There’s an unusual custom that, I believe, only happens in my town in New Jersey, and it may seem strange to some of you, dear readers.
Every year around Christmas, we hear the sound of police and fire truck sirens, continuously blaring for hours, several nights in a row. At first, all of the neighbors think, what the heck happened? There must be a serious fire in town, with that many sirens roaring for that long. Hope everyone’s okay!
But one by one, we realize, oh yeah! It’s Santa, sitting atop the fire truck, rolling slowly down the block and wishing us all a “Merry Christmas!” over the loudspeaker. Our dedicated firefighters and police officers accompany him, honking and waving. Just generally sending boisterous and blazing holiday wishes our way.
It strikes me that this is a particularly New Jersey way of sharing good cheer during the holidays: loud, intrusive, rolling through the neighborhood like we own the place, yet full of good cheer!
It’s the way it’s always been around here, but sometimes I wonder, how does everyone else do the holidays? I’ve always imagined that, in other, more mellow states, Christmas must be low-key and tasteful. Mistletoe hanging, fireplace burning, carols playing. Maybe some egg nog pouring.
Of course, at the heart of it all is the peace that passes all understanding. With all the wrapping and rushing, the traffic and tinsel, it’s easy to forget that God’s love is the gift that we’re honoring at this time of year.
Well, no matter how you and yours celebrate, here’s wishing your holidays are filled with warmth, laughter, and loved ones!
Merry Christmas, All!
4 comments
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December 22, 2015 at 2:05 pm
calensariel
Hate to disappoint you, Ruth, but we get Santa on the fire truck here, too, throwing out candy to the kids two weeks before Christmas. I’m still trying to get used to the idea that we have bright YELLOW fire trucks now. There’s one tradition in Utah that draws a big crowd. It’s the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Hallelujah Chorus sing-a-long at temple square in Salt Lake. You can join right in with the choir. I miss the traditions we used to have when the kids were little. But decorating the house always ends up being a family thing. Even though Bran’s 37, I think that’s his favorite part of Christmas.
December 22, 2015 at 2:47 pm
rhcwilliams
You have the fire truck Santa, too, Lady Calen? How about that. I thought it seemed like such a New Jersey thing! Well, I would love to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing – of course, we have the Teamsters Tabernacle Choir here in Jersey. They sing holiday favorites like “Back the Truck up” and “You Talking to Me, Pal?” 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful holiday, dear heart!!
December 24, 2015 at 3:17 pm
SueBE
We have a version of that here too. More like what they do in Lady Calen’s neck of the woods. But I think ours is the only community in our metropolitan area that does it.
December 24, 2015 at 3:25 pm
rhcwilliams
You have it in your town, too, SueBE? How about that. It just seemed so New Jersey, I assumed nobody else did it!! I wonder what else I’ve been assuming that’s wrong. Santa’s real, isn’t he? Please don’t tell me I’m wrong about that, too! 🙂