Celebrate!
December is, of course, the midwinter time (in the Northern Hemisphere) full of festivals of light. Christmas, Chanukah, Yule, Kwanzaa—this month gives us lots of opportunities for lighting candles and hanging lights, for presents and feasting and singing and celebrating. You can click on the links below for information, activities, ways to celebrate and more.
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We Honor… |
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| Dr. Charles Follen, a Unitarian minister who is credited with bringing the idea of the Christmas tree to the United States. A German-born professor at Harvard University, Follen wanted his young son and family to experience the magic of the glowing Christmas trees of his childhood. One year he surprised them with a fully decorated and lighted tree. The Follen family invited neighbors to gather round their indoor tree.
The event took place in December 1832. That is the date of a description by Harriet Martineau, an English Unitarian and journalist who was visiting Boston at the time. Follen went out into the woods near his home and cut down a small fir. The tree was set in a tub and its branches hung with small dolls, eggshells covered in gold paint, and paper cornucopias filled with candied fruit. The tree glowed with many candles.
Martineau describes the unveiling of the tree at the Follens' Christmas party: "It really looked beautiful; the room seemed in a blaze, and the ornaments were so well hung on that no accident happened, except that one doll's petticoat caught fire. There was a sponge tied to the end of a stick to put out any supernumerary blaze, and no harm ensued. I mounted the steps behind the tree to see the effect of opening the doors. It was delightful. The children poured in, but in a moment every voice was hushed. Their faces were upturned to the blaze, all eyes wide open, all lips parted, all steps arrested."
Harriet’s description caught the imaginations of those who read about the Christmas tree, and a New England tradition was born. Charles Follen later became a Unitarian minister and an outspoken opponent of slavery. The Follen Community Church in Lexington, Massachusetts, known to some as "The Christmas Tree Church," is named after its first minister, Charles Follen.
You can read more about Follen in more detail here. |
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Act!
The winter holidays are traditionally a time of reconnecting by sending holiday cards to friends and family. This year, how about sending out a little extra holiday cheer to someone who could use a lift? The American Red Cross has teamed up with Pitney Bowes to help people get holiday cards to American soldiers who are recovering from their battle injuries. You can send cards to:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
For more information, including what to send and what not to send, click here. |
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Nurturing Your Spirit
Winter holidays like Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa seem to involve a lot of candles and lights as part of the celebration. But in this time of long nights and short days, there’s nothing wrong with honoring the dark time. What time does it get dark where you live? Have you ever taken the time to really notice the details of darkness falling? Find a window where you can see the sky—if it looks toward the west you might even see the colors of a sunset. When it gets too dark to read, leave the lights off and just notice what you see around you. What colors does the sky go through as it goes to black? Are there changes in the sounds you hear? In Muslim tradition nightfall is defined as happening when you can’t tell a white thread from a black thread. How dark does it have to be before you can’t tell the difference? Try waiting and noticing very quietly. Light and energy and motion are all good things. But at this time of year when everything can be very rushed and busy, darkness and quiet and calm can be especially precious.
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Principles in Practice
Christmas seems like a very good time to remember our sixth UU principle: “The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.” You might want to sing the Christmas carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” as a Christmas prayer for peace. The words were written by the famous poet (and Unitarian) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow at the time of the American Civil War. You can find the words, the tune, and more information about how Longfellow came to write the poem that became the song here.
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