Merry Christmas to All

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December, it seems, is sort of the Jerusalem of the calendar. Everybody lays claim to it, nobody wants to acknowledge the claims of others to it. We could share it. It's a long month. But it seems we'd prefer to fight over it. Don't believe me? Meet someone for the first time and say "Happy Holidays" just to cover all your bases.

I wasn't sure how to go about choosing a photo for this post. Do I go for a "purist" approach, leaving out all but the Christian aspects of the holiday? Or just brave the wrath of the Pagans and Jehovah Witnesses (and possibly some other Christian denominations, but I know for sure about that one) and go for the "traditional" (read "Norman Rockwell") approach?

And then, just last night, while Tonka and I were prowling the city looking for night shots, I spotted this house not more than a mile or so from my own. I don't know who lives here, probably won't ever know because I only remember the general location and not the specific street. And originally I just took the shot because it was there, and it was one of the less over-the-top displays we saw. Or so I thought at the time.

Truth is, there's something welcoming about this image. Maybe it's the porch lights or the windowed front door. Maybe it's something else that I haven't figured out yet. But in clicking through the images from this expedition, this one asserted itself as the one to use for this post. Because it's about welcoming, sheltering, bringing people together. And isn't that the point? That's been my point in doing this series. To hopefully make all who visit here welcome.

This time of year you get to hear a lot about what people believe, about what the season means to them. For me, it's not so much what you believe. It's that you believe. Whether that belief is like mine or not. So to all who celebrate Christmas (whatever way or time of the year you do it), I hope this one finds you in peace and good health.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

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