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| Even the statues are Christmas-y (in Piazza Galvani) |
I loved this past weekend. It was full of Christmas-y things and my two favorite people in the world. Tonight we attended a concert/sing-a-long that one of the SAIS-ers was in. It was in a beautiful Anglican Church on a corner just down the street from our house. Though the choir was small, it was full of beautiful voices. I loved singing Christmas Carols in the large echo-y church. It gave a sort of angelic sound to our voices as they bounced and blended in the domed ceilings above our heads. I felt the Spirit, what was called, "that clenching feeling that wraps around every atom in your body and electrifies it with joy," as we sang together.
Mike commented later that maybe it's that feeling—that spiritual, joyful, praising, otherly feeling—that people associate with Christmas that makes it so magical. Maybe it's the whisperings of the Spirit tugging on their souls and saying, "Isn't life worth living? Isn't humanity beautiful? Isn't it wonderful that we have a Savior?" Maybe getting caught up in "Spirit of Christmas" is really just putting ourselves in places where the Holy Spirit can communicate to our own spirits more easily. Places like a church, with hundreds of community members, speaking dozens of languages, but all singing about a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes over 2000 years ago. Or in the Piazza Maggiore where carolers remind us of the tidings brought by angels. Or in our homes where we take a little more time to focus on someone besides ourselves.
People talk about wishing the Spirit of Christmas could last all year. I believe it can.
Mike commented later that maybe it's that feeling—that spiritual, joyful, praising, otherly feeling—that people associate with Christmas that makes it so magical. Maybe it's the whisperings of the Spirit tugging on their souls and saying, "Isn't life worth living? Isn't humanity beautiful? Isn't it wonderful that we have a Savior?" Maybe getting caught up in "Spirit of Christmas" is really just putting ourselves in places where the Holy Spirit can communicate to our own spirits more easily. Places like a church, with hundreds of community members, speaking dozens of languages, but all singing about a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes over 2000 years ago. Or in the Piazza Maggiore where carolers remind us of the tidings brought by angels. Or in our homes where we take a little more time to focus on someone besides ourselves.
People talk about wishing the Spirit of Christmas could last all year. I believe it can.
Advent Calender Day 18: Caroling by Candlelight (a concert/sing-a-long at a nearby Anglican Church)
Christmas Song: Here We Come a Wassailing by Kate Rugsby
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