Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Santa brought me an early Christmas present overnight in the form of some significant snowfall here in Western Massachusetts, so I’m very grateful.
I admittedly have a complicated, if not strained relationship with my faith, with religion, and with the concept of God (any God, really.) With the exception of my recent trip to Italy, I can’t say I’ve stepped foot in a church other than for things like weddings or funerals in a very, very long time My beliefs have been tested over the years in a variety of ways, and the only true faith I seem to have anymore is faith in myself and my abilities to make good choices and get by.
I digress. Just because my own relationship with my Catholic upbringing is shaky at best doesn’t mean I can’t still find beauty in the meaning, the messages and the imagery from time to time. Around the holidays, the more religious-themed Christmas songs are some of my favorite to listen to, and I’ll never not look at a beautifully constructed Nativity scene.
So a couple of nights ago, a very cold night at that, I decided to visit the La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, Massachusetts for the first time since before the pandemic had started. While the shrine itself holds daily mass and confession, it’s during December when the grounds transform into a literal Winter Wonderland – with over a million light displays spread out that you can walk through and admire at your own pace.
And while most of the displays naturally featured religious components, something I always appreciated about La Salette was that they never frowned upon or shied away from including things like Santa, Rudolph or Frosty in the mix. They set out to make their display fun for everyone of all ages and faiths.
This year, they even had fire pits for s’mores kits they had put together for guests, and had also opened their Nativity Museum to visitors where they displayed Nativity scenes from around the world. Japan’s was my favorite, for sure.
I spent a couple of hours at the Shrine this time around and found it beautiful, peaceful and a very unique holiday light display peeping experience. If you’re in the Attleboro area from now through January 4th – definitely bundle up and check it out!
I’ll be back this Friday with a look at some of my favorite things from this past month before we begin winding down the end of 2025 (!!) but I want to wish everyone who celebrates a very Merry Christmas before then!
I hope Santa is good to you all!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 