Twas The Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve is finally here.  Peggy and Ed headed over to Our Lady Of Lourdes for the Christmas Eve mass.  The kindergarten through 5th grade students put on their annual reenactment of the Christmas story from St. Luke during the gospel reading.  This year's production featured live goats (in lieu of sheep).  Wisely, the goats were carried into the church by adults and turned over to the child shepards once everyone is in position at the altar.  Plus, this year, Baby Jesus was carried in by an adult Mary so everyone breathed easier.  Peggy whispered to Ed that it reminded her of when Ida was very little (2 or 3) at Christmas mass and kept yelling, "Where is baby Jesus? I want to see baby Jesus!"

Peggy enjoyed memories of Christmases past and Heidkamp family traditions.  One annual ritual was cutting down the tree and then bringing it home to decorate.  Unfortunately, one year George spilled gasoline all over the tree and had to replace it with another one which he purchased at a local orphanage selling very skimpy trees.  Then there was the annual ritual requiring each Heidkamp child to stand in front of the tree and sing a Christmas carol.  Alice had to reprimand Moon several times for singing "We three kings of Orient are, trying to smoke a russian cigar..."  Finally, taking down the tree was always an uncertain event.  There were years where the tree was redecorated with hearts (Valentine's Day), Shamrocks (St. Patricks Day), and even once Easter Eggs.  Chicago weather being what it is also meant the outdoor lights remained up for months past the Feast of the Epiphany.

We have celebrated Christmas in Chicago, Green Bay, Eagle River, Palm Springs, Santa Rosa, Pensacola, New York, London, Hattiesburg and other places.   One of the best of the more recent ones was George's 70th birthday which we celebrated in Mississippi.  Harold Parker reading A Cajun Night Before Christmas and the Big Lebowkski Bowling Tourney were just a few of the highlights of that event.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas, remember the message from that first Christmas, according to St. Luke:

And there were in the same country shepherds watching, 

and keeping the night watches over their flock.

And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear. 

And the angel said to them: 

Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people:

For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.

And this shall be a sign unto you. 

You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, 

praising God, and saying:

Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.