White Christmas

South Jordan, Utah

Looks like it will be a white Christmas for many of you this year.  My brother's home is decked out like a winter wonderland (see above) right now.

My mother sometimes despaired living in the Arizona desert, especially at Christmastime.  She would look at the bare, desert mountains and complain it was like "living on the moon".  She had a funny saying from her homeland of Norway that went something like this, "So, it will be a white Christmas again, said the old man as he ate his fish pudding on Christmas Eve."  The joke being not that it was snowing outside, but that the only "white" stuff he was experiencing was his humble meal of white fish pudding.

The Citadel shopping center off the I-5 in the Los Angeles area all decked out for Christmas.
I snapped this from the car while on my way to a North Hills Christmas party.

Living in the Los Angeles area means sunshine and palm trees at Christmas - pretty much like all the rest of the year. Although we've had some cold temperatures at night (it's getting into the 40s at night, don't laugh, it's cold to us), it will be in the balmy mid-70s throughout Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here.  Quite frankly, I think I'd prefer the weather in the above photo for just a day or two!  Provided you could shut it off afterwards.

I know.  Weather doesn't work that way, which is probably a good thing.  Can you imagine getting a group consensus every day on what the weather should be?  It would be a crazy world!

However, there is something about having real seasons that you miss living in places like Southern California and Arizona.  White Christmases are just one of them.

Whatever the weather, it doesn't stop us from celebrating Christmas.

My dear brother looking  pensively out across the Salt Lake City skyline

I'm so grateful for the glad tidings of Christmas!

The world would be a dreary place without the joy of this holiday season reminding us of the miracle that took place over 2000 years ago.  I'm glad it doesn't take snow and ice to make a Christmas.

I love Kevin Beckstrom's recent comic strip.  It says it all.

Photos: J. Evensen, L. Farnsworth, and yours truly

There's a link to Beckstrom's LDS comic pages on the right.