“Lighting the Way” by R. L. Blalock

This Christmas season, I’ve decided to do something a little different. I’ve invited 24 authors to share some of their favorite things about the holidays. I hope you enjoy the 24 days of Christmas countdown with “These are a few of my Favorite Things.” Enjoy! ~Casey Hays

*Be sure to look for a GIVEWAY at the end of each segment.*

 

“Lighting the Way”

Christmas in my family has always been a time of chaos. And I mean that in the absolute best way. In my family, Christmas is a flurry of togetherness. Baking. Laughter. Lights. Decorations. Kids and the wild excitement they bring. Last minute plans for something fun.

By far, my favorite time at Christmas is when my family comes together on Christmas Eve to put up luminaries. My parents picked up the tradition from neighbors when they lived in Arizona as a young married couple. Thirty years later, the tradition is a large part of my family’s celebration.

Luminaries are easy to make. Simply put a cheap tea light candle in a brown paper lunch bag. Add in a bit of sand to weigh the bag down and you’ve got a luminary! The bags are then lined up along the curb around the neighborhood. Individually, they aren’t anything special. But once it is dark and they are lit, it is truly a thing of beauty.

Luminary lighting is an all-day affair in my family. It doesn’t take many to create the gorgeous look, but as our family has grown so has the number of luminaries. Each year we prepare around 300 bags. Everyone comes over early in the afternoon. We chat and cook and put the luminaries together. Often times the younger kids help Grandpa (my dad) put the sand and candles in the bags. In the meantime, many of us are inside cooking homemade soups, baking, or making candy. Chicken noodle with homemade noodles, chowders, chili. And there is nothing like a nice warm bowl of soup after hours outside in the cold lighting luminaries.

But the luminaries don’t just bring my family together. Many times, it brings the neighborhood together. In 2005 when my parents first moved our family to St. Louis, the luminaries we put out on Christmas Eve enabled us to get to know many of our neighbors. It’s not uncommon for neighbors to come out to chat and, in some instances, help and participate the following year. They’ll stand at their doors and watch, just enjoying the sight.

More than Christmas, I enjoy Christmas Eve. I love spending time with my family, doing something simple and fun, that we enjoy. That others enjoy too.

What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Let me know in the comments below and like my author page to enter to win a signed paperback copy of Devour!

R.L. Blalock’s love of reading started young, but her love of zombies started later in life. In 2008, when R. L. Blalock first watched the remake of Dawn of the Dead she instantly fell in love with the genre. Born and raised in Sacramento, California, R. L. Blalock now lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her loving husband, precocious three-year-old daughter, two dogs, and a bird.
You can find the Death & Decay series on Amazon (link: https://www.amazon.com/R.-L.-Blalock/e/B01IRTRC1K/).
Stay connected with R. L. Blalock at rlblalock.com!
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