--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mid-December then and still no snow…" description: "\"“Mid-December then and still no snow. Strange Chicago crèches appeared in front yards: Baby Jesus, freed from the manger, leaned against a Santa sled h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/george-saunders-317_red-light_mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-stra_1702245.jpg" --- # Mid-December then and still no snow. Strange Chicago… ![“Mid-December then and still no snow. Strange Chicago crèches appeared in front yards: Baby Jesus, freed from the manger, leaned against a Santa sled half his height. He was crouching, as if about to jump; he wore just a diaper. Single strings of colored lights lay across bushes, as if someone had…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/george-saunders-317_red-light_mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-stra_1702245.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/george-saunders-317_red-light_mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-stra_1702245.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/george-saunders-317_red-light_mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-stra_1702245.jpg) > ““Mid-December then and still no snow. Strange Chicago crèches appeared in front yards: Baby Jesus, freed from the manger, leaned against a Santa sled half his height. He was crouching, as if about to jump; he wore just a diaper. Single strings of colored lights lay across bushes, as if someone had hatefully thrown them there. We patched the roof of a Jamaican immigrant whose apartment had nothing in it but hundreds of rags, spread across the floor and hanging from interior clotheslines. Nobody asked why. As we left, she offered us three DietRite Colas.”” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bleak urban scene shows charity and absurdity, highlighting how people give aid without questioning motives, while odd holiday decorations mask deeper social neglect. **In simple terms:** People help without asking why, amid strange holiday displays. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden motives in charitable acts. Themes charity urban life absurdity social neglect Mood cynical reflective Type observational satirical When to use this quote - neighborhood aid - holiday decorations - immigrant housing - unexpected gifts Key Concepts human behavior social critique holiday symbolism Questions to Reflect On - Why do we give without understanding? - What does the Santa sled symbolize? A Different Perspective Aid may be superficial and ignore systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christmas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) [December](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/december/) ## Related quotes > [Do your heart and head keep pace? When does hoary Love expire, When do frosts put out the fire? Can its embers burn below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-clarence-stedman/do-your-heart-and-head-keep-pace-when-does-hoary-love-expire-when-do/) [Edmund Clarence Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-clarence-stedman/) > [“The crisp path through the field in this December snow, in the deep dark, where we trod the buried grass like ghosts on dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/the-crisp-path-through-the-field-in-this-december-snow-in-the-deep/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [When I was out for the Christmas Holidays in school, I would go skiing up to the mountains and there they had Santa on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/when-i-was-out-for-the-christmas-holidays-in-school-i-would-go-skiing/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [“After a heavy snowfall one night in early December the snow formed a thick quilt from which the old man's face emerged like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard-3/after-a-heavy-snowfall-one-night-in-early-december-the-snow-formed-a/) J G Ballard > [“Colored lights blink on and off, racing across the green boughs. Their reflections dance across exquisite glass globes and splinter into shards against tinsel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/colored-lights-blink-on-and-off-racing-across-the-green-boughs-their/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I watched the early morning light pass over and through the windows of colored glass, leaving streaks of red and green and yellow on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-cushman/i-watched-the-early-morning-light-pass-over-and-through-the-windows/) [Karen Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-cushman/) > [I've stopped racing to get to the red light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-chandler/i-ve-stopped-racing-to-get-to-the-red-light/) [Kyle Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-chandler/) > [We're all trying to get to the same island — whether you swim, fly, surf, or skydive, it doesn't matter. What matters is when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/we-re-all-trying-to-get-to-the-same-island-whether-you-swim-fly-surf-2/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [“Christmas always used to get me down. There was something oppressive about all those twinkling colored lights. "Are you happy?" "Do you fit in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chica-umino/christmas-always-used-to-get-me-down-there-was-something-oppressive/) [Chica Umino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chica-umino/) > [We’re all trying to get to the same island, whether you swim, fly, surf, or skydive in, it doesn’t matter. What matters is when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/we-re-all-trying-to-get-to-the-same-island-whether-you-swim-fly-surf/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [One song Glory One song Before I go Glory One song to leave behind Find one song One last refrain Glory From the pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rent/one-song-glory-one-song-before-i-go-glory-one-song-to-leave-behind/) [Rent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rent/) > [“Just as with sound waves, light waves emitted by a moving source show the Doppler effect. What we observe instead of the sound pitch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/just-as-with-sound-waves-light-waves-emitted-by-a-moving-source-show/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [Suppose you were working at your job one day, and you made a little mistake. Then all of a sudden a red light went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-plante/suppose-you-were-working-at-your-job-one-day-and-you-made-a-little/) [Jacques Plante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-plante/) > [That awkward moment when you stop at a red light and look over to someone staring at you..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-awkward-moment-when-you-stop-at-a-red-light-and-look-over-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/) [Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Christmas quotes > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-manning/i-once-bought-my-kids-a-set-of-batteries-for-christmas-with-a-note-on/) [Bernard Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-manning/) > [May you have the spirit of Christmas which is Peace, the gladness of Christmas which is Hope, and the Heart of Christmas which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-you-have-the-spirit-of-christmas-which-is-peace-the-gladness-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To my future children; you will know the true meaning of Christmas just not you get gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-my-future-children-you-will-know-the-true-meaning-of-christmas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/) [Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said. "Christmas and Hanukah are completely different things." "But different things can often blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/santa-claus-has-nothing-to-do-with-it-the-latke-said-christmas-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For Christmas one year I bought my son a BB gun. He bought me a t-shirt with a bulls eye on the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/for-christmas-one-year-i-bought-my-son-a-bb-gun-he-bought-me-a-t/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“I stopped keeping an eye out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve because, when I was five, my mother told me that Santa was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-stopped-keeping-an-eye-out-for-santa-claus-on-christmas-eve-because/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [On Hanukkah, the first dark night, Light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite To dance within that gentle light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gordon/on-hanukkah-the-first-dark-night-light-yourself-a-candle-bright-i-ll/) [Nick Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-gordon/) [Browse all 5,100 Christmas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mid-December then and still no snow. Strange Chicago crèches appeared in front yards: Baby Jesus, freed from the manger, leaned against a Santa sled half his height. He was crouching, as if about to jump; he wore just a diaper. Single strings of colored lights lay across bushes, as if someone had hatefully thrown them there. We patched the roof of a Jamaican immigrant whose apartment had nothing in it but hundreds of rags, spread across the floor and hanging from interior clotheslines. Nobody asked why. As we left, she offered us three DietRite Colas.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Saunders" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-strange-chicago-cr-ches-appeared/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christmas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-strange-chicago-cr-ches-appeared/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/george-saunders-317_red-light_mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-stra_1702245.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/george-saunders-317_red-light_mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-stra_1702245.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a4/george-saunders-317_red-light_mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-stra_1702245.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mid-December then and still no snow. Strange Chicago crèches appeared in front yards: Baby Jesus, freed from…” — George Saunders", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Saunders", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Mid-December then and still no snow....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-strange-chicago-cr-ches-appeared/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/mid-december-then-and-still-no-snow-strange-chicago-cr-ches-appeared/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```