Celebrating - in the Dark

I am meditating quite a bit these days on what it means to celebrate in the midst of dark times. This morning, I woke up in a bit of a "funk" - disturbing dreams, not a very positive outlook for Christmas (my Mom will most likely be in a nursing home for rehab) and just basically a continual downward spiral in my life that has been taking place the last 18 months. I realized quickly I needed to be reminded of some truths in the dark. A good friend challenged me last night to take the celebration of Christmas to the nursing home where my Mom is - don't allow the circumstances to dampen the celebration. I started thinking about Mary - and what this happy occasion looked like to her . . I'm not sure what is worse, celebrating Jesus birth in  a nasty, smelly stable/cave or in a nursing home (actually, we probably do know the answer to that).  Then I got to thinking about a conversation I had with one of my Bosnian friends whose daughter was born in the midst of the siege on Sarajevo. During the birth there was no running water, so her husband had to take buckets to a water source and bring them back to clean both her and baby up after the birth. She told me that even though people had very little food and shells were being fired into the city daily - some of her friends managed to secure a chocolate bar and a few other little gifts to bring to her to celebrate her daughter's birth. Wow - I really needed that reminder . . . I can certainly find ways to celebrate this holiday in the midst of these dark days.  So, off I go gathering both physical expressions as well as some emotional strength to celebrate Jesus' birthday in the dark . . . think I'll buy a few candles!