2 minute read
The Light of Christmas
Generally, it hits in November. Sometimes, it is a bit sooner, when the cold and shortening of days make us painfully count each second walking in the streets. Sometimes, a bit later, when the frenzy of Christmas is all you hear about wherever you go. But one thing is for sure—when December shows up, cities in France have on their sparkling coat. Just when all hope to see the sun seems lost, and shades of winter’s gray dye our days, the light starts shining. Wandering through what are most of the time only mundane alleys becomes an excitement for everyone when all the Christmas decorations invade town. Toddlers and elders stop their race against the clock to marvel at the new glow of their city. Magnificent lights cover our buildings and guide us during the oh-so-long nights. Whether it is a brilliant Christmas tree or a sheet of stars on top of our heads, these lights shine through the darkness as a symbol of what Christmas is about: the coming of a light pushing the darkness away; the coming of a light transforming our lens when looked at and through it—bad to good, mundane to glorious, hopeless to full of life; the coming of a light telling us that, even though winter remains, we don’t have to go through it in the dark.
