It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

I have always been a real Christmas tree girl.  I have prayed for snow to be on the ground by Christmas morning for as long as I've been old enough to pray, even when we lived outside of Savannah, GA.  When given clay in 5th grade art class with the understanding we could craft anything, I made a cheesy nativity scene my mom still displays.  I love Christmas: decorating, cooking and eating, get-togethers, family celebrations, Lessons and Carols and advent wreaths.  I love Christmas and its wrappings because of what it means: Christ came to earth to take my place in His Father's wrath against sin and give me life.

All of that to say, having a traditional (as I know it) Christmas in Kenya is beyond reason and I think even desire.  We didn't ship one Christmas decoration to Kenya and I'm glad.  I was pretty well convinced we didn't need a tree (it would be way easier to get a blooming hibiscus) and that hanging out with friends and eating roasted goat with the kids here on Christmas would be an excellent way to celebrate.

Enter the tomato lights.  A few days ago I went to the local "supermarket" called Naivas in our community.  It's run by Kenyan Indians and has lots of things from American pancake syrup made in Iran to fresh Indian Mandazis.  A table was placed at the front and it held small, fake Christmas trees and a host of decorations.  The display model boasted a strand of red-velvet covered, Christmas-tree shaped lights.

Needless to say, my Christmas urges mastered me.  I dug through the table, grabbed a two-footer and reached for lights.  Choices, choices!  They had strands of multi-coloured mango, grape clusters, moon-and-star and the tomato vine.  The mango lights were pretty tempting, but the tomatoes won out.  They are velvet-covered and all red.  They do a host of tricks.  I was sold.

We now have our Charlie Brown Christmas tree on its own little table, decked out in tomato lights and two ornaments, with a few wrapped presents.  I'm chagrined to say that, for a girl who has always preferred only real Christmas trees with white lights, this little piece of Christmas is pretty special.