Here in the Coulee Region of Western Wisconsin Christmas is a very special time of year. Whether you travel to Trempealeau, Holmen, Sparta, Tomah, Black River Falls, Onalaska, Prairie du Chien, La Crosse, or any of the towns in between you are going to find examples of the Christmas spirit all over the place. The following excerpt is from a recent post to this very web site which I believe describes the reason for the season very well:

Have you noticed that around Christmas time everyone takes the name Christmas and puts it in front of everything? It’s not a vacation. It’s a Christmas vacation and Christmas break. If you go to a concert or a party around Christmas time, they are Christmas concerts and Christmas parties. You have Christmas lights, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, Christmas sales, Christmas music, Christmas movies, Christmas cookies. I’m sure the kids remember something about Christmas presents too. People put the name Christmas in front of all these things to show that they make up an important part of Christmas.

But Christmas is much more than an adjective that we use at a certain time of the year. The real purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the coming of our Savior Jesus into this world. We were born with sin in our hearts and we deserve to go to hell because of it. Throughout history believers waited for the one who would come to undo what sin did. You
think you have to wait a long time for Christmas to come every year? Believers who trusted in God’s promise to send a Savior waited for thousands of years.

But when Jesus was born, the world saw the greatest example of God’s love for the world. From the moment of his birth, he started living a holy life so that he could hand it to you. From the moment of his birth, he focused his eyes on the cross so that he could suffer for you. From the moment of his birth, mankind saw the proof that God’s promises are not empty and he gave us a sure hope in eternal life. That’s what’s so great about Christmas.

Once Christmas is over and the New Year hits, everything starts to go back to normal. We get to eat regular cookies and regular dinners. We listen to regular music and watch regular movies. But one thing that will always have the name Christmas in front of it is Christmas joy. You see, the Christmas joy that all Christians have is knowing that you will be in heaven someday because of that child who was born. And so we wait with Christmas joy on our hearts as we think about what he did in the past so that we could have a future.

My deepest thanks to the anonymous author who posted that here. It captures so much of what we feel in our hearts during this time of year. This region has very deep Christian roots and we are not afraid to express these beliefs. Our Christian beliefs are one of the reasons why this region is so incredibly special. We take care of each other because that is the way Christ taught us to treat one another. We do not ignore our personal responsibilities and cast our neighbors out to a cold-hearted government program when they are in need. We personally take care of them by opening up our own wallets and our own homes to help them get back on their feet so they can take care of themselves again.

As you travel around the Coulee Region during this festive time of year pay close attention to all of the signs of our Christian values that are on display. We give our time and money to bell ringers with red kettles. We listen to 24/7 Christmas carols and sometimes sing along. We string up thousands and thousands of Christmas lights to symbolize the light of the world that came to Earth in the form of a child on Christmas Day. We use candy canes in the form of the letter "J" to remind us that Jesus, the perfect Son of God (white), shed his blood (red) to take away our sins so we can all go to Heaven.

We bake our Christmas treats and enjoy Eggnog and Tom and Jerry beverages. We decorate our trees, homes, streets, and just about everything else that will take a piece of tinsel, ornament or wreath. We do all these things out of Christian joy for the season and because that is the kind of traditional American values that we hold so dear in this region.

From all of us at CouleeConservatives.com - MERRY CHRISTMAS!