December 19, 2020 • 75

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #128: And Here Comes the Holiday Season

The dark and the light, they exist side by side. Sometimes overlapping, one explaining the other. The darkened path is as illuminated as the lightened… – Raven Davies

For this last LAPC challenge for 2020, Ann-Christine invites us to share our plans and memories of our Holiday Season.  She asks:  “So what will your holidays look like? What are your plans and/or memories? Will you create new traditions or will you just ”survive” this one, looking forward to a ”normalized” celebrating next year?”

My answer is–I’m having a non-holiday holiday this year.  A new tradition.   But it’s all right.  I have a lot to be thankful for.   There will be other holidays, other celebrations after the pandemic.  Instead of thinking about the negatives in a time of so much darkness–political strife, illness, natural disasters, and wars–I’m focusing on the glimmers of light, of hope.  Here’s an example.  For the first time in recorded history, many brilliant minds have tackled the problem of finding a vaccine to stop the spread of the covid virus.  They succeeded in record time.   Can you imagine what would happen if we faced other global problems the same way?   

Through this season, our holiday displays are also glimmers of light that brighten the darkest days of the year.  Here are some memorable ones from my archives.  This first image highlights a labor of love.  Can you imagine the time and painstaking effort it took to create this display of lights in Sydney, Australia?  Several years ago, we were thrilled to spend the holidays there with dear friends.

A light extravaganza, Sydney, Australia

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.~Hamilton Wright Mabie

These holiday lights and cheerful velvet bows on the dragons at the Peninsula Hotel always reminded me that the spring and summer were not far behind, even as I shivered in the frigid Chicago night.  We celebrated many holidays here when we lived in the Midwest.

In front of the Peninsula Hotel, Chicago, Illinois

The holiest of holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart; The secret anniversaries of the heart.~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

These colorful displays of light were strung high above the atrium of the Time Warner Building in New York, the city where we have enjoyed many Christmas and Hanukah celebrations with family and friends.  I’m looking forward to the time when we will gather together and celebrate again.  That will truly be a joyous event!

Time Warner Building, New York City

I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.– Fred Rogers

Earlier this week on one of my walks, I discovered this display of huge inflatable balloons outside a home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. If you look closely, you can also see the artificial snowflakes falling across the front of the house.  What fun!  I couldn’t help but smile.  

Christmas in Portsmouth, NH

 

Now, I’d like to extend my wishes to you for the holiday season.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support and creative inspiration throughout the year.  You’ve been beacons of light during a very gloomy year!  I hope that your holidays and the new year are filled with joy, good health, and satisfaction for you and your loved ones.

All of us at Lens-Artists hope that you join us for this week’s LAPC #128–And Here Comes the Holiday Season.  Remember to link your post to Ann-Christine’s beautiful post, and use the Lens-Artists tag to help us find you in the Reader.  

The Lens-Artists team will be enjoying a holiday next week and will return on Saturday, January 2.   Tina from Travels and Trifles will be our host of the challenge–Favorite Photos of 2020. 

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Categories: LENS-ARTISTS, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Photography

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75 replies »

  2. Some wonderful holiday examples Patti – you’re right, that tree is amazing and I love the bow on the Peninsula’s lion! Your focus on the positives is the only way to go this year, as we too will be spending the holidays in place rather than with family. Like you I am grateful for our many blessings and know there will be many holidays to come if we stay safe this year. Here’s to all the best in 2021 and a wonderful rest-of-the-holiday season!

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  7. Pingback: Beautiful Great Blue Heron Wishing Peace on Earth (Not Art Nbr 26) | Babsje Heron

  8. Seasons Greetings, Patti! Love your quote from Raven Davies, so true. And I like how the photos you have selected are so very different from each other, fascinating. The one from New Hampshire would certainly look much different if it were taken just today, what with the huge snowfall this past Thursday. What a difference a day makes.

    Wishing you and yours Happy Holidays. Thanks for the many inspiring posts from all of the Lens Artists this year.
    Heres my submission for this week:
    https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com/2020/12/19/beautiful-great-blue-heron-wishing-peace-on-earth-not-art-nbr-26/

    Best, Babsje

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  10. This is such a beautiful holiday season series, Patti. I so enjoy your colorful and beautiful images, very well captured.
    Thank you for reminding us the positive side. Yes, the scientists and researchers succeeded in record time. I’m also amazed by how people coordinate differnet levels of the process in a short period of time including shipping the vaccine to all states and overseasand keeping the temperture low. I, too, often think of the war times in our history and natural disasters…

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    • Hi, Amy. Thank you! The brainpower of our scientists around the world is amazing. I’m sure many of them will be catching up on their sleep over the holidays! Take care, too, and enjoy the holidays with your family. Is your puppy getting a red bow around his neck and presents?😀

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  13. Lovely post!
    You’re right, Patti, other Christmases are coming, other celebrations to be together. It is up to us to be responsible here and we must do so with the joy of caring for one another.
    Happy Christmas and take care of yourselves.

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  14. I love all these beautiful displays! The house in Portsmouth makes me smile, too. Where I live there seem to be a lot more elaborate house decorations than most years. I love it! Wishing you happy and safe holidays and a happy new year!

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    • Hi, Beth. That’s wonderful! The displays are so much fun. I plan on taking a few more walks in the early evening to discover a few more places. I wish you the same–plenty of happiness in the new year and for the holidays.

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  15. Love that dinosaur display. That house looks so warm and inviting!
    Your team needs a well-deserved holiday break. For all of you on the LAPC team: Thanks for spending the year coming up with weekly challenges. Have a safe and happy 2021!

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  19. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year, Patti. You and all the Lens-Artists have been a great inspiration to me this year. I borrowed one of your quotes for my Writer’s Quotes Wednesday post. I love the way you all intersperse quotes with your pictures and your narratives. So well done. 🙂

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  21. What a beautiful and positive post, Patti! I am so thankful and grateful for your uplifting thoughts and images. That tree is just marvelous – but my heart lies in the little house in Portsmouth – it made me smile from ear to ear. It looks like a cartoon really, but the positive feeliing is unmistakable. Wishing you a warm and comfortable Holiday Season, and all the best to you and your family!

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  23. Love the tree! We have a non Christmas most years, and like the peace and quiet, but we would like to see our kids and grandkids again one day! Thanks to you and the rest of the LA team for a fun year, and here’s hoping for a better 2021.

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  24. Such beautiful light displays, Patti. It always gladdens my heart to see them, grand or humble. Although we are now here in Spokane for good, none of the family is gathering in large groups. As much as I love that, it will be nice to have a quiet Christmas eve with my husband and his brother. Love your notion about how quickly a vaccine was developed when it matters most. Merry Christmas 🌲 and cheers to a brave new world in 2021!

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