Merry Christmas!
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
The nativity wall hanging on the left is a treasure of mine. I found it in an antique store in 2008, in Trondheim, Norway. I noticed that needlepoint wall hangings like this were quite common in the homes of families I visited. Does anyone else go antiquing when they travel? I found this to be most rewarding. You learn so much about area culture and how people live.
So how is your Christmas celebration going?
Vince and I enjoyed a brief holiday in Spokane, Washington in early December. We spent a couple nights in a very nice hotel (The Oxford) and met up with two dear friends. We dined in the hotel's warm restaurant, swam in the pool, sat in the hot tub, walked through a nearby park, and area stores, drank coffee, and talked and talked. We had a wonderful time!
Spokane's scenery in general was a bit disappointing, not as festive as I had expected. Perhaps Dec 4th was too early for Christmas decorations, but we also noticed that the downtown and mall merchants had cut back a lot on Christmas decorations. Some chose not to decorate at all. I do not know whether it was an economic decision or simply because they had chosen not to acknowledge the holiday. I do not believe this is unique to Spokane, but a trend in other cities as well. Have you noticed the same? More and more people are buying gifts on line. Perhaps our local merchants are more stressed than we realize.
Could it be too that merchants are fed up with losing the true meaning of Christmas, the Christian celebration of Christ's birth? It really does not seem likely, not likely at all. Let's face it, the commercial takeover of Christmas happened a long time ago.
Still, and here is where the nostalgic side of me takes over and puts on rose-colored glasses, I sometimes yearn for those animated storefronts with all the working parts, the ones I remember from my youth growing up in Tacoma, Washington. I wish I had pictures. Perhaps you remember them too.....Santa's busy workshop, those sweet manger scenes, snowy mountain landscapes, etc., and Christmas music everywhere. From a child's perspective, it did not feel commercial at all, just magical.
So my goal became to capture some of the magic, and maybe I did after all. Take a look. What do you think?
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| A magical view from our room |
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| Riverfront Park: Structure in back is from Spokane's 1974 Expo. There is a nice IMAX theater now. |
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| Riverfront Park: on Spokane River. Historical clock tower on right. |
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| Riverfront Park: Clock Tower was first constructed in 1902 as part of the Great Northern Railroad depot. The rest of the depot was later torn down to make way for the 1974 Expo. The Clock Tower is still wound every week by hand. |
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Riverfront Park bridge on right
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| Riverfront Park Carousel |
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| Background not all that great, but good of Vince and me |
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Santa: "He's making a list, and checking it twice,
Gonna find out who's naughty or nice...." |
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| The Carolers: "Oh come all ye faithful...." |
Sharon M. Himsl
Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011.
Published with Evernight Teen:
~~The Shells of Mersing
