Blazing Santa

The photo was taken tonight, the night of the luminarias. My neighbors have a bewildering display of inflatable mechanised Christmas displays. Ten foot waving Santas, a carousel with larger than life Santa's Elves riding it. A Santa in a bubble with a snow storm whirling around him. Nutcrackers, soldiers, two elves in a hammock slung between two life sized palm trees and much much more of that ilk. The problem with inflatables is that they tend to collapse. I was looking out the window at Santa-in-a-bubble when he lurched as though shot and collapsed dramatically though his bubble remained in place. Then Santa slowly arose unwillingly from the dead. A grandchild had stepped on his cord. The Really Big Santa by the door has a dirty little secret. In the small hours of Christmas morning last year, he started to deflate, and his arm fell across a still burning luminaria. Santa caught fire and was blazing brightly enough to awaken my neighbor who quickly extinguished him. Although she was able to restore him to a semblance of his earlier self, his waving days are over, and his right arm reposes inert and hidden at his side.

My neighbors also make hundreds of luminarias and line the street and their roof etc with them. I made a hundred and they looked really puny in comparison. Also a strong wind decided to sweep through at dark and the luminarias kept catching fire or blowing out. My neighbors were able to keep their's relit until the wind moderated. I couldn't keep up with mine. The grandchildren next door also set up a table in the middle of the street and served cookies and cocoa to the people in cars who came by with their headlights out to see the lights. People who walked by also got posole and a place at a big fire in the driveway. I got a large serving which will be part of my Christmas dinner tomorrow.

Making the luminarias is one of my favorite things. First you buy brown or white paper lunch bags and votive candles. On Christmas eve or the day before you 'cuff' the bags by turning the top edges out. Then you take them to a Municipal Dirt Pile and put a trowel full of dirt in each bag. Then you set the bags out in straight lines along the roads and roofs and anywhere else you please. Before dark you light them and if you're lucky they will still be burning Christmas morning. Unfortunately the wind spoiled a lot of the displays tonight. Some people and most businesses have switched to electric luminarias. They look pretty nice, last longer than a night and probably are more dependable - we're not exactly Baghdad here, but the power does tend to go out quite often.

I think I am going to take a walk around to admire what's left of the luminarias and take mine in. More than half of them are still burning. I will reuse the candles or use them as fire starters. The electric lights are off by now, 2315. The sight-seers gone so it should be beautiful

The nights are getting shorter! Snow drop bulbs are sensing the faintest beginnings of a tingling sensation..................