Let the Magic Take Root by Susan Meeker-Lowry
Friday, December 4th 2009 @ 12:14 PM (not yet rated)
This week I put up our Christmas tree. I found a “natural” tree at a local farm stand (they call them Charlie Brown trees), one that hadn’t been groomed and trimmed to within an inch of its life to resemble a perfect triangle. I much prefer a tree that looks like it actually grew in the woods with places for long ornaments to hang unimpeded, and with empty spaces in the branches to nestle larger ornaments and the bird’s nest I found several years ago. These perfect “imperfect” trees remind me of the Christmas trees of my childhood that my father would bring home from the woods, perhaps one he’d had his eyes on since fall.
It may not be ecologically correct to have a real tree for Christmas, but I do live in Maine and (at this point anyway) there is no shortage of small evergreens. Picking out the tree, putting it in the stand, and then bringing in the boxes of ornaments collected throughout the years is something I enjoy and greatly anticipate as fall turns to winter. (Which hasn’t happened yet - it was 60 degrees yesterday, but that’s another story). Some of the ornaments are older than I am. There are two ancient blown glass tea pots that were my mother’s when she was a girl and they are always the first ornaments to hang, right at the top where they should be safe. Each ornament has a story. Some from my grandmother. Others given to my sons by their grandmother when they were babies. Homemade ornaments from when the boys were in grammar school and made clay ornaments as a school project. Some I found in my travels including a small, delicately painted bell from Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. Then there are the cats and various witches and a handmade sun symbolizing the Solstice. I love them all and take my time to find the perfect place.
I was raised a Catholic and growing up Christmas was celebrated as the birth of Jesus as well as a time of family, parties, and (of course) gift giving and Santa Claus. By the time I had children of my own, however, Christmas had become more of a celebration of the Solstice, the tree symbolizing the continuation of life in the midst of the dark and cold, the lights on the tree providing comfort in the dark time of the year. There were still gifts and family and parties, and I often went overboard on gifts for the kids, which I can see now, looking back, was probably a mistake. I also felt guilty for letting go of the religious aspects that had been part of my own upbringing. These days I’m more moderate and realistic in my gifting and the guilt is long gone. What I’m left with is the freedom to celebrate with a mix of my childhood Christmas and Pagan Solstice traditions. And finally I’m at peace with it. One of my favorite things is to sit at night with just the tree lights on. I am often flooded with memories. Like the year my father took a deer hoof (he was a hunter) and made deer tracks in the snow outside on Christmas Eve. The next morning he excitedly called me outside, “Susan, come look! Reindeer tracks!” And I ran out to see, thrilled.
Things seemed so much simpler then. Today it’s all about buying stuff. If one were to believe the media, the only purpose of Christmas (or of human beings for that matter) is to consume expensive crap to keep the economy afloat. From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, to the “countdown” of however many shopping days are left, it’s all about the money.
I have to wonder, however, about the spiritual aspects of this time of year, and about our animal natures. Since Samhain we have been moving into the darkness, the days getting shorter until after the Solstice when gradually the light returns. This is a spiritual journey we undertake each year as much as a physical one. We ignore this reality at our own peril. Just as nature rests during the cold of winter, so we also need the dark times to go inside ourselves, to allow the seeds of new ideas and plans the space to plump up and germinate so they can take root and bear fruit in the long days of the year. It’s a metaphor, yes, but also a reality. While celebrating is a good thing, being frantic about it, overextending ourselves whether physically, spiritually, or financially is not. It is not our purpose to keep the economy afloat. We are NOT consumers, we are human beings and our purpose is to know ourselves, find our gifts, share them with others, and see where it all takes us.
However you celebrate this time of year, or even if you don’t, honor the season by allowing the darkness in, give it some space in your heart and soul to simply be. Breathe it in and let it go. And in the space between let the magic take root.
