Another Christmas come and gone–I can’t believe it. I feel like a kid again, hoping against hope that it would last forever. I am 28 years old, and I can safely say that this was the best Christmas ever. EVER.
We had a wonderful visit with all of our guests, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing host to all of them. It was hectic and exhausting, but I’ll do it again in a heartbeat. This year I’ve been feeling a bit homesick for the New Mexico Christmases of my childhood. To forge a connection to those yesterdays, I decided to set out luminarias on Christmas Eve. My husband was concerned that my Texas neighbors would be scared of dozens of paper bags filled with an open flame, but I was determined! And I am so glad I was, because they turned out beautifully. We got a few quizzical stares from the passers-by, but my house was the prettiest on the block. 
For those who are familiar with the process, you take paper bags (just the little lunch bags) and fold down the top. This helps them stay open. Then you fill the bottom with sand, just enough to anchor the bag (a couple of inches will do). You place a votive candle in the sand, light it, and voila! You have a luminaria (also known as a farolito). When I was growing up in Albuquerque, one of our Christmas Eve traditions was a trip to the Ridgecrest area. Everyone in the neighborhood would line their yards with luminarias. Oh, if you have never seen this, you MUST. I know it’s hard to imagine that a paper bag with a candle could be pretty, but it is. They positively glow! And when you see hundreds of them, as you will in Ridgecrest, it’s as if you’re transported into a fairytale. They exude peacefulness and simplicity. Our display was nothing like Ridgecrest, but it helped me forge a connection to some of my best childhood holiday memories.
Stay tuned for part 2, coming tomorrow!
A reminder, too, that the origin of the tradition of luminarias/farolitos is in the origin of Christmas itself. That first Christmas night, the Christ Child was born in a manger, relatively unknown — and certainly made unwelcome by the townspeople of Bethlehem, who had no room to house Mary & Joseph. It became tradition that the farolitos, usually laid out along a pathway to a door, will show the Christ Child that He is welcome in that home. The Light of the world is welcomed by the lights of Christmas. Simple beauty is the most beautiful of all.