Skipping Christmas vs. Miracle on 34th Street

Well, not really. But we did opt for something completely different: The first White Christmas in Central Park since 2002. Ok, I admit when we planned this, we didn’t exactly KNOW that the biggest snow storm in 10 years was going to hit New York right before Christmas. But we did know that going to New York for the Holidays meant we were in for something utterly and completely different – and something VERY crazy.

But then, as you know, so are the two of us!

Yes, we saw the Tree at the Rockefeller Center (Annegret still insists that the Village Tree where she grew up is DEFINITELY bigger), we saw Macy’s, the Christmas Market at Grand Central Station, and all the other Christmas decorations and craziness. But I think next to the Midnight Service in St. Paul’s Chapel my “Christmas Moment” was on Christmas morning when we decided to go ice skating in Central Park. We went to the small rink near Harlem Meer – and for the first hour there were only two or three other people on the ice next to us and so we whizzed around in circles in time to the music, twirled, glided and enjoyed being out there.

For some reason, there was something very Christmassy about it. Much more Christmassy than a city full of lights blaring at you, signs flashing in your face, crowds crushing you from all side and being bombarded from all sides with people and things vying for your attention.

This was something very quiet and peaceful. Smack in the middle of the city a little island without noise, without distraction, without crowds, shops, lights. I’ve frequently thought that the song “Silent Night, Holy Night” kind of misses the point of what was really going on that night. A stall certainly isn’t a quiet place. A birth certainly isn’t a quiet event, either. A crowd of angels sounds pretty loud to me (even if it was a sweet sound). And I don’t really picture a bunch of dirty, smelly shepherds piling into a small stall as a very peaceful, holy thing either.

And yet, the Bible also tells us that Mary took everything in and pondered. She took time to take in the reality of what was happening and didn’t let those moments just pass her by. She gave it thought.  Contemplated – took the time to figure out the meaning and find a moment of peace and quiet to grasp the awesomeness of what was going on here.

I have always been a Christmas-person. I love this time of year that seems to have an extra portion of joyfulness, laughter, fun, songs, family and friends… And even though I never believed in Santa Claus I have always loved Christmas movies. The good ones, of course.

I’ve thought about why I like watching them, what it is that captures my attention and gives me that happy-feeling when they’re over. I think it’s the part that in the end, you have to believe in order to see. The fact that hopes prevails. Love wins. Having a little faith is worth it in the end. That whoever the “scrooge” of that movie is learns that there are things that go beyond what we can see. That there is something out there that is bigger than us.

I love celebrating the reality of Christmas. The gist of it: “Emmanuel” – God with us. Not just on Christmas, in real life, too. And for some reason twirling around on the ice to some of my favorite Christmas Songs brought just that to me. The comfort of knowing that God isn’t just out there – he’s here. To me, Christmas still is about celebrating that God stepped down into the craziness that is life.

I guess, sometimes believing IS seeing.