If we didn't have Christmas we'd have to invent it.
For some reason this year I seem even more aware of the pressing shadows of shortening days. Darkness, like a vice, squeezes in on my day making it shorter and shorter. And the light from the sun in its southern journey is muted and lazy, as if the sunbeams when they finally get to us are too tired to really shine. This season makes the raw light from a fire or a candle all the more welcomed.
Biblical archeologists mostly agree that Jesus was probably not born in December but sometime in the spring, but never mind that. Christmas is not about historical accuracy, it's about our need for light in the dark times.
Light is no longer the precious commodity that it once was. We no longer have to work for light. In fact, we have to work hard to get away from sources of light.
Last month the Confirmation Class and I went to Clearwater Forest for a retreat and our first night there we took a night hike. I took along one flashlight but I told them we weren't going to use it unless it was absolutely needed.
"How will we see?" they asked.
"Your eyes will adjust. Work on your night vision."
We were amazed at how much we could see. The night sky is not black but a cacophony of colors. The stars were so bright that when we looked away from the night sky our eyes still burned with their images. When we returned from our night sojourn the light seemed doubly bright.
In Advent we are reminded that we walk in darkness. In Christmas we celebrate a light that shines in the darkness, a light that illumines our way. Those who have walked in darkness will appreciate it even more. Those who are inundated with artificial light may not even recognize its coming.
Blessings to you on your Advent and Christmas journey.