When you mention the smells of Christmas, I suspect most people will think of Christmas trees, roaring fires, turkey cooking, pies cooling, tamales (a New Mexico Christmas tradition). The smells at the first Christmas would have been very different.
2,000 plus years ago a tired Mary and Joseph were still amazed at the birth of their new son Jesus. We've seen pictures and nativity scenes portraying this event for many years. But, until I recently heard someone on the radio, I haven't thought about the smell of that first Christmas.
Years ago when we were visiting Betty's stepmother and sister in Tennessee they took us to a special show. It was called Cheval Theatre. It was a Cirque de Soleil (sp?) show, but done on horse back. It was great.
When you entered the show, you were routed through their circular, portable stables so you could see all the different breeds they used in the show. When we walked into the stables we were immediately struck by the smells - hay, horse, manure and urine. Nita and Margie both said 'ewwww,' but Betty and I both loved the smells. This was before we owned our horses, but we were deeply into riding. So, the smell was familiar and comforting to us.
When Mary was waiting to deliver Jesus she would have encountered the same smells - hay, animal, manure and urine - the first smells the baby Jesus would have experienced - the smells of Christmas. I wonder if they were comforted by those smells?
We hope you had a blessed and safe Christmas.
2 comments:
Ah, when we take the time to participate in our surroundings. For me it is the smell of the woods and the sounds of city streets.
Happy Boxer Day.
Gave me chills for some reason. Thanks, Dan. Our Christmas was lovely. Hope yours was as well.
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