#5 - Christmas Memories - The Twelve Photos of Christmas Past

Snow at Christmas

Snow at Kanaka Creek, Josh and Leanne, someone sledding.

What is it about snow that makes Christmas seem more Christmassy?  Being Canadian, I can tell you that it is because most of us have grown up celebrating our most festive holiday with at least several inches of it covering the neighbourhood yards and roads.  We closely associate snow with the time of year that Santa brings the goodies, after all, he comes in a ski-equipped sleigh, not a wagon complete with wooden-spoke wheels.  

Children are the ones that enjoy Christmas the most.  The time off school allows them to toboggan down slopes, build snow forts, and skate outdoors.  All that snow has to be cleared from sidewalks and driveways - it is a right of passage to be able to take care of that - not to mention an opportunity to earn a few bucks.  And then there is the beauty and eerie silence of an early morning snowfall that turns an otherwise dull landscape into something truly beautiful.

Donning winter clothing to challenge the elements, all of us are used to cladding ourselves with layers of protective apparel.  Then, when we arrive indoors to our destinations, whether it be a store, a friend's, or back home, we shed it all and find some dry nook to keep it for the next outing.  There is something about toting a winter jacket and scarf, with pockets stuffed with gloves, through a mall while on the lookout for Christmas gifts.  We have all done it, and we can thank snow for sentiments such as these that are markers of the season.

We spent one Christmas in Disneyland where snow was a hard commodity to find.  The photo below is three of us (I was taking the picture), posing on Santa's sleigh, surrounded by what appears to be snow.  Leanne's bare arms and legs are a testament to the fact that the white stuff was artificial.  It wasn't quite the same, but at least we were all together.

That is perhaps the most poignant aspect of Christmas, snow present or not.  It is being together with loved ones that really brings meaning to the holidays.  Snow is, however, a nice touch.

Kathryn, Josh, and Leanne at Disneyland, about 20 years ago.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I found a black widow spider in a plant pot today

Image
The spider I found is a western black widow spider, one of three species of black widow that occur in North America.  The fact that this one has another red patch on the back of its abdomen above the spinnerettes tells us that it is an immature individual. The one thing that people know about black widow spiders is that they are extremely poisonous.  Their venom is something like 15x more toxic than that of a rattlesnake.  The saving grace is that there is very little venom injected from a black widow bite than what a rattlesnake can deliver.   The good news is that black widow bites seldom lead to death.  You are more likely to suffer nausea, muscle pain, and swelling around the bite.  Symptoms usually last only 12 hours or so.  Death may be a result in people with compromised immune systems or in the very young or the elderly.   In 2018, it was reported that there were 1015 cases of people bitten by black widows.  Of those, there ...
Read more

The passing of a generation

Image
Kathryn's mom and dad with our children, Josh and Leanne. A generation, for North America, tends to be between 20 and 30 years.  During that time a couple will give birth and raise children to see them repeat the pattern as they themselves have done.  Each generation has its own set of standards, values, and ideals based upon their experiences and culture, and some of that is passed down to their offspring.  What changes are the life experiences of the following generation and the new customs and ideals that are blended together as a couple becomes a family. Kathryn's mom passed away a few days ago, she was predeceased by her husband several years ago.  Both of them were the grandparents of my children, the mother and father of my wife, Kathryn.  It was my pleasure to know them and to love them as my own, for to me they were Mom and Dad.  And they were there to welcome my children into the world just as my children were with them in spirit when they left it...
Read more

Hang in there, things will get better.

Image
The Svendsen Family - Eric, Samuel, Leanne, Joshua (top row), Nora, Kathryn, Chanelle, Emma If I could go back, in my mind, to a day in my life when I was really down, it would be nice to be able to see into the future.  If could see things as they are today, with the many blessings that have been given to me, it would give me hope knowing that things wouldn't always be so discouraging.   The message here is we do not know what the future holds.  When things are bad, it is hard to raise your head out of the mire to see beyond the darkness.  There are no guarantees, of course, that things will be better, but I think it is true that fortunes ebb and flow as tides do.  The trick is to see beyond the low points and not be too haughty during the high ones.  I know that, at this moment, things are very good.  What the future holds is unknown, but low and high points are likely in the forecast.   This is why taking satisfaction from the moment ...
Read more