“You darkness, that I come from,

I love you more than all the fires

that fence in the world,

for the fire makes

a circle of light for everyone,

and then no one outside learns of you.

But the darkness pulls in everything;

shapes and fires, animals and myself,

how easily it gathers them!

—powers and people—

and it is possible a great energy

is moving near me.

I have faith in nights.”

 ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

The holiday season in Saluda remains one of my favorite times: the warmth and glow of home and hearth, windows and houses softly lit, downtown shops twinkling with lights on a dark December evening. It’s a time to slow down, to reflect on life and blessings both great and small.

While it seems hard to slow down with so many events, shopping and parties, I find myself needing to take that ‘slow’ route, to make room for places in the heart that need to be remembered: of Christmases and loved ones past, of memories and all I remain grateful for. When I was a kid, it seemed to be the more you got the better. Now I find myself yearning to give more, wanting very little: just simple things like watching the tree lights at night, watching firelight dance, a good book to read in bed, a warm dog close by, something simmering on the stove all day, hugs from friends. Places in the heart, circles of light indeed.

Our annual Hometown Christmas is tonight: Dec. 14, 6-8 p.m. Historic Main Street with charming character, colors and old-fashioned friendliness brings to mind a simpler place and times past. Stores on Main Street and over the bridge downtown glow with warm light as music sweetens the night — luminaries lead the way up Greenville Street to the Saluda Inn where artists and craftspeople will sell gift items from 6:30-9:30 p.m., and on up to the Oaks Bed and Breakfast. At 8:30 p.m., the evening wraps up with an Ecumenical Service at Saluda Presbyterian Church.