GRAND CANYON, Ariz.—When Hanes Swingle first gazed down at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, he was only eight years old.
He said that at that age, one doesn’t always see or appreciate the wonder and beauty of nature.
There were gifts to buy and souvenirs to bring home.
Beauty was for grown-ups.
“It was so totally different as a kid,” said Swingle, a visitor from Tennessee, remembering those long-ago years through the eyes of an adult.
Now, as he looks out at the Grand Canyon on his third visit, the shadows in the rock formations are different. The colors are different. The feeling is different. He is different.
“It is just so magnificent, like being in a great cathedral,” Swingle said.
During a service at the Grand Canyon Community Church on Christmas Eve, Swingle, 71, lit a candle to commemorate the meaning of the season, not far from the national landmark.
Pastor Michael Paddy has been the interdenominational church’s resident minister for more than two years. He believes there’s a spiritual power and connection with the land regardless of faith.
For the past 40 years, the church has held a candlelight service on the night before Christmas, and each time, the pastor gives a sermon that best suits the occasion.
This year’s sermon was titled “Christmas in a Bag.”
Inside the bag were candy, fudge, sugar cookies, and a bright red-and-white Santa cap, which he put on for effect.
As he pulled these items out of a blue shopping bag, Paddy told the more than two dozen celebrants that it is sometimes easy to get caught up in the holiday’s materialism and trappings.
There is nothing inherently wrong with these things when placed in the context of “why we’re doing it, what we’re celebrating,” Paddy said.
“We want to take Christmas in my bag and turn it into Christmas in the Bible,” he said, and to try to “remember the real reason for the season.”
“Christmas at the Canyon is such a beautiful time,” Paddy told The Epoch Times. “My whole aspect is it’s not how long and how old the Grand Canyon is. My phrase is: How is your soul?”
Some Christians think the Grand Canyon is as old as the earth, which in the Bible is about 6,000 years old.
Everyone agrees that the canyon is an immense force of nature. It is more than 1.2 million acres in size and stretches for 277 miles in length and 18 miles wide at its widest point.
The Colorado River has been carving away at the canyon’s steep sides for millions of years.
In 1919, the Grand Canyon became a national park and now draws more than 5 million visitors each year.
At an average elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level, the park is open year-round and situated roughly 60 miles north of Williams, also referred to as the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon.” To avoid the summer tourist rush, some visitors opt to spend the holidays at the landmark.
“There’s something miraculous to me when somebody stares at that canyon,” Paddy said. “There’s a draw that is the beauty and grandeur of the Canyon that coexists” with many different spiritual beliefs.
Native Americans believe that the pastel-colored walls of the canyon have a special meaning and spiritual power, he said.
“Every time I see it, I am still in awe,” Paddy said.
Samantha Escamilla, a visitor experience specialist for the Grand Canyon Park Service, said there are fewer visitors during the holidays than during the summer travel season.
“From what I’ve heard,” she said, “they book [a reservation] a year in advance” just for the holidays.
“Some come out here every Christmas.”
Michael Yuan, visiting from Maryland, said he had been to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim before, but this was the first time he had seen the South Rim at sunrise, and it was “amazing.”
For Swingle, celebrating Christmas at the Grand Canyon is a unique and memorable experience.
“I’ve walked along the side [of the canyon], driven by, looked in. I hope to get into the canyon enough to say I’ve been in the canyon,” Swingle told The Epoch Times.
It’s been 40 or 50 years since his last visit. “I tell you, it’s a totally different experience and appreciation,” he said.
The Grand Canyon is “God’s creation,” Swingle said. “And Christmas goes with everything in creation.”
