Light of the World

 

Covid is like Dr. Seuss' Grinch this year, putting the "bah humbug" in treasured family traditions. (Nothing like mixing a couple of Christmas metaphors, but when the situation fits ...)

Despite the pandemic, a Hutchinson neighborhood continued to offer Christmas cheer.

 

Last Saturday, December 19, was the 35th year for the luminaries in the Hyde Park area of Hutchinson. Annually, it's a one-night only holiday event, with an estimated 17,000 of the holiday luminaries lining the neighborhood from Main to Monroe between 18th to 23rd Avenues. 

Even though they've been offering this holiday event for 35 years - and we're only about 35 miles from it - we've never gone before. Usually, I'm frantically trying to make treats and wrap presents before family celebrations. But our family Christmas was a fortnight ago.

So this open-air celebration of Light seemed to be the perfect antidote to a "Blue Christmas" this year. 

Luminaries - or farolitos - are small paper lanterns, popular in Hispanic culture. They first gained popularity in the U.S. in New Mexico at Christmas time, especially on Christmas Eve. According to Wikipedia, the early versions were actually small bonfires of crisscrossed piñon branches which were built in three-foot high squares. Today, most luminaries are made from brown paper bags, weighted down with sand, and illuminated from within by a lit candle. I was surprised: I figured more would feature battery-powered candles, but all the ones I examined had real candles and flames.

 

Luminaries are typically arranged in rows to create large and elaborate displays. 

In the Hispanic culture, the hope is that the lights will guide the spirit of the Christ Child to one's home.

In recent times they are seen more as a secular decoration, akin to Christmas lights. Most years, the Hyde Park neighborhood has offered wagon rides, visits with Santa, carolers and other fun. But this year, with restrictions for social distancing because of Covid-19, the lights took center stage.

There was still plenty of beauty, and lots of people roamed the neighborhood on a mild winter's night.

The scene ranged from old mansions decked in festive lights to a more modern version featuring everybody's favorite elf, Buddy.

I think we could all use a little extra dose of Light this year. I know I can.

***

Just like most North Americans, I was outside to try and see the Christmas Star last night. My real camera died at the end of my time in Hutchinson Saturday night, but I never have any luck with moon and star shots anyway. On Snapshot Kansas last night, I saw some of the equipment a few real photographers were using to capture the scene, with cameras attached to telescopes. And even they weren't getting the image we've been associating with the Wise Men since we first saw the scene illustrated in our colorful children's Bibles.

My cell phone images were forgettable. Some headlights and a brake light on the Zenith Road provided a few more bursts of light. But we enjoyed our excursion and are glad we could experience something that hadn't happened since 1623.

Astronomers call it a great conjunction, with Saturn and Jupiter cozying up in the night sky. It's also been called the “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem” because of its brightness and proximity to Dec. 25. The conjunctions occur every 20 years, and this was the closest the planets had appeared since the Middle Ages, according to the NASA website. 

I'd begun my quest at sunset, and, as usual, Kansas skies did not disappoint.

Christmas will be different this year. 

 

But I still need to find the silver linings anywhere I can. After all, we are again celebrating the Light of the World. 

The darkness of the world can only be cured by the Light of the One who created it.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas - no matter what it looks like this year!

A Covid Christmas

Lemon Park lights in Pratt were just what the "doctor" ordered.

Covid-19 has taken some of the "Ho, ho, ho!" out of the holiday season. But visiting the Lemon Park lights was a pandemic-approved activity.

For nearly 30 years, Pratt's Lemon Park has been transformed during the holiday season. The festive display wasn't part of my growing-up years on a farm north of Pratt (because I'm old!). However, when our kids were in middle school and high school sports, we often took a sashay through Lemon Park after December ballgames at Skyline.

This year, there was no annual Christmas in the Park to kick off the Lemon Park holiday season because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, coordinator Deb Goyen told The Pratt Tribune that more than 450 cars went through the park the first evening it was open.

As we inched our way through Lemon Park one evening last week, there were plenty of cars - and even a motorized bicycle - taking in the one-mile circuit.  (We did our part to boost participation: I think we drove through the park three times and then got out and walked in several locations for a closer view of some of the displays.)

Lucy & Schroeder were added to the display this year with a donation by Larrison Mortuary. Seems apt this year!

My memories of the park as a child were as a stop on our family's Memorial Day tour. It was where we met my Grandma and Grandpa Leonard and her sister, Helen (and Mike), for a picnic before our annual cemetery tour. 

The Lemon Park Lights Christmas tradition started in 1992, with 15 to 20 lighted Christmas displays, all the result of a Deb Goyen-idea approved by Lemon Park’s George Lemon. Today, the park becomes home to more than 150 whimsical, colorful displays.

The early merchants and Pratt business-owners who believed in the concept of a free, drive-through public light display included Stanion Electric, The Peoples Bank, Emprise Bank, City of Pratt, Wal-Mart and employees, Dillons, Lemon family, Pilot Club, Pratt Regional Medical Center, Dillons employees, First National Bank, Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, Kiwanis, Trand, Inc. and the PHS Class of 1932, Deb told The Tribune.

Pratt is known for its "Hot" and "Cold" water powers, so this was a nod to that claim to fame.

In 2020, more than 200 sponsors and supporters continue to support the Lemon Park Lights tradition, a free experience for those who wish to make the drive to Lemon Park or walk the lighted sidewalks after dark for the full effect.

A donation box is provided for those who wish to contribute to electrical and maintenance costs, but all labor to replace and replenish bulbs and set up the displays each year is done by volunteers.

