Track Santa with NORAD
Well, it’s that time of year again….
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had a special Christmas post the Friday before the big event, but, well, it IS that time again, isn’t it? Personally, I love Christmas. I love it because, for me, it represents the rebirth of hope and light in a world often filled with darkness. We Christians co-opted this holiday from the early Pagans, in a deft marketing move, in an attempt to pull their followers over to our new, improved holiday. The Pagans were celebrating the Winter Solstice, which is the shortest day of the year. After that day, until the Summer Solstice, every day has a little more light in it than the day before. That, of course, was a perfect holiday for Christians to steal to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Light of the World. And, that is what I think about every year at this time, how light has been rediscovered in the darkness of my life, year after year, hope reborn.
Truly, this year, as every other, I have been blessed with that realization, again and again, in more ways than I care to recount here. I hope the same has happened, or will happen, for you.
And, if you’re having trouble, why not try remembering what it was like when you were a kid?
Remember waiting for Santa Claus to show up with the hope embodied by unopened presents? Remember the anticipation of waiting for Santa to arrive from wherever he was in the world, to your very doorstep or chimney, with gifts for you? Well, the Santa Tracker at NORAD may be just the thing to restore your childlike anticipation of the season. And if not for you, then maybe it will help a child you know discover that joy for the first time.
That can be a miracle, too.
Either way, y’all have a Very Merry Christmas!
Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"It is not the going out of port, but the coming in that determines the success of a voyage."
--Henry Ward Beecher
