Tidings of Comfort and Joy

 

Whether you’re a Christmas connoisseur or a ‘Bah-humbug’ kind of observer of the season, it’s rolling around with its usual regularity.  I’m an unashamed fan and, by the time you read this (if you have the time between shopping, cooking, decorating, writing cards, juggling the logistics of presents – both purchasing and wrapping – relatives, TV must-sees etc) I’ll have been marinading in carols and as much festive jollity as I can muster since the first of the month, as well as scheduling as many carol services as I can squeeze in.

If you feel you don’t have time for writing anything this month apart from shopping lists and Christmas lists (and possibly a letter to Mr Claus should you be that way inclined or are helping smaller people who are), then I may have tidings of comfort and joy to deliver to your screen right now.

Rather than sit there chewing your metaphorical pencil (thank goodness we don’t need to do that anymore, unless you’re still writing everything in longhand), take a few moments to regulate your breathing and relax.  I know; it’s a challenge, but you ACW-ers are doughty folk who can totally do this if you put your mind to it.

Now, cast your mind back to the first Christmas.  No, not that one (though do that too); the first one you can remember.  You might recall a moment, an image, an interaction, a present, a party, an outfit or something completely random. Write it down.

Memories are fertile ground for writers.  Forget the pressure of having to write a full blown memoir and let your mind drift back through the years.  Capture on paper/the screen anything that floats through your mind’s eye.

For me, that’s raucous Christmas Eves with extended family at our house.  My mother hated it and had a migraine every year at the mere thought of all the people, not to mention the scale of cooking required, but she did it anyway, God bless her.  The cousins table was a place of simple pleasure and shrieks of laughter, followed by a relaxation of the rules and a rambunctious (there’s a word I seldom get to use) game of hide-and-seek.  The year my sister hid on top of a wardrobe has gone down in history, as has the year we played ‘Steal the Keys’ (a variation of Grandmother’s Footsteps) and cousin Steve, exulting in victory, accidentally let go of said keys which flew across the room cracking a glass door. Ooops!

The only year that it actually snowed on Christmas Eve, my two sisters and I were released into the peculiarly lit garden to pummel one another with snowballs before bed. That’s a vivid memory, as is the satisfying crackling sound of a well-filled stocking (my mother’s welly-boot socks) when waking in the bleary early hours, which has stayed with me through the years.  Since then, we instituted our own family traditions but are now empty-nesters. 

Christmas in the southern hemisphere has proved a completely different experience.  Perhaps you’ve spent December 25th in some exotic places too.  Capture those memories before they seep away like melted snow.

What a rich vein of potential writing we all have at our fingertips without having to sweat and overly rack our brains!  Not only that but, joy of joys, every year affords us further material.  Grist to the mill of writers regardless of output, genre or deadlines.  On top of that, the birth of Jesus heralds the Good News that’s worth sharing all year round.

 

Mild, He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die,

Born to raise the sons of earth earth

Born to give them second birth.

Hark! The herald angels sing

 “Glory to the newborn King!”

Happy Christmas!

Jenny Sanders has spent the last twelve years living between the UK and South Africa. She writes faith-inspired non-fiction: Spiritual Feasting (2020) asks how we can ‘feast’ when life serves unpalatable menus; Polished Arrows (2024), explores the allegory of God shaping us to be fired effectively into our culture and contexts.    

             

Jenny also has two published collections of humorous short stories for Key Stage 2 children: The Magnificent Moustache and other stories, and, Charlie Peach’s Pumpkins and other stories. She is available for author visits and creative writing sessions in primary schools.  She loves walking in nature, preferably by a river, and has a visceral loathing for offal, pineapple and incorrect use of car indicators on roundabouts.