The odds of us having a white Christmas this year are slim. On the
upside, we aren’t having a blizzard either. We are so used to having at least a
dusting of snow that our hopes for happiness seem to be dashed pending the
weather forecast. Silly us!
The traditional New England Christmas with church spires peeking
through the pine trees, tracks and footprints in the snow, boughs of holly and
mistletoe, red bows on wreaths and carolers singing on the town common are
embedded in our minds and hearts. It’s a delightful vision depicted on
Christmas cards since their invention. We are blessed to be here as a part of
its living history.
I like to think that Mother Nature is being kind to us right now
as we finish our hustle bustle week before Christmas. Some places are up to
their eyeballs in snow already. We have escaped the slip-sliding of icy roads
and messy sidewalks. Today was so kind, we didn’t have to button out coats! It
was even pleasant to be walking the dog. I’ll take it.
For the Christmas that’s memorable is the Christmas that lives in
our hearts whether from old or the one in the making. The unforgettable
laughter from our youth of snow over our heads with the hope of snow days
extending out Christmas vacation will linger. The years of us lacking snow will
be remembered as us peering out the windows in hope of the weatherman’s
forecast being wrong. Both circumstances filled with the highest of hopes. Both
situations had success in the holiday just the same. Should a Christmas lack
only snow… with unused sleds, toboggans, ice skates and want for a snowman…then
we surely had January and February to deliver the finishing touches. A white
winter prevailed after all for we have yet to have a winter with no snow!
I do remember one non-white Christmas in particular not that many
years ago. My Mom and I received a last minute invitation to see the Broadway
show, White Christmas, on Christmas
Eve. (Thank you, Linda…SMF) The air was bitter cold, but our hearts were filled
with warmth. The lights of Boston and the theater district were glorious. It
was one of the most uplifting holiday moments I can recall. The entire theater
was buzzing with the excitement of Christmas. The audience sang and
participated in unison with each and every song. Who knew that all those years in front of our
television sets, with and without rabbit ears, would bring together generations
of strangers made friends in that one evening. People parted that night still
singing en route to the parking garage. It turned out to be a white Christmas
after all even without the snow. Lovely!
I can’t think of anything that memorializes the ideal of snow in
New England more the movie and show “White
Christmas”. This in turn brings me to the songs ‘Snow’ and ‘I’m Dreaming of a
White Christmas’. In case you don’t get to see the movie this year, (I
taped it on my DVR…it’s on my ‘to do’ list) then I hope you enjoy the two chosen
songs from You Tube.
May all your Christmases be white.
Cathy
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