Ilkeston - C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S
w/e 27 December 2015
All of this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

I know of two songs where the lyrics are in the form of an acrostic. In one, "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" a religious theme runs through the lyrics whilst the other "Christmas Alphabet" follows a more secular theme beginning with "C is for the candy trimmed around the Christmas tree". This selection of images from this Christmas covers both aspects of the season and is a purely personal interpretation of the word. - is for carols, candles, candy canes, Christmas cake and as one song says, the Christ child but a few days before Christmas Day we were in church at a Christingle service where oranges decorated with a candle and sweets were distributed to all the children present.

- is for holly, boughs of which as the carol tells us are for "decking the halls". It's also for herald angels and happiness but for us, the evergreen leaves are a reminder (not that we need one) of the family and friends who are no longer with us to celebrate Christmas but will forever remain in our hearts and memories.

- is for reindeer and our Redeemer in those two songs and could also be for robins that are often featured on Christmas cards. For me though "R" is for roses (and I don't mean the chocolates). When I was growing up Dad always bought them for Mum to celebrate their wedding anniversary which also fell on Christmas Day. As I grew older the flowers were from both of us. Later still and after Dad died, I carried on the tradition buying carnations instead for the ladies in my life but now that none of the older generation are left, it seemed only right to revert to roses.

- is for Israel and icing again referring to the songs and for this I concur with the secular "Christmas Alphabet" version and enjoy the icing "on the cake as sweet as sugar cane". We always make an extra cake as by the time we've finished eating the one made for Christmas there's still time to ice the other for my birthday next month. I do like icing!

- is for shopping, last minute or otherwise, which is an essential part of the modern day Christmas. Buying presents for loved ones or extra food to gorge over the festival, shopping in one form or another is a must. We must not forget though the Star of Bethlehem or the stocking hanging by the fireplace and of course the perennial present that fills many of those stockings, the Christmas socks, some even bearing images of another "S", Santa Claus.

- is for turkey, toys or three wise men although there's nowhere in the Bible that actually says the wise men numbered three. "T" is also for tree and it was around the tree on the Market Place that we joined hundreds of other people for the Mayor of Erewash's annual Carol Service on Christmas Eve.

- is for the manger where Jesus was laid. It's also for mistletoe where many a kiss is stolen but hey, who needs mistletoe to steal a kiss? "M" is for memories of Grandma's house and the Boxing Day parties where the mistletoe always hung in the passage between two rooms. It's also, along with jam tarts and sausage rolls, for mince pies filled with home made mincemeat that we made in a mammoth baking session on Christmas Eve. Hope I don't put on weight.

- is for angels as featured in Christmas Carols like "Angels From The Realms Of Glory" and "Angels We Have Heard On High". It's also for "Away In A Manger" and the manger in our nativity decoration is topped with an angel whilst other people may place one on their Christmas tree. Our decorations are both religious and secular and the nativity scene is flanked by a trio of angels on one side and a reindeer on the other complete with another "A", antlers.

- as we have already seen, is for socks, stockings, stars among other things and of course the secular Santa Claus. Even Santa though has his origins in the fourth century Christian Bishop of Myra, then in Greece but now part of southern Turkey. The incarnation above was seen recently distributing sweets on the Market Place. "S" could also be for Stormtroopers also on the Market Place but they were just promoting the latest Star Wars film showing at the local cinema.

That concludes the acrostic for "CHRISTMAS" so here's a look at the lyrics of the two songs I've been referring to. C is for the candy trimmed around the Christmas tree, H is for the happiness with all the family, R is for the reindeer prancing by the window pane, I is for the icing on the cake as sweet as sugar cane, S is for the stocking hanging on the chimney wall, T is for the toys beneath the tree so tall, M is for the mistletoe where everyone is kissed, A is for the angels who make up the Christmas list, S is for the Santa who makes every kid his pet, Be good and he'll bring you everything in your Christmas alphabet! "C" is for the Christ child, born upon this day, "H" for herald angels in the night, "R" means our Redeemer, "I" means Israel, "S" is for the star that shone so bright, "T" is for three wise men, they who travelled far, "M" is for the manger where he lay, "A"'s for all He stands for, "S" means shepherds came, And that's why there's a Christmas day But there is one final image to add and if I were to add another letter to the acrostic it would be "N". "N" is for nostalgia. I always feel nostalgic at this time of year and it's often said there's a fine line between genius and insanity. There's also a fine line between nostalgia and depression for it would be easy to become depressed when looking back to those post war Christmasses with family members who are no longer with us. The parties, the carol singing, the board games, the quizzes, gathering round the black and white television screen to watch a variety show with the stars of the day. The two old cards on the right displayed on our wall unit above are packed away each year with our decorations and there's another to add this year with the one on the left which I found whilst searching for something else in a collection of old documents. I've also included the greeting written on the back of the card and I think this must be one of the first cards I ever recieved. After all this time it must be close to antique status but adds to so many precious memories gone and never to be repeated. But as well as recalling times past, it is also the time of year to look forward so my "N" is for New Year which I hope will be happy, peaceful and in years to come, one to look back on with nostalgia.

Home Page Back to Christmas Pages Index Special Features Index Terms & Conditions of Use This website is copyright but licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence. Please credit the photographer Garth Newton, or add a link to these pages.