Traditions

Warning this post contains Jesus talk

Growing up my family had several Christmas traditions . We would kick off the Holiday Season by walking down Christmas Tree Lane which is a Fresno tradition, this would be followed by decorating a Christmas tree and going to my Grandma's to bake cookies and my Great Aunts yummy fudge.

Now that i am an adult and living far from home it is hard to keep some of those traditions alive. When we have been bale to make it back to Fresno Christmas Tree Lane has been to crowed or to late, and this year we are not heading home at all.

I think apart of the fun of growing up is starting your traditions. Since we have been living in Southern California we have been trying to do just that.

For the last three years we have gone to Disneyland for my work holiday party, we always watch the fireworks and get hot chocolate and try to find all of the Christmas decorations.

The giant tree at the Grand

This year we added on the tradition of seeing the Candlelight Processional, which was so beautiful and will become a family favorite for as long as we live here.

Candlelight has been happening at Disneyland since the 1950's, Walt Disney would invite local choirs to sing Christmas Carols and invite someone to read the Christmas story from the Bible. It was his way of inviting the spirit of Christmas into the park and also a way to say "Thank You" to all of the people who made Disneyland possible. This year Candlelight was expanded from two nights to twenty and I knew we just had to be there.

It was so touching to hear the massive 400 person choir process down Main Street U.S.A. singing Christmas hymns, then they joined the Orchestra and trumpeters to create a beautiful picture , which was completed by the reading of the Christmas story by Molly Ringwald, who was the celebrity guest tonight. It was defiantly worth the two hours I waited in line.

Towards the end of the program the reader, talks about how Jesus Christ was born to a poor family  never went to college, or held a political office, he never traveled to a big city or even farther then 200 miles from the place that he was born. He was hung on a cross between two thieves and his captors gambled for his clothes. But yet, this man who to the world seemed so ordinary was anything but. This child who was born on that Christmas day has inspired so many. And no army, navy, or politician has ever been able to touch anyone the way that the Savior of mankind has.

These words made me think of a few things, for one I was so surprised that in our ever growing secular world I was hearing these words in a public place, and secondly because these words were true. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not you have to admit that Jesus was a pretty good guy, he taught that we should love one another, not judge each other, and do unto others as they would to you and that is just the readers digest version.

It was a great delight to stand with hundreds of others as the Hallelujah chorus was played to honor that little baby who was born to save us all.