View from the Cab: Hometown holiday

By Kent Casson

Each time I think about the holidays here in Central Illinois, an old Christmas tune by Bobby Darin comes to mind.

“Christmas Eve in my Home Town” perfectly describes our thoughts when thinking of the rural areas of Livingston, McLean, Ford or any other nearby county in late December.

The tune describes “carols in the square, laughter everywhere and couples kissing under the mistletoe.” It goes on to say the memories cannot be erased with “so much to remember.” In the song, the person is simply dreaming of a Christmas Eve in his home town.

We are lucky we don’t have to dream it around here – we live it. We are blessed to live in these small communities which embrace the true meaning of Christmas. Churches all over will be illuminated with candlelight after dusk as worshippers sing Silent Night before the kids rush home to leave milk and cookies out for Santa while their parents make some last-minute holiday preparations.

In Fairbury, the ringing of the Salvation Army bell outside of Dave’s Supermarket is a sound I’ll always remember. Snowfall under the downtown street lights is hard to forget too. Country roads were covered in snow drifts one Christmas Eve many years ago but we still found a way to get in town and go to church.

I fondly recall attending an early evening Christmas Eve service in Chenoa as a kid and staying up to attend the late service in Fairbury before visions of sugar plums danced in our heads. We enjoyed appetizers at my grandmother’s house in between the services and it was always a fun time.

Togetherness is what it is all about during the holiday season. We are blessed that many of our family members live close and we have multiple Christmas celebrations. The kids especially enjoy it since that means multiple presents. For us, it is about multiple meals and fellowship, something we have grown to love about this and all holidays throughout the year.

I realize our kids are getting older, but it is still fun to see the magic of Christmas through your child’s eyes no matter the age. We so look forward to spending some quality family time together this holiday season and I hope you can do the same.

Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you and may you experience the magic of the season. Remember, Jesus is the reason for it all.