"What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." 
John 1
At midnight on Christmas Eve here, the sky explodes with fireworks that put our 4th of July displays to shame! Travis and I received a call from Edgar, the man who I call for taxi rides, inviting us to come enjoy Christmas Eve dinner with his family. He invited us into what he called his "simple home" where we held his first grandson of 9 days, talked with aunts, uncles, sons, daughter in laws, nieces and nephews, ate a delicious and generous meal, and then waited for midnight. The display was really amazing: we couldn't decide which direction to face because there were explosions 360 degrees around us, so we just kept spinning. I was thinking about the economic implications. We were in a poorer area of town, and here were hundreds... thousands of Quetzals exploding in the sky. But the night sky lit up like day did remind me that at Christmas we celebrate that life has come into the world- life that is the light of all people, light that overcomes darkness, even the darkness of violence, war, destruction, sickness, loneliness... A sign of hope in a dark place. Edgar's family told us that people used to have parties on Christmas Eve and everyone would weave in and out of one anothers' homes, but that it's not safe any more so everyone just stays inside. The fireworks brought everyone to the street for a half hour that night- the streets and rooftops were filled with spectators cranking their necks to see the light overcoming the darkness.
Travis and I enjoyed a mellow Christmas here.
We did decide to cook an "American traditional" meal, Stovetop stuffing and all!
1 comment:
You take fantastic photos .....
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