Rev. Melinda Giese, Minister of Discipleship and Pastoral Care
Vintage Ornaments
One of my Christmas joys is decorating our tree with my collection of vintage ornaments from the 1940’s and 50’s. The bright colors, glittery designs, and endless variety of shapes never fail to get me in the mood for Christmas. Most of the ornaments from this era are silvered (to give them that “shiny bright” look) like the photo below. Some of you may recognize these types of ornaments from your own childhood Christmas tree.
However, during World War II, wartime shortages made it impossible to get silver to decorate Christmas ornaments. Instead, clear and colored glass balls were manufactured, often with stripes for decoration. The only metal used went into the small metal ornament cap. To give these ornaments a bit more sparkle and appeal to those who missed the look of silvered ornaments, some were made with a sprig of tinsel inside (which you can see in the red, white, and blue patriotic ornament in the photo). Then from around 1943-1945, all the metal was needed for the war effort, and even the metal ornament caps had to go. Again, companies adapted by creating cardboard or paper caps for the ornaments. You may be able to see the paper cap on the large blue striped ornament in the center of the photo of wartime ornaments. Today, people collect ornaments from the war era for their distinctive vintage look and the story they tell of community sacrifice, resilience, and adaptability.
Wartime ornaments
This year, many of us also are looking for ways to adapt our holiday celebrations to COVID-19. How can we celebrate the season in ways that are appropriate? What changes will we make this year that turn out to be better than expected? Will we find new ways to connect with grandparents or grandchildren remotely? How will we find new meaning in our remote connections with friends and family?
Over and over again in the Bible, the presence of God appears in newness – in resurrection, changed hearts, new life, and new hope. We heard it on Sunday in our scripture when the prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s promise of a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah and a new way of being in relationship with God. We too hope for a new day to come, for an effective vaccine, and for gatherings with friends and family to resume. As we wait for that new day, we work on our ability to adapt and change, and to trust in God’s continued presence with us. If you’d like to learn more about how adaptability helps us to deal with changes in our lives, we recommend a TEDx Talk by Jennifer Jones that you can view here.
In the changes we make this year, may we all find creative ways to make the Christmas season meaningful. If we keep an open mind, we may find things to appreciate about both the traditions of the past as well as this unique holiday season. As we see with the wartime Christmas ornaments, sometimes even unwanted changes can result in something beautiful.