Reason for the Season?

In 1948, Earl Count authored the book "4,000 Years of Christmas" and included this passage, "Shall we liken Christmas to the web in a loom? There are many weavers, who work into the pattern the experience of their lives. When one generation goes, another comes to take up the weft where it has been dropped. The pattern changes as the mind changes, yet never begins quite anew. At first, we are not sure that we discern the pattern, but at last we see that, unknown to the weavers themselves, something has taken shape before our eyes, and that they have made something very beautiful, something which compels our understanding."

This season brings a lot of different things to a host of divergent cultures. As I watched the news on Friday night documenting gridlock on Corpus Christi highways leading to the area's malls and shopping centers, watched cars circling parking lots looking in vain for a parking space, and read repeated angry emails about "reclaiming Christmas," it's a bit difficult to remember that at the heart of the season, we are all more similar than we are separate. This is supposed to be a time of giving and celebration, not materialism or pettiness.

Whatever your beliefs, this is a time of rebirth and second chances. The winter solstice marks the seasonal and spiritual turning points when the light returns to lengthen our days again, when we reflect on the year just passed and we wonder (and hope) about the year to come. Whatever label you choose to put on it, whatever weft you wish to weave; if it's done with love, you can't go wrong. We all have the potential to be artists everyday; weaving color into our loved ones' lives, adding texture to the canvas of our days, and making a positive contribution to the beauty around us. Best wishes for the season, everyone!

Upcoming Artisan Events:

• Tuesday, December 29, 7:00 p.m. - "Rialto Rhythms" Weekly Open Acoustic Jam. Rialto Theater. Admission: Free ($5 contribution suggested).
• Daily through December 30 - "Student Art Show" Exhibit. Art Center for the Islands. Admission: Free.
• Sunday, January 3, 2:00 p.m. - "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" Cinema Flashbacks Club. Rialto Theater. Admission: Free to Members, $5 to join.
• Daily through January 6 - "Bright Energy," The works of Narice Hopp. Rialto Theater Main Gallery. Admission: Free.
• Thursday, January 7, 7:30 p.m. - Preview of "Clarence Darrow for the Defense." Rialto Theater. Admission: Free to Marquee Members, others $12
• Friday, January 8, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. - "First Friday" Opening Reception, Adult Student Show. Art Center for the Islands. Admission: Free.
• Friday & Saturday, January 8-9, 7:30 p.m. - "Clarence Darrow for the Defense." Rialto Theater. Admission: $12.
• Friday & Saturday, January 8-9, 8:00 p.m. - "Greater Tuna." Port Aransas Community Theater. Admission: $16.
• Daily through January 23 - "Currents" Member Show. Rockport Center for the Arts. Admission: Free.

Jen Jones is a member of the Board of Directors of the Rialto Theater, an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization fostering art and education through visual art, music and live stage productions in the historic movie theater in downtown Aransas Pass. Her day job is in real estate at Coldwell Banker Myers-Gallagher. If you have someone you'd like to spotlight in this column, drop her a line at jen@jenscoastalbend.com.