Christmas is truly a global celebration! Although the traditions and foods associated with it vary with climate, culture, country -- even calendar -- the spirit of the day transcends all such differences.The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of the Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Jesus Christ was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians. Read on ............. to know more.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN JESUS?? I HAVE....
I have seen Sign of the Cross. In her eyes I see the face of Jesus.Some years ago Sandra, my grandmom's world was between her bed and her chair. Alzheimer's had taken away her cognitive abilities. I am sure she did not recognize me. But each time when I lifted Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, she would smile and her face would light up. She knew who Jesus was... and I had gotten to know him closely, too. Then there was a family with a large dog. I visited them to bring communion to the husband as he was suffering with cancer. The dog would bark and bark each time... and when I held up Jesus, he would mysteriously quiet down and look at me with doleful eyes. Did he really know what was going on? I think so. ... because Jesus is alive... he might not have seen Him, but he knew He was there.
We see Jesus in the strangest places, in hospitals and homes. In streets and in back alleys. We see Him suffering deeply when we meet a person who is homeless, has no friends, no money, and often no hope. We see Him suffering because of an uncaring and selfish humanity who would allow one to become homeless. For a while, about 6 years ago, I would see a man, I believe his name was Jason. He had a self-storage place in a self-storage facility. So whenever I would go out there to store something or get something, Jason would be there. Jason was a good man, not a burden to anyone. But it slowly dawned on me that Jason was jobless and probably homeless. For a long while, he used to live in a semi trailer, but when the lot it was standing on was sold, Jason was forced to leave. Jason was a If Jesus is there, why did He not stop the evil?" Jesus sometimes allows situations, not created by Him, to continue... so people can turn to Him in their need. We are ultimately responsible for hatred. We are responsible by our personal actions as well as our social and civil actions. The love of Jesus and is present in our lives, to inspire us