As I walked the city streets of Nashville
I realized I was surrounded by ghosts
Beneath the neon clad celebrity bars
were the ghosts of trendy artists
And the memories of thousands of celebrations
Beneath the boarded up storefronts
were the ghosts of businesses past
and the memories of dreams forsaken
Beneath the echoes of historic venues
were the ghosts of the legends
and the memories of iconic performances
Beneath the facade of dive bars
were the ghosts of desperation
and the memories of times gone by
Beneath the walls of 19th century tenements
were the ghosts of folks who lived there
and the memories of their own vivid lives
Beneath the shadows of sentinels guarding the skyline
Were the ghosts of centuries of liveliness
and the memories of the past
Nashville is a city of ghosts
I don't have a full article this week, but here's a little bit of trivia for you: While Holland is a predominantly Christian Reformed city, it was the early Methodists that sprung the Christmas spirit. While an 1867 Sunday School Christmas Program drew nearly 150 youngsters to Hope Church, it was several generations before the Reformed church allowed even Christmas trees into their sanctuaries, as Christmas trees were seen as Pagan symbols. Early Methodists adopted the 19th Century American spirit, and welcomed things like Christmas trees and even Santa Claus into their sanctuaries. I tried to determine exactly how long "several generations" were using Dr. Swierenga's book (and the sources he cites), but could not ascertain the exact time. It's almost certainly somewhere in the vicinity of 50 years (before the Christian Reformed Churches allowed 'pagan' Christmas symbols), which would put their allowing of such things into the early 20th century, but ...
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