I of course had not done our card yet. I was pondering whether to do a folding card in an envelope or a postcard style, and whether to write up something about our year or simply have pictures. I felt like I had just done Monkey3's birth announcements.
Then a Christmas card came that nearly made me choke. It was the glossy photo greeting variety, with the family's children in muscle shirts, leather jackets, and shades. "What is this -- Jersey Shore?" I said indignantly to my husband. (If you don't know about "Jersey Shore," it is a television program following a half-dozen or so housemates during their summer flings. I think I've seen a total of five minutes of the program over the past few years. However, several people I know like to discuss and exclaim over its lack of moral values and general idiocy.) I suppose the card was meant to be funny, but it wasn't very Christmasy.
My reaction would not have been this indignant if the card had not arrived right on the heels of reading our Bishop's challenge for the week:
This week, if you are asked by your coworkers, neighbors or friends about your Christmas plans, do not hesitate to mention that you will be attending Mass on Christmas, or even invite them to come! It is important that others see that those they respect are people of faith and that our holy days are far more than just an opportunity to exchange presents, but also a blessed time to encounter the Lord.
Mention Church? Now there's "Keeping Christ in Christmas"! And do it in the same breath as "we're going to grandma's house." That gave me something to think about other than the fact that I was going to spend several days and nights in a three-bedroom ranch with five other adults and six children, plus one day adding two more adults and three more children to the mix.
However, all this spurred me to purpose in designing my family's Christmas card. The reason for sending greeting cards this time of year is Christ and his birth. At the same time, most people want to see how big my kids have gotten. So I worked on both angles. At the last Nativity re-enactment practice Monkey2&1 were dressed up for their parts as Mary and Elizabeth, we borrowed a lamb costume from the bin, and I took a few minutes click my camera as many times as I could press the button. Monkey3 moves fast, so a multitude of shots usually yields a couple that are in focus and of reasonably framed composition.
How Christmasy was this? No Baby Jesus in sight, unless you stretch it about the lamb... Lamb of God. Well, that's what I came up with on short notice.
Merry Christmas!
(Later I learned that the "Jersey Shore" themed picture for the Christmas photo card was the family at Halloween. It was simply a good picture of the kids.)
No comments:
Post a Comment