Words of Christmas I Love

I remember an old movie I saw once…a twist on the Cinderella story with an eccentric grey-haired fairy godmother who every once in awhile popped out mid-conversation with a new word she just loved.  “I love the word windowsill,” she’d sigh to her Ella as she taught her of loveliness outside her bleak life.  “Wiiiinnndooowwwsilll… isn’t that a beeeautiful word?”  🙂

The dreaminess in her voice echoes in my mind today as I think of so many words of Christmas I love.  Some just for the sound of them…others for the way they lift my heart and make me smile.  And others simply because they evoke so many word pictures of favorite old Christmas movies, stories, music and traditions…

Here are just a few of my favorites…

—   For Unto Us A Child Is Born…  From paupers to princes…He came to restore all hearts…I love all the words of promise for unending, unconditional love given to the world when God became man, the WORD with us…  and how He has unfolded that truth to me from Christmas to Christmas…

—   The merry in Merry Christmas! Just think of all the other words we could use.  The British say “Happy Christmas!” — and as someone who loves all things English — I DO enjoy the way they sound when they say it.  We could say “good Christmas to you,” or “wonderful Christmas!”   But merry is… just so…jolly.  Like a lovely old-fashioned card.

—   These tender lines from one of my favorite films, back when it was shown only once a season, but sometimes mid-year too – because they say everything:

“I owe everything to George Bailey. Help him, Father…”                                                           “Help me, Clarence!  Get me back.  I don’t care what happens to me, only get me back to my wife and kids…I want to live again!”                                                                         “Remember no man is a failure who has friends!”                                                                       “Look Daddy, Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings…”

—   The lyrics from one of my favorite carols: “It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth…the weary world rejoices..oOOOOo Holy Night…”

—  And another, for the beauty of the song and the movie it debuted in (Meet Me In St Louis)… “Let your heart be light.  From now on our troubles will be out of sight…Through the years, we all will be together…hang a shining star upon the highest bough!  And have yourself a merry little Christmas…now……”

— “The spirits have done it all in one night!…  God bless us… every one!”

And then there are the starry words I heard spring from a young friend nearly a decade ago, when she was just three… still echoing in my heart…

Mesmerized by her ballerina cousin up there on stage – dancing Sugar Plum Fairy that local company season of Nutcracker – three year-old Cait chattered gaily about her as we drove to a nearby restaurant for an after show bite.  Inside, we grabbed a tiny table for a few snacks, savoring the evening.  Twinkling lights and instrumental Christmas music gave the otherwise darkened room a festive glow.  Laughter…chit chat…circled our table as we dug into quesadillas.  Suddenly, Cait – dancing lightly around us — tapped her mom on the shoulder.

“Mom… do you know why I just LOVE Jesus?” she piped.

“Why honey?”

I smiled, waiting for her answer to this out-of-the-blue question, caught the soft jazz-piano sound of O Holy Night playing in the background.

“Because…He is KING of the NICE GUYS!” she sparkled.

Words... lovely, tender…full of promise…fun or memorable…   What are the words warming you this Christmas?

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