight with candles. I looked around and saw people of all ages gathered for a vigil to honor the victims of the Orlando massacre. It was a collection of many faiths and lifestyles. With the my friends and neighbors I listened to prayers and invocations from a variety of individuals and religious leaders. With them too I lifted my voice in songs that spoke of the need for change as well as the desire for peace. Yet in all my years here on earth little has changed.

During World War II my father was an Air raid warden and had to go around checking to see that the blackout curtains on the neighbors’ windows kept the light from coming through so no targets were visible. I remember he wore a funny looking hat–a sort of helmet to identify him as an official. The windowpanes of the big windows in my school were crosshatched with some brownish tape. We were told that this was to prevent them from shattering in the event of a bomb explosion.

We were also given bomb drills, which were different from fire drills, when we all filed outside and stood in lines with our classmates. Bomb drills took place inside. I seem to remember going down to the basement, but I was small and it was many years ago. Now children are being given drills in the case of an armed person coming into their school and shooting people, and some people want teachers to carry guns.

The last time Stephen and I were at such a vigil was on 9/11, after the twin towers in New York city were destroyed. Since then the climate of violence in this country seems to have accelerated. It grieves me that the children of today have to live in such a conflicted world. I regret that they must be taught what to do in schools or other places if some crazy person arrives with a gun and begins random shooting.

The climate of violence when I was growing up was in some ways the same. The difference was that the war was somewhere else. It had not come home to our cities and towns in the form of gun wielding terrorists It seems so tragic. What can we do? One thing seems clear. We need to see things differently in order to do better. We must start now by setting an example. Perhaps if we begin in small and simple ways we can make big changes happen.

We can begin by lighting candles of love and kindness wherever we are. Let us keep a vigil each hour of each day by shining our light into the darkness of ignorance and fear. Random acts of kindness are good, daily, simple acts of kindness are even better: holding the door for someone, smiling to a weary stranger, donating used items or goods to charity, helping a friend or neighbor. When the intention is made opportunities will manifest, and every candle we light helps dispel darkness and brightens the way for someone to see better.

Tasha Halpert