Huzzah! A King is Born

Last year we were finally able to make it Colonial Williamsburg's "Grand Illumination" festivities in Williamsburg, Va. in early December. It was a surprisingly spiritual highlight of my Christmas season.Of course the village itself was enchanting in a Christmas-card way. Candlelights appeared in most windows. Costumed workers from Colonial Williamsburg lit bright pitch pine fires in iron bowls on poles known as "cressets." It was the only light for the massing crowd (estimated annually to be around 30,000-35,000). The cressets once served as a town's only street lights. Smoke curled upwards in the night air.

It was easy to imagine Thomas Jefferson or Patrick Henry scuttling off to some meeting or inn. Musicians, including choral groups from my daughter's College of William and Mary there, lute players, and the fife and drum core entertained the crowds waiting for the fireworks at four different performance stages.

But the truly inspiring aspect of the celebration was not just the wonderful atmosphere. From the stage near the location where we were standing, the master of ceremonies explained that the idea of a Grand Illumination came from long ago times when a king would have a fireworks display at the birth of a new king. It was a way for ordinary working people to celebrate extraordinary events. The master of ceremonies added, "And this is a Grand Illumination for the birthday of the King of Kings!"-an unmistakable reference to the birthday of Jesus.

I quickly glanced around me. This was your typical secular milling crowd of townspeople, tourists, college students. I batted back a tear: Yes, happy birthday, King of Kings! What a celebration. I'm told that sometimes the crowd is coaxed into yelling "Huzzah!" which in colonial times was a way of saying "Hooray!"

The musicians got the crowd near us to join in singing, "Joy to the World" and "Amazing Grace," explaining the historical nature of both songs which originally had different tunes. The leader had us sing the different tune, too. Again, I was a little amazed when most of the people around us knew the words to both songs, even beyond the first verse. Yes, the songs are well-known, but so is our society's religious diversity and our (commendable) inclination to not offend others' religious views. I mentioned this to my daughter and she replied, "Well, the early Williamsburg society was quite Christian. There was little else in terms of religion. If they want it to be true to the times, then it is appropriate."

It is also appropriate to keep Christmas as a Christian holiday, even though it has been so secularized that it is difficult for many people to sort out the secular from the Christian. Is it about Santa or Jesus? Each family can decide how to handle Santa, but make sure children know it all started with baby Jesus.

Someone has pointed out that it can be hard to find Christmas cards that talk about the nativity event, rather than a generalized "Christmas Cheer" or the even more innocuous, "Seasons Greetings." Again, while it is laudable to try to avoid offending others by pushing Christian beliefs on them, Christmas is a time to say, "This is a Christian celebration and holiday and we would like to keep that focus." Huzzah!

If you're interested, there is more information about:
The most important event of all time and
The most important Book of all time.

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Contributed by Melodie Davis from her weekly columnANOTHER WAY (http://www.thirdway.com/aw/).For information on using Another Way in a local newspaper, contact:ANOTHER WAY, 1251 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801-2497; or call1-800-999-3534; fax at 540-434-5556; or email me at:Melodie@mennomedia.org