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Christmas traditions

Local Columns

Late in her life my paternal grandmother abandoned the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in her home. An itinerant evangelist told her the tradition had pagan origins and therefore it was wrong for Christians to have a Christmas tree in their homes. My grandmother, a devout Christian, scrapped the tradition. While I loved my grandmother, I disagreed with her reasoning. As Christianity spread across the world, converts often adapted old pagan practices to their new faith. The practice of ringing bells at Christmas, for instance, can be traced back to pagan mid-winter ...

The much-preferred mail

Local Columns

In recent days the mailman has been bringing something besides bills, requests for contributions by charities and politicians and ads for hearing aids, cremation services and extended car warranties. Yes, the mailbox is now seeing Christmas cards. With the advent of email and the increasing cost of postage the volume of Christmas cards being mailed each year is diminishing. It all began in England in the 1840s. Historical records indicate the first commercial Christmas card was designed and created by a pair of Englishmen. New printing technologies made the creation of Christmas ...

Healing the heart with the Blue Christmas Service

Local Columns

If the “wonder of the Christmas magic” seems missing, you are not alone. This weekend, the Webster City Ministerial Association is co-hosting the Blue Christmas service with Foster’s Funeral and Cremation Center and Boman’s Funeral Home. It’s a service I have attended and recommend it for anyone feeling the losses of family and loved ones, anywhere, anytime. The Elvis Presley song “It’ll be a Blue Christmas Without You,” tells a bit of the story, but it is not enough to handle loss, especially during the holidays. As we all try to deal with our sadness, the ...

A morning cup of joe

Local Columns

Ahh ... that tastes good. It’s my first sip of coffee this morning. After breakfast, a hot “cup of joe” is the first order of business for me each day. My parents drank coffee regularly but I didn’t care for it until I was about 16 and a girl cousin I was visiting drank a cup. Not to be outdone, I choked down a few swallows and discovered it wasn’t so bad after all. I also realized you could get free coffee refills at restaurants; something not offered to cola drinkers back then. I was soon addicted. My first boss taught me how to make coffee at work — strong. In those ...

Every good and perfect gift comes from God

Local Columns

This week across the United States, Thanksgiving is being celebrated. Many of us remember making a construction paper hat or headband in elementary school. My first-grade teacher let us choose if we wanted to identify as a Pilgrim or as a Native American for our classroom “feast,” which was probably candy corn and marshmallows. We learned the story of that first feast in 1621 as we colored mimeographed turkeys and cornucopias. Other countries also have Harvest Festivals. It’s a time to show gratitude and honor to those who cultivate our crops. Before supermarkets and delivery ...

A clean car drives better

Local Columns

Driving through rural Iowa some time ago we encountered a swarm of insects. Soon the windshield was plastered with dozens of bug innards. If I practiced entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, it would have been a picnic. Instead, several attempts with the vehicle’s windshield washer removed most of the bug parts but the next day I drove to the local car wash to completely clean the windshield and the rest of the vehicle. As the car was mechanically pulled through the lengthy car wash and big whirling brushes whipped the car clean I thought about how lazy I have become. ...