Alan Jackson's song Let it be Christmas fills my soul with Christmas.
My favorite lyrics of the song are:
Feel the love of the season wherever you are
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
In the songs that we sing and the gifts that we bring
In what this day means and what we believe
And let it be Christmas
Christmas everywhere
As the lyrics resonate in my heart, I feel the true meaning of Christmas. To me, Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ through ACTION. Celebrating by singing, rejoicing, giving, loving, and showing those we care about how glad we are that they are in our lives. Christmas is also about loving those we do not know, those who are struggling, and those we are angry towards. Christmas is about finding hope, joy, and peace.
These feelings and the atmosphere surrounding the true meaning of Christmas are present at the farm. The Christmas Festival is magical. It is a holiday wonderland filled with a traditional, old-fashioned Christmas theme. Between the greenery, real Christmas trees, traditional décor, giant candy canes, snowmen, gifts, and farm-to-table Christmas food, the farm gives a feeling of nostalgic, whimsical delight. It is truly exciting to see Christmas at the farm.
As guests delight in the magic of the season, it is so special to see our visitors enjoy the small, simple, quiet moments and the big tradition-making moments. Whether it be enjoying a coal cookie, visiting Pedro in the live nativity scene, seeing Christmas displays and decorations, singing along with Dickens Carolers, watching the Christmas circus show, visiting Santa Claus, or enjoying 80 acres of farm-inspired fun, the holiday season is upon us.
One of my family's favorite Christmas traditions is picking out our perfect Christmas tree. For as long as I can remember, we have had a live Christmas tree. A tree picked out by the entire family and then decorated as we reminisce about memories held by each ornament. This tradition is one that I have carried on in my home.
It is so fitting that the centerpiece of our homes during Christmas is a tree. In several cultures, evergreens are brought inside during the winter because they stay green all year long. To many, their greenery holds a special meaning during dark, cold times of the year. Ancient Egyptians decorated their homes and temples with evergreen wreaths and trees to celebrate life, peace, and luxury during the solstice. They believed that the evergreens helped their sun god, Ra, recover from winter's illness to grow stronger and brighter.
Pagans would decorate their homes with evergreen branches during the winter to help remind them of spring during the short, dark days. The Romans knew that the solstice meant their farms and orchards would be fruitful again soon, so they marked the occasion with evergreen. And in Northern Europe, priests of the Celts would decorate their druid temples with evergreens to symbolize their everlasting life with God. Druids also hung sprigs over their doorways and windows (or mistletoes) to keep evil spirits and disease away during the winter.
Today, I love that families can connect back to our world’s history and the farmers of today as they pick their perfect live Christmas tree and fill their home with its heavenly smell. A tradition that goes back thousands of years.
Another one of my favorite Christmas traditions is brought by love. One of our long-time team members and his wife make us tamales each Christmas. This is truly a labor of love as they make the masa and filling all by scratch. Their kindness and love are a highlight to our Christmas. Their love lasts through the year (even though the tamales only last a few days), and the side effects of their actions make our holiday even more magical!
I love Christmas. A time when hope, joy, and peace are not just sought after but are common. The compassion, kindness, family traditions, heavenly music, and magic found during Christmas make the world a better place. Here is to Alan Jackson and to the song that puts words to all my feelings about Christmas. "Let there be love that lasts through the year", "let anger and fear and hate disappear", "the story of hope and joy and peace", "let every heart sing let every be" ring", "let heavenly music fill the air", "in the songs that we sing and the gifts that we bring", "in what this day means and what we believe", "let it be Christmas".
To close this blog I have to quote our 2021 Christmas shirt "In a world full of Grinches be a Griswold at Mortimer Farms".
