Holiday Hope

During the holiday season, there is always at least once when one becomes somewhat reflective and “harks back” to times past and gone.  Sometimes that look back involves family gatherings.  Sometimes it is a trip to a special place.  Sometimes, it is something having to do with the celebration of Christmas itself…participation in a Christmas church drama, the appearance of Santa, or some other memory.

And for some, memories are not always pleasant.  This time of the year tends to cause more stress and strain on families and relationships than other times.  Financial strains are also apparent.  Abuse and suicides seem to increase during this time.  Memories of the holidays are many and varied.

I was laying in bed this morning, not wanting to get up, and my mind wandered a bit to Christmases of times gone in my hometown.  On the radio (I still use an old-fashioned clock radio to wake), they were talking about the fact that years ago, people didn’t decorate much outside with lights.  Oh, there would be a few here and there, but not many.

However, once in a while, someone in a community would go “all-out” and decorate pretty much everything in sight.  And people would flock to see the spectacle.

I recalled one such place for me in my young years.  A man by the name of Johnny Hamilton and his wife (I believe her name was Mary), were an older couple.  They lived in an older home on a relatively large lot in the north part of town.  Their lot was surrounded by an evergreen hedge which Johnny kept trimmed.  And every Christmas, this hedge would be covered, it seemed, with the colored lights of the season.

I can’t remember if he had other things on his place decorated or not.  I only remember the evergreen hedge all lit up.  And we’d pile into the ’54 Ford or the ’56 Thunderbird Wagon and drive by just to see Johnny’s handiwork along with a lot of other folks in the community.

I don’t know how long Johnny decorated his hedge.  If I am correct, he passed away in the early 1970’s.  He may have done it until his passing, or he may not have been able to do it for several years prior.

Whatever the case, the memory of that is burned into my mind, and I’ve thought of that time often in the intervening years.  I don’t know if Johnny knew the influence he would have on my recollections of Christmas and the recollections of others as well.  I don’t know if he decorated his hedge primarily for himself or if he did it for his family or the community at large.  But it was a large undertaking in those days…strings of lights were no more than about 12 to a string, and most of them were the kind that if one goes out, they all go dark.  I don’t know how many hours he spent putting them out and gathering them back in, but it had to be considerable.

So, whatever it is that you do now for the holidays, know that in the mind of someone, that something is being etched into the long-term memory banks, and will be recalled perhaps many years after you’re long gone from the earth.  Just as I recall my first taste of eggnog, which happened during the holiday season, so I recall the lights of Johnny Hamilton and a hundred other memories of long ago.

I don’t long for those days to return, but I do long for the hope of someone fondly recalling something we did over the holidays that comes back year after year in a pleasant memory and a time of peace and joy.

Merry Christmas!