December 2022

There's a tall, slender spruce tree at the end of our street near the woods. It's strung with colored lights from top to bottom and on Christmas Eve (for over 100 years now), neighbors gather in front of it for caroling, readings, and a visit from Santa Claus.

(Cue "Welcome Christmas" from the 1966 classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.)

But this year, the tree stood dark. Well, half-dark.

When they checked the lights last month, only the bottom half worked. Emails pinged back and forth between Christmas committee members and new lights were ordered.

When the tree company arrived with their orange bucket truck, they started at the top, unraveling the strands round and round. Once the lights were off the tree, they plugged them in just to check, and to their surprise, they worked!

Then they discovered the true problem – a squirrel had chewed through one of the wires halfway up the tree (fortunately for the squirrel, the lights were unplugged at the time). Everything below that point worked, but everything above did not. But with a little savvy electrical work, they were able to reconnect the strands and light the rest of the tree.

These are the kinds of stories you hear from behind the scenes:

• What really happened an hour before the Christmas pageant

• What it took to get Frosty on the roof (p.s. Christmas movie reference)

• How we saved the holiday concert when the conductor came down with the flu

I'm sure you have a story or two you could tell!

The thing is, most people will never know about the squirrel who (almost) stole Christmas or what it took to light the tree this year.

The point is not that everyone knows the whole story, but that we're reminded there usually is someone (or several people) working behind the scenes to make it happen.

This season, let's take a closer look:

• Who are the helpers? The workers? The ones behind the curtain holding the cardboard star over the manger with a fishing pole?

• Who are the people behind the random acts of kindness, the ones who skirt the spotlight and choose to remain anonymous?

• Who are the people that make sure the shelves are stocked with our favorite German fruitcake, the ones who make sure our brown paper packages arrive on time?

There are always people working behind the scenes (maybe you're one of them!). This is part of what makes this season so magical. ✨

What stories will you uncover? What stories will you help create?