An Everywhere Oasis: Christmas Reflections by Alan Harris


Star

Does the star of Bethlehem
not shine from every eye?



Welcome!

Christmas Reflections offers unusual poems and humor for various holiday moods. If you like, you can try matching your mood with the links below: Whatever your mood today, I hope you enjoy this site and have happy holidays.

Alan Harris






For the Holidays:
A Thought-Filled Gift
Free for the Printing


"Ponderables All Year"
A Birthday Book of Original Aphorisms
by Alan Harris

PDF, 5.4 MB, 83 pages, double-sided format--print out odd-numbered pages, then print even-numbered on reverse

Free PDF Download


This birthday book collects some of my uncollected thinking and provides you with a space beside each day of the year for collecting the uncollected birthdays of your friends and relatives. Included are 365 of my ponderables, one for each day of the year, which range from the unabashedly wacky to the exploringly spiritual. Twelve of my seasonal poems appear here, one at the beginning of each month, and the book is decorated with my color photography. Note: Adobe Reader is required for viewing and printing.

Click to download and install Adobe Reader (free)

Christmas Reflections

Offerings for the Holiday Season
written by Alan Harris


with thanks to Paul Meier
for his oral interpretations




18-page Gift Book
Christmas Reflections: the Book
Free PDF download (2.0 MB)

Book contains holiday poems & humor.
Print for yourself or for giving away.
You need Adobe Reader (also free).

More free PDF books by Alan Harris



Poems

Listening to Christmas
Alan Harris reading | New: Color Graphic PDF
May Christmas be found within an inner silence?

A Christmas Light
Alan Harris reading
The moon is nominated as a Christmas light--
an emblem of the inner Christmas glow.

NEW Come Home to Christmas
Christmas as an inner place of comfort
for sorrow and loneliness

Winter Solstice
Musings on patterns and blessings of Christmas

Yuletide's Deepest Bell
Holiday confusion ushers in a fusion of hearts.

Every Christmas
Christmas is interpreted in its widest meanings.

Christmas Awakening
Guest Reading by Paul Meier
Early Christmas morning wanderings in a dim
living room lead to fresh possibilities.

Within Our Keep
Guest Reading by Paul Meier
Joseph and Mary silently regard
their baby in the manger.

Here at the Close of Christmas Day
Guest Reading by Paul Meier
Reflections during the denouement of the Christmas
holiday find rest in the security of Here.

Wounded Holidays
Guest Reading by Paul Meier
Dedicated to the Compassionate Friends and all who
are grieving the loss of a child.

Christmas Haiku
Slightly offbeat 17-syllable facets of the seasonal jewel.


Humor

Frequently Asked Questions about Christmas
These tongue-in-cheek answers to Christmas questions
end on a more serious note.

Santa's Interior Monologue
If Santa talks to himself on Christmas Eve,
perhaps this is what he is saying.

Shopping Cheap
Guest Reading by Paul Meier
A Christmas shopper wanders through the
"desert of don't care" in a huge discount store.


Essays

Christmas Letter, 1981
The world's warmest person lives in its coldest spot.

Christmas Letter, 2021

The Scrooge Before Christmas
Is Scrooge throwing out the baby or merely the bathwater?


Gallery of
Photographic Essays

Angels of the Sunset
Poem and photos offering suggestions
of angelic presences at sunset

Thoughts Along a Winter's Walk
Scenes of the winter season
with thoughts for any season

The Beauty of Up
Striking cloud formations and sunsets
during the monsoons in Tucson, Arizona

Sky Circles
In memory of Alan's mother, Margie Harris,
who joined such heavens in September, 2005.

Framed Nature Photos
A virtual gallery containing 24 forest and
sky photos complete with frames and titles.

Asking the Quiet Fire
Photographs of an autumn forest accompany
questions asked of the forest--and its answers

Bunga Rucka - A Chant from Underneath
Photographs of canyons and water accompany
an insistent inner chant of the subconscious

Double Vision
Combined pairs of photos offer 12 novel views
of seasonal scenes that verge on the surreal

Grandstand Fantasy
Reflections of mind and sun on the potentialities
of an empty grandstand

Peace - Its Inner Hiding Places
Photographs of an Illinois forest in September
with reflections on inner peace

Trees Without Talk
Old trees near the Fox River in Illinois speaking a
language of life and light in captionless photographs


Additional Literary Works

Noon Out Of Nowhere
Collected Poems of Alan Harris

Around 350 poems which probe into love,
joy, grief, integrity, and meaningful living

Stories and Essays by Alan Harris
13 short stories for entertainment, and
23 essays—some light, some challenging

Thinker's Daily Ponderable
An original humorous and/or intriguing thought every day

Heartplace
(Co-edited with Mary Lambert)
Heart-centered poems, short stories, and
essays submitted since 1999 by many authors

Garden of Grasses: Literary Unveilings
(Co-edited with Mary Lambert)
Poems, short stories, and essays submitted
from 1996 to 1999 by 43 worldwide authors

Guestbook
For reading other people's feedback
and optionally leaving your own

Bio of Alan Harris
Some personal history plus a portfolio
of Web sites developed for others

An Everywhere Oasis
Alan Harris's home page which describes
and links to all of the sections of this site.



Links to other Christmas sites

Christmas Time

Virtual Quincy (Illinois) Holiday Links

All Christmas



Comments and queries: (Alan Harris)

The current page is located at:
https://www.alharris.com/holidays
by Alan Harris.
All rights reserved.
Nativity in stained glass

Christmas and a minimum universe both
ask for only one star and some generosity.
Outdoor Christmas tree

As Santa comes down the spine
from the head to the heart,
everything seems a gift.

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