 

The Lemon Park Lights are on for all to enjoy, every evening at dusk, along with The Twelve Days of Christmas lights at Sixth Street Park, from now until January 3 in Pratt.

Several of the displays were added as memorials to Prattans. One of the new displays this year honors Deb's dad, Carter Barker. (He was my Sunday School teacher at Pratt First United Methodist Church, so he was pretty special to me, too.)

The new display is a  replica of Carter's old Studebaker truck. (I also noticed the purple lights on a nearby evergreen tree. I'm sure that was by design as well. Carter was a big K-State fan.)

They added a farm scene in 1995 to reflect Pratt and the surrounding area as an agricultural community. I loved the cowboy and the Santa on a tractor in that area. 

 

Randy's favorite display was the dragon (or Loch Ness Monster) in the water.

 Every time we made a circuit of the park, it seemed someone was stopped there, taking a photo, so I guess he wasn't alone in his choice.

One of my favorites this year was the Peace on Earth display, maybe because we so desperately need it.

Another of my favorites has a family connection, but I didn't realize it until later, when I started checking out some of the history of the displays via Lemon Park Lights' Facebook page.

A relative - the late Charlie Neelly from Mullinville - built the arches, which were installed in Lemon Park in 1995.

Volunteer Ron Miller added the candy to the first arch several years later, and then computerized the display, making it different every time you travel through the Candy Cane Lane.

My email devotional yesterday morning made me think about the symbolism of those colorful lights packed into Lemon Park and how they are a perfect representation of Advent, this time of waiting in the Christian year - maybe even more so during this pandemic.

The prayer said this:

God, Thank you for what is just around the corner. 

In a season filled with the longest, darkest nights, 

I await the coming of the most beautiful Light.

***

If you are within driving distance to Pratt, I recommend the Lemon Park Lights for your holiday season, too.  

Being the Light: Radiate the Glow

Taken at Evening Aglow at Stutzman's Greenhouse, Pleasantview, December 2, 2016

A Time to Act

Radiate the glow of Christmastime.

I opened the email devotional and read the words. I saved them for later, thinking I'd use the tidbit somehow with some Christmas light photos.

But several days later, as I read the words again, I thought maybe there was a deeper message there. I don't think the devotional is talking about the "glow" I get as I stand over the stove making even more Christmas treats.

Honestly, as the days get closer to Christmas, I'm probably not "glowing" ... unless it's a little sweat or (I hate to admit it) from that little dose of bad temper. I have a hard time meeting expectations, especially my own.

Do I have the right number of gifts? Does everyone get their favorite Christmas treat? Have I given enough to the plethora of good causes? For someone who already struggles with perfectionism, Christmas is the ultimate stressor.

Instead of celebrating hope, joy, love and peace, too often I'm frazzled. So, maybe I ought to take a little time to enjoy the Light - the true light.
One of my first stops for the day is turning on the Christmas lights in the living room. After my devotional time, I take off my glasses and sit there a few minutes. My nearsightedness comes in handy at that time: There's a fantasy quality to those blurred lights.

From the archives when the tree actually was "pre-lit" and uniform!

But my other "nearsightedness" is not so attractive. Sometimes, in my focus on getting things done, I let the pressure build up to boiling. Nobody wants to be "near" me then.

This was the devotional in its entirety:

Glory to God in the highest, 

and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14

A Time to Think

May peace be your gift at Christmas
and your blessing all year through!
–Author Unknown

A Time to Act

Radiate the glow of Christmastime.

A Time to Pray

Lord, help me to find the place where You can use me best.

Hmmmm ... good will toward men. That doesn't sound like a short temper or an exasperated sigh, does it?

Sometimes, the peace may mean coming to a stop. It's usually worth it, like the other night on the way to Hutchinson. Sometimes, the prettiest Christmas lights of all are au naturel. 

Watching a sunset is a natural lesson in not letting moments pass you by. The sky changes - practically in 30-second intervals as more light leaches from the horizon.

We were on our way to watch a magic show in Hutchinson. I didn't really think I had time. But I knew Randy wanted to go, so we did.

The Fox Theatre seemed all dressed for Christmas, but it didn't have to do anything other than celebrate its natural beauty. I think there's a lesson there, too!

Our kids arrive tonight for our little family celebration tomorrow. Soon, the packages will be unwrapped. The treats will be consumed. It likely won't be perfect. But may I radiate God's love rather than my perfect agenda. Then it truly will be tidings of great joy and peace on earth, good will toward men.

Christmas Spirit: The Lights of Botanica

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars

and open a jar of it every month.

--Harlan Miller, author

(From my email devotional from Guideposts.)

Every year for the past several years, we'd say we were going to Botanica: The Wichita Gardens to see their Christmas display. This year, we actually did it!

It was worth the wait.

 

I love going to Botanica during the growing season. (See my posts here and here.)

 

But seeing Botanica dressed in holiday finery was spectacular, too ... just in a different way.

There are more than a million lights. That's a lot of lights for anybody, but especially for a farm couple who puts up a couple of red and green spotlights to give their farmhouse some holiday cheer. (In our defense, not many people drive by on our county line road!)

 

We were in Wichita so Randy could attend a co-op board of directors training the next day. It was a perfect night. It was chilly enough to make it feel like the holidays, but not so cold that we wanted to rush through the experience.

Just in case we needed a little taste of home, there was a windmill. All dressed in red, it was just a little bit fancier than our farm ones!

Jill wants to meet us there next year, and I'm ready. I would love to see the lights through the eyes of two little girls.

This big girl was mighty impressed!

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,

 and behold, everything is softer

 and more beautiful. 

~Norman Vincent Peale

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;
It makes no noise at all,
But softly gives itself away.
~Eva Logue