Christmas in the Square

Header Challenge: Christmas in the Square

December 12, 2012

Lew provided this week's theme for the Headbangers.  This was tricky for me, and I'm eager to see how my pals did.  Generally speaking, I like the idea of a town square, but don't have a real-life reference that matches what I have imagined from stories I've read. Please see the posts submitted by my friends Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac, Sandy and Lew.

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Last year, two friends took my wife and me downtown to see a play and check out the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza, which is the closest Chicago has to a proper town square.  From the back seat of their minivan, I set the camera on my lap and snapped up this silhouette "street photographer style" as we drove through the decorated streets.

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Clockwise from the upper left: Puppet theater on a bicycle (which I found to be strange and annoying), the famous Picasso sculpture, a clock at Macy's (it used to be Marshall Field's), and the Eternal Flame war memorial flanked by pigeon sentries.

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The plaza at the Daley center was jam packed with masses of visitors and densely constructed shops selling food and knick-knacks German artisans.  But somehow, they made room for a large, life-size manger scene.  Why is there a Cuitlaxochitl in front of the lambs?  Don't eat that.

This header was carefully selected, not for any artistic merit per se, but because of the trolley's seductive blank side panel, which I shamelessly exploited for flagrant self promotion.

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The shops on Main Street in Galena had live Christmas displays in their windows.  I like the idea, especially if their people have fun with it.

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of crèches and Christmas

Every time I see a crèche, I have to fight the urge to make corrections. This particular manger scene is set up in downtown Chicago. For example, the angel did not appear at the manger, and the magi went to Joseph and Mary's house later; it could have been up to two years later. And the fact that there were three gifts does not automatically mean that there were three wise men.

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Here's a random thought: Pa-rumm-pa-pumm-pumm... Do you think there is a snowball's chance Mary would have tolerated a DRUMMER boy anywhere near her precious baby? I think not.

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The baby in this manger scene is chained down and believe it or not, they have installed a GPS device inside it as well. It seems that some people like to go around stealing baby Jesus. How bizarre. Personally, I would rather that people did not display a baby Jesus, because some folks "venerate" those things, and that is a clear violation of the Second Commandment.

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Sometimes Christmas seems more complicated than it needs to be. Certainly more complicated than I wish it was. There might be tensions with some individuals that you are forced to deal with. Maybe there is the pain from the loss of a loved one. Then, there might be a mountain of details about schedules, budgets and logistics.

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My wish for you is that you receive the grace to go through whatever complications come your way. And that you enjoy and appreciate the simplicity of the main event. The triune God was perfectly content, enjoying the fellowship of each person of the Godhead for eternity past. Yet, at the right time, God chose to send his son and Jesus left the glory of heaven to join his divine nature to a human one... truly God and truly man. To live a perfect and sinless life, and sacrifice himself to atone for those he has called to himself. After conquering death, he sent the third person of the trinity to indwell the faithful. That is a marvelous gift! Let us not lose sight of that this Christmas, proclaiming it again to ourselves, as well as to others.

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Camels INSIDE the stable??? Man, that's gotta stink! How big were these stables, anyway? Hmmm... Hey, if I don't get to talk to you before then, Merry Christmas!