Last but certainly not least, December is that wonderful month of sleigh bells ringing, snowflakes glistening, “Silent Night," and a miracle birthday. That would certainly be enough reason for celebration but there's more. This month includes days to honor Mary, an apostle, and lots of saints. And one of those saints is (ho ho ho) Saint Nicholas.
You probably already know all about the Advent wreath and have one in place in your home, but just in case you haven’t started this tradition, here’s how: simply buy an Advent wreath at a religious goods store or a gift shop. Or make a wreath of greenery. In the greenery, place four candles: three purple and one pink. You can use votive lights to be safer if you have small children. If you can’t find the colored candles, use four white candles, but tie on ribbon bows: three of purple and one of pink. Each night before dinner, say a short prayer or read a bit of the Christmas story from the Bible. The first week, light one purple candle; the second week, light two purple candles; the third week, light two purple candles and the pink candle; and by the fourth week, when you light all four candles, you know Christmas is near. Each week of Advent has a theme--first, expectation; second, joy; third, hope; fourth, acceptance. The circle of the wreath reminds us that God’s love surrounds us and is never-ending. The greenery signifies new life. The purple reminds us that Advent is a time to ask for and give forgiveness. And the pink tells us Advent is a time of joy and hope as we await the coming of Jesus.
In some countries, children put their shoes outside the bedroom door when they go to bed on December 5. On the morning of December 6, the feast of Saint Nicholas, they find a few pieces of candy and a tiny toy in the shoes. In some areas, gifts are given only on Saint Nicholas Day and Christmas Day is kept sacred as a religious holiday. Isn’t that a good idea?
Christmas Tree Candle Holder. Core an apple, making a hole large enough to hold a candle. Stick sprigs of evergreen into the apple until it is completely covered, then add the candle. You may have to put a bit of modeling clay on the bottom of the candle to make it stand straight. The juice from the apple will keep the evergreen fresh for several days.
Deer Favors or Gifts. Here’s an easy way to make a reindeer. Twist a colorful pipe cleaner around the curve of a candy cane. Cut another into two pieces, and twist them around the first to make the antlers. Glue on wiggly eyes which you can buy at a craft store and a red pompon for the nose. Tie a ribbon around the deer’s neck, and add a jingle bell.
Some families have a memory tree. They might have a fancy tree in the living room and put this sentimental one in the family room. They decorate it with whatever is special to them: a bit of lace from a wedding gown or veil, baby pictures, school pictures, badges or awards won by the children, an add collar from a well-loved dog or cat, a packet of rubber bands from the orthodontist after the braces have come off, a bracelet from a hospital stay, a piece of a cast from a broken bone, a spark plug or license plate from an old but loved car, a golf ball. Once you start this, you can save things all through the year and keep adding to it so that every year you can “remember when” every time you look at it. One newlywed couple didn’t have any ornaments yet so they decorated a tree with favorite Christmas cards. This became their tradition.
Deer Cake Too! Use a lamb mold to bake a cake. Frost the cake with light chocolate icing. Add a cherry nose and make antlers with broken pieces of curly pretzels.
Since kids love Christmas and love to help, what are some easy things they can do to be a part of your Christmas preparations? If they’re old enough, ask them to help address Christmas cards or at least glue on the stamps or return address stickers.
They can help make angel cookies: Buy a roll of refrigerator cookie dough, and cut it into 1 1/4-inch slices. Cut one slice with a triangle center to make the body and wings. Cut another slice into fourths and use one fourth to roll into a ball for the head. Bake and ice.
Roll up red cloth or paper napkins, and tie with green ribbon and a bit of holly or a jingle bell to use for a family dinner or a party.
Make a macaroni ornament: String red yarn through pieces of uncooked macaroni to form the shape of a wreath, then tie a bow on top.
Make a ribbon wreath: Buy a small styrofoam or wire wreath or a small embroidery hoop. Cut equal lengths of colorful leftover ribbon, and tie them on. (It was an old custom to embroider initials or the first name of family and friends on thick good quality ribbons and make a friendship wreath of them, adding new names each year.)
Unwrap and assemble the Christmas crib figures. If you don’t have a crib set, take the kids shopping to buy one. After you assemble it, gather around in a family prayer circle and sing a carol (possibly “Silent Night”).
Since angels are very popular at Christmas, suggest that the kids add angel “wings” to a favorite doll or teddy bear by cutting wings out of white fluted paper plates. Or one of your “little angels” might make a Christmas angel’s harp. Just stretch rubber bands around a lidless shoe box. Use fat bands and skinny ones so they will have a different sound. Try arranging them until you have a “scale” (the big bands make low notes, the skinny bands make higher notes). Pluck these strings with fingers or rub the back of an old toothbrush across them.
Make the table festive by putting greenery, like a wreath, around a serving plate. Add a few fresh cranberries to look like holly berries. Make a “wreath” of lettuce leaves or parsley on a tray and add munchies: red radishes, cocktail tomatoes, green olives, fresh or pickled mushrooms.
Sprinkle a dessert with white chocolate “snow.” (Rub a room-temperature bar of white chocolate over a large-holed grater. Collect the “snow” on waxed paper, and chill until ready to use. For larger shavings, scrape the white chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler.) Put all sizes of lighted candles burning around the house, including some scented ones, for atmosphere.
In addition to the traditional visit to see Santa, take the kids for a ride to look at the Christmas lights around town, and stop at several different churches to say a prayer by the Christmas cribs.
For an easy family dessert that will be a bit religious, make three batches of gelatin--lime, orange, and strawberry--using 1 cup of boiling water but only 1/2 cup of cold water for each. When they are chilled, cut into cubes. Fill dessert dishes with some cubes of each color, and tell the kids this is to remind them of the stained glass windows at church.
Since you will be feasting tomorrow, plan a simple meal for Christmas Eve, and make it a tradition to always serve the same thing every year. In Mexico, families often make large quantities of tamales to serve during the holidays so maybe you might want to have canned chili and tamales as a contrast to the usual Christmas fixings. Or you might want to have cold meat and cheese with a fancy bread. Did you know the word Bethlehem means “house of bread”? Find some kind of very special bread the family would like and always serve it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, reminding them of Bethlehem.
Take lots of family photos during the holidays. When you have that after-Christmas letdown, spend an evening with the family looking at all the photos and picking out your favorites. Put these into a Christmas scrapbook, and let anyone add a note or stickers or drawings about this Christmas. Save the scrapbook, and add to it every year.
Make up “fortunes” for the new year for each family member, and tie them to the Christmas tree. (For example: God will bless you with love and good cheer...and find a music teacher who can cure your tin ear. Or let each kid make up one for another kid. Or make up generic fortunes that could apply to anyone.) Take the fortunes off the tree, and read each aloud at midnight (or after supper) on New Year’s Eve to start the new year with a laugh.
Instead of fortunes, let each family member make a wish for the new year and write it on a slip of paper. Take the papers outside, put them in the barbecue grill or a safe container, and burn them while you say a prayer or sing a song. For a New Year’s centerpiece, put a lot of clocks on the table with some greenery. Or buy noisemakers and hats, and use them for the centerpiece, then pass them out at midnight. (Tip: If the kids want to stay up until midnight but you know they won’t make it, set the clocks ahead.)
If you have a real tree, when you take off the ornaments, set the tree outside and let the kids redecorate it with strings of popcorn or cranberries, stale bread or doughnuts, and apple slices, so the birds can enjoy it and you can enjoy watching them celebrate your leftover tree.
Many years ago, a candy maker wanted to make a candy at Christmas time that would serve as a witness to his Christian faith. He wanted to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus. He began with a stick of pure white hard candy; white to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus; hard to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church; firmness to represent the promise of God.
The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. He thought it could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd, with which he reached down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.
Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life. Unfortunately, the candy became known as a candy cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the true meaning is still there for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Mistletoe has no roots of its own and lives off the tree to which it attaches itself. Without that tree it would die. Mistletoe was thought to be sacred by ancient Europeans.
The Druids considered mistletoe to be a sacred plant and believed it had miraculous properties which could cure illnesses, serve as an antidote against poisons, ensure fertility and protect against the ill effects of witchcraft. Whenever enemies met under the mistletoe in the forest, they had to lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next day. From this has seemingly come the ancient custom of hanging a ball of mistletoe from the ceiling and exchanging kisses under it as a sign of friendship and goodwill. Top Norse Mistletoe Myth Norsemen offer us a beautiful symbolic myth about mistletoe.
The story goes that Mistletoe was the sacred plant of Frigga, goddess of love and the mother of Balder, the god of the summer sun. Balder had a dream of death which greatly alarmed his mother, for should he die, all life on earth would end. In an attempt to keep this from happening, Frigga went at once to air, fire, water, earth, and every animal and plant seeking a promise that no harm would come to her son. Balder now could not be hurt by anything on earth or under the earth. But Balder had one enemy, Loki, god of evil and he knew of one plant that Frigga had overlooked in her quest to keep her son safe. It grew neither on the earth nor under ground, but on the trees. It was lowly mistletoe. So Loki made an arrow tip of the mistletoe, gave to the blind god of winter, Hoder, who shot it, striking Balder dead. The sky paled and all things in earth and heaven wept for the sun god. For three days each element tried to bring Balder back to life. He was finally restored by Frigga, his mother.
It is said the tears she shed for her son turned into the pearly white berries on the mistletoe plant and in her joy Frigga kissed everyone who passed beneath the tree on which it grew. The story ends with a decree that who should ever stand under the humble mistletoe, no harm should befall them, only a kiss, a token of love.
The eighteenth-century English credited mistletoe not with miraculous healing powers, but with a certain social appeal in the form of a "kissing ball." At Christmas time a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, cannot refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean deep romance or lasting friendship and goodwill. If the girl remained unkissed, she cannot expect to marry the following year. Whether we believe it or not, it always makes for fun and frolic at Christmas celebrations. Top Anglo-Saxon Mistletoe Myth Anglo-Saxons believed the custom of kissing under mistletoe was connected to the legend of Freya, goddess of love, beauty and fertility.
According to legend, a man had to kiss any young girl who, without realizing it, found herself accidentally under a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. Top Modern Day Mistletoe Even if the pagan significance has been long forgotten, the custom of exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe can still be found in many European countries as well as in Canada and the United States. In some regions, if a couple in love exchanges a kiss under the mistletoe, it is interpreted as a promise to marry, as well as a prediction of happiness and long life. In France, the custom linked to mistletoe was reserved for New Year's Day: "Au gui l'An neuf" (Mistletoe for the New Year). Today, kisses can be exchanged under the mistletoe any time during the holiday season.
Catholics in England were prohibited by law from practicing their faith, both in private and in public from 1558 to 1829. Being a Catholic was treated as a crime. There was no restored gospel at the time, however there were good Christians who knew without doubt the true church was not one that was mainly created merely for the convenience of King Henry the Eighth) who wanted to sin and have a church justify his actions. So in secret they continued to teach their children their Christian religion.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England during this time frame. It was written to help children learn about their religion. The entire song is writing in symbolism and hidden meanings because it was illegal to have anything in writing that would indicate adherence to the Catholic faith. To be caught could mean imprisonment, hanging, or drawn and quartered.
Christmas referred to a twelve day period that starts with Christmas day. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" referred to a twelve day period that began Christmas day. While the world may have celebrated Christmas for about twelve hours, these Christians celebrated it for twelve days as a reminder that the gifts of God are with us for twelve months of the year. It also represented the idea that we should be thankful for the gifts of God and follow His teachings for all twelve months of the year and not just one day a year.
The song begins, "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me..." The "true love" represents God, as our greatest love should be for Him. The word worship means that which we love the most. The "me" who receives these presents is the Christian man or woman.
1. The "partridge in a pear tree" was Jesus Christ who died on a structure made from the wood of a tree. In ancient times a partridge was often used as mythological symbol of a divine, sacred king.
2. The "two turtle doves" were the Old and New Testaments - another gift from God. Doves symbolize peace and the Gospel contained in these scriptures, when practiced, brings peace.
3. The "three French hens" were faith, hope and love - the three gifts of the Spirit that abide
(I Corinthians 13). The French hens can also represent God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.
4. The "four calling birds" were the four Gospels which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ.
5. The "five golden rings" were the first five books of the Bible also called the "Books of Moses."
6. The "six geese a-laying" were the six days of creation.
7. The "seven swans a swimming" were "seven gifts of the Holy Spirit." (I Corinthians 12:8-11, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4:10-11)
"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word o knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to other divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (I Corinthians 12:8-11)
8. The "eight maids a milking" were the eight beatitudes.
9. The "nine ladies dancing" were nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22)
10. The "ten lords a-leaping" were the Ten Commandments.
11. The "eleven pipers piping" were the eleven faithful disciples.
12. The "twelve drummers drumming" were the twelve points of the Apostles' Creed.
I. Believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
II. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
III. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
IV. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried:
V. The third day He rose again from the dead:
VI. He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
VII. From thence he shall come to judge the Quick and the dead:
VIII. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
IX. Belief in the communion of saints:
X. The forgiveness of sins:
XI. The resurrection of the body:
XII. And the life everlasting. AMEN.
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