HiStory and the New Year

To some tourists, I'm sure, Custer's battlefield looks like, well, a field. If it weren't for the pictures on the books for sale in the gift shop, it'd be hard to distinguish this chunk of rough land from any other. A good tour guide - and some basic interest on the part of the tourist - can help one hear the horses coming over the ridge, sense the sweat as tensions rose, and see the bodies, curled in dusty cloth, on the ground. And so on.
That sense of history, and the power of STORY - of what was, is and will be - gives value to a myriad of places, things and people in our lives. It truly gives us our humanity. Do you see that oddly shaped hole in the ground? That's where the UFO came down... Do you know that man over there? His great-grandfather was came from Germany... Do you know where that hotel is? There used to be a gorgeous old mansion there...
As we leave Christmas behind and are gently tugged into the new year, I can't help but recall the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. I grew up thinking "manger, field, stars, quiet, earthy"- recreating in my head the 'real' version of the Nativity from the skit we kids performed at the front of the church each year. Visiting 'the site' in real life twisted the story in my head like a wet towel, wringing it damp and setting it out to dry! That very old church - the oldest Protestant church in the world - bore no resemblance to the historic account. The church is ornate, evoking the Rococo; a small fireplace like area gaudily bejeweled bears the "gold basin where the Infant laid his head". So much for the "lowly" birth! With it's geological significance crusted over in gold leaf, the 'original' Christmas has slipped away from history, living on in the telling of the story. In this case, it's even difficult to reconcile the site with the story; as the site bears tales of its own. What plotline do we follow from the site? The dirty manger, or the gold-lined bowl?

My friend Yoshio, in Toyota-shi, Japan; annually sends his emailed greeting. It always features colorful artwork of the animal symbolizing the New Year; 2009 is the Year of the Ox. He regularly quotes messages of peace, hope and change. This year, his quotes were from Jesus, Buddha, and Obama! He listed his resolutions of last year, as well as the progress he made on them. Yoshi is not shy about adminitting failures; for one resolution, he merely stated "did not make progress-too lazy!" He then listed his resolutions for 2009, including some that still needed work from 2008. Yoshi is telling his stories, rewriting, and revising them.
Stories weave and collide; they rhapsodize together; they face off and fight.
What stories will we follow this year? Which will we rewrite or reread?