The Very First Christmas

It just isn't Christmastime without the perfect bedtime story to send the kiddos flouncing off to bed in eager anticipation of the coming morning; family gathers into Dad's living room, children draping themselves over shoulders and knees of the adults seated on the couch that somehow manages to be juuust big enough to fit everyone but that one annoying grown up brother carefully relegated to the hearth, or less ceremoniously, the floor.

Mom and Babcia scurry around passing out hot chocolate and eggnog nobody asked for but everyone will drink, or diet Coke if it is a particularly humid and hot Florida Christmas this year.

We're all full of bon bons and spinach rolls from a jaunt to Grandma's house, dinner has been wrapped in tin foil and stowed away, we've survived with smiles the caravan through the fancy neighborhood in town's holiday lights, and all that's left is to go outside and search the sky for Rudolf's blinking red nose that mysteriously follows the local airports flight patterns.

But first...

Grandpa opens his aged leather Bible, marked and highlighted from years of use at the pulpit, and reads the biblical Christmas story about a brand new family traveling across Judea under the cacophony of Roman demands, singing angels, hollering shepherds, and a newborn baby. It's the tale of the ages, the beginning of forever, and the humblest moment ever to be recorded in history.

Kids listen with their heads in their favorite grown-up's lap, fingers in their nose or mouth or in their cousin's nose or mouth. The adults vary between being well versed, quoting it with Grandpa's throaty drawl, or listening to the story as if it is brand new to them and their recently-begun walk with God.

I love it.

In The Very First Christmas, I attempted to pay tribute to Clement Clark Moore's Holiday classic, The Night Before Christmas while also honoring the true spirit of the season, that which reminds us all to stop and listen, to shut out the chaos, and to realize that it really is a silent night. I wrote from Joseph's point of view because I think he, more than Mary, may have had trouble remembering to stop and stare and wonder.

May we all remember to stop and stare and wonder.

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/Very-First-Christmas-Kimberlee-Long/dp/1481004166/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517268391&sr=1-3&keywords=Kimberlee+Long