Losing scenes of Christmases past

As a kid growing up in Arlington Heights during the 1960s, the Nativity scene always played an important role in the Christmas season, as the lifelike figurines were prominently displayed in front of the train station on Northwest Highway and Dunton.

Whether you were religious or not, the Nativity, as well as the carolers in front of the old Arlington Federal Savings bank, and jolly Saint Nick in the window of Hagenbrings, welcomed in the festive season.

This was the generation born with common sense that would have had peals of laughter if someone said that such scenes were an insult to them. Unfortunately, throughout our nation, it seems that there is no more common sense, but a rush to one extreme or the other. Whether you are religious or not, the beauty of the crèche has captured the hearts of the world for generations whether it was intricate costumes, studded with jewels, figurines carved out of terra cotta, or masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci that hang in museums throughout the world today.

We live in a society where people have no tolerance of each other and look too deep into situations.

Mary Boldan

Arlington Heights