One of the holiday traditions Scott brought to our marriage was a cassette tape of novelty Christmas songs that his family listened to when he was a kid. We play it while we decorate our Christmas tree. One of the songs is called “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” I was utterly charmed by this song the first time I heard it. That year Scott put a little wind-up hippopotamus in my stocking as a joke. After that it became our tradition. Every year we add a hippopotamus to our collection. We arrange them in our nativity set, among the Holy Family and the barn animals. I’m confident that God welcomes all animals to worship in that sacred place. He welcomes all people, too. No one has to be excluded. It is when we come together to worship the Lord that we make possible peace and reconciliation.
In the song, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” the singer describes how she will accommodate her hippopotamus (in the garage), and she promises to take good care of him (even give him a massage). God asks us to accommodate and care for one another in Jesus’ name. This is the peace he has promised us this Advent season.
—Rebecca Glancy
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