As much as I love the Big Sky Country, last week I left my beautiful part of the world and went to Las Vegas in order to attend a couple of conventions. It was hard to give up the cold and snow of Montana and brave the sunshine and blue skies of Nevada in December, but I was willing to endure it.
I attended DSE (Digital Signage Experience) and PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service).
I grant you some people might not find those events interesting, but I was fascinated by both. I’ll spare you the details of those conventions, however, because I want to focus on something else.
ARRIVING LATE
I arrived late on Monday night. And by late, I mean about midnight Vegas time, which was about 1am Montana time. Needless to say, I was tired.
The first thing I saw when I entered The Luxor Hotel was an enormous tree in the lobby. It had white lights but no other decorations.
I assumed it was a Christmas tree since Christmas was less than three weeks away. It seemed like an appropriate display for the season.
I grant you it didn’t have a nativity scene. I assume they didn’t want anyone to know that Christmas had something to do with Jesus out of fear they might offend someone.
Because of the nearness of the holiday, I expected to see many Christmas displays throughout the hotel and casino.
But I didn’t.
There were no nativity scenes with the baby Jesus, no angels sharing the good news with the shepherds, no wise men on camels … nothing to indicate anything about God’s great gift to humanity — the birth of the Savior.
But that isn’t the only thing that was missing.
I didn’t even see any secular Christmas displays. Santa Claus, elves, and reindeer were nowhere to be found throughout my stay.
The only thing that had the hint of Christmas was that big tree in the main lobby.
Just a tree.
MUSIC
I like to begin my morning with a walk. Because I was staying at the Luxor, I was able to walk safely through the three connected hotels (Excaliber, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay) without going outside.
They are very large properties and I would get about an hour each morning just walking.
Now I’ve always given the Vegas hotels praise for their marketing abilities.
As I walked through the hotel, food courts, and casino areas, there often seemed to be music playing in the background. I don’t know if there is special “make them gamble” music, but the music seemed to reflect the people who were in the property at a particular time.
In earlier visits to Vegas, I remember hearing music from the 60’s and 70’s. They were the songs of my youth, and I could sing the words along with the artists performing over the sound system. But those songs were half a century old, and I couldn’t believe they would still be playing those songs. But when I looked around the casino, I realized it was filled with a bunch of old people.
Obviously, someone in their marketing department knew who was in the place at that particular time.
But this week was not a time of old people in attendance in Vegas.
I don’t know what main draws were in Vegas during the week, but most everyone I saw was fairly young (for me that means under 50) so I was sure the music would reflect that.
Even though they were short on Christmas decorations, I expected to hear a bunch of Christmas carols.
I expected to hear the old “standards” sung by the old stars of my youth. But that was not to be. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, and other major singers of the past were not to be heard.
And the “classic” Christmas hymns like Silent Night, O Holy Night, Joy to the World, Little town of Bethlehem, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, and O Come All Ye Faithful were not being sung by any performer.
I never even heard the “inoffensive” Christmas songs like White Christmas, We Wish you a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and even I Saw Momma Kissing Santa Claus.
I heard NO Christmas music at all.
Zero.
Instead, I heard some songs that bordered on rap music. Now I have difficulty considering “rap” actually music, but some of the sounds in the background definitely had that flavor.
But that wasn’t bad enough.
One of the songs included a lot of cussing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like hearing cuss words. I grant you our society has changed, and today you can hear young children and young girls and women cussing routinely in casual conversation, but I don’t like it.
And I really don’t like it when that cussing includes the “F” word, which the song I was listening to said several times.
Now I don’t want to end on that note.
So, I’d like to go back to a time, when people sang about Jesus. Out loud. On the public airwaves. For everyone to hear.
THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
So, even though The Luxor and the other MGM hotels connected to it chose to ignore the real reason for Christmas, I thought it might be good to remember …
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 (ESV)
I pray that you will know that Christmas is the celebration of the great gift God has given you of His love for you, His forgiveness for your sins, and His offer of spending eternity with Him.
Have a great Christmas!
“Dreams come true: world’s first flying car completes maiden flight in Washington,” by Collin Jones.
“Reports find colleges no longer produce ideal job candidates,” by Sean Salai.
“I Survived the Holocaust. It’s Starting to Feel Like the 1930s Again,” by Lucy Lipiner.
Before I go, I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today!
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