November 30, 2017
God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
Do you have any idea how many special events are in our national parks this time of year? Here’s a sampling:
- The National Christmas Tree Lighting in President’s Park (yes, the White House is part of the Park Service) is tonight, but if you didn’t win the October lottery for tickets, you’ll just have to watch it on the Hallmark Channel December 4
- Saint Paul’s Church National Historic Site in Mount Vernon, New York offers opera and instrumental concerts (through December 23)
- Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in Iowa (right next to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum) offers candlelight tours and horse-drawn carriage rides (December 1-2)
- Have an Iron Plantation Christmas at Pennsylvania’s Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, which commemorates early American industry (December 2)
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio has its yearly Polar Express train rides–better luck next year, because they’re already sold out. You can still get tickets for the adults-only Ugly Sweater Holiday Train Ride (December 3-21)
- Colorado’s Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site transports you back in time to the 1840s, with piñatas, toy making, food and a host of other activities; unfortunately, the candlelight tours are already booked (December 1-2)
- Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska hosts Christmas on the Prairie, where you can make ornaments like 19th century homesteaders did (December 2)
- In Kansas, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve has a candlelight tour that takes you back to the 1880s (December 2)
- If you’ve read my book, you’ll know that Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is part of the Park Service as well; its Holiday Sing-a-Long is very popular (December 2)
- And speaking of singing, Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park holds an annual candle-lit cave sing (December 3)
- Gingerbread! Sugar cookies! Crafts! Come experience A Taste of Christmas Past at Kentucky’s Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (December 3)
- Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York has a slew of Victorian Christmas events, including a girls’ night out, luncheons and an Irish Christmas celebration (December 4-8)
- Chamizal National Memorial in Texas has an Evening of Fiesta (December 9)
- Experience a colonial Christmas in Maryland at Thomas Stone National Historic Site‘s Christmas at Haberdeventure (December 9)
- Wreath making and caroling from the 1840s are on tap at Washington State’s Fort Vancouver National Historical Park (December 9)
- Flying Santa appears at New York’s Fire Island National Seashore once again (December 9)
- Reenactors dressed as Battle of New Orleans soldiers recall the Christmas of 1814, when British troops threatened to invade the city at Jean LaFitte National Historical Park and Preserve (December 9)
- Site of the Civil War’s second major battle and the first one west of the Mississippi River, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in Missouri holds its fourteenth Memorial Luminary Driving Tour–over 2,539 luminarias are set out to represent the casualties from August 10, 1861 (December 9)
- Also in Missouri, George Washington Carver National Monument presents a Holiday Open House, with music, food, greeting card and ornament making, plus excerpts from state slave narratives and insights into 19th century Ozark traditions (December 9)
- Celebrate Christmas the Old French Way at River Raisin National Battlefield Park in Michigan (December 9)
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a Festival of Christmas Past, with music, storytelling and craft demonstrations (December 9), as well as a Holiday Homecoming, an old-fashioned celebration with traditional music (December 16)
- Holidays at Hampton explores Christmases from 1790 to the present day at Hampton National Historic Site in Maryland, including a glimpse of what the season meant to enslaved African Americans on the estate (December 9-10)
- Yosemite‘s Bracebridge dinner is a lavish (and pricey) Renaissance Christmas pageant that’s been a tradition nearly every year since 1927 (December 10-27); you can also ring in the new year in the park
- Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado holds a Holiday Open House, with Native American storytelling, night sky viewing and luminarias (December 14)
- Be part of Wreaths Across America at Georgia’s Andersonville National Historic Site, and help decorate veterans’ graves at this Civil War prison camp’s cemetery (December 16)
- Experience a Civil War Christmas at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia (December 17)
- Join Valley Forge National Historical Park‘s annual candlelight March in of the Continental Army Commemoration (December 19)
- Celebrate like our first president at A Washington Family Christmas at George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Virginia (December 30)
Then there’s the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, “the nation’s longest-running citizen science bird count,” taking place at these park sites:
- Bryce Canyon National Park (December 7)
- Guadalupe Mountains National Park (December 16)
- Yosemite National Park (December 17)
- Congaree National Park (December 17)
- Grand Canyon National Park (December 17)
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (December 19)
- Cape Hatteras National Seashore (December 27)
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (January 3)
- Point Reyes National Seashore (January 7)
You know what’s interesting about all these events? None of them would happen if it weren’t for Jesus’ birth.
Christmas celebrations aren’t just restricted to our country, of course; they take place around the world, even in places where Christianity is not the majority religion. Here in the U.S., the only other holiday that gets much of a mention this time of year is Hanukkah. Even then, most stores relegate menorahs, dreidels, etc. to a tiny bit of shelf space amid the gobs of Christmas merchandise.
Without Christmas, we wouldn’t have huge light displays, decorations, parades, concerts, etc. We sure wouldn’t have Black Friday or Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday or Giving Tuesday.
Our entire planet recognizes Jesus the Savior’s first coming, consciously or not.
When He arrives the second time, we’ll all acknowledge it fully.
As Faith Hill sings, a baby changes everything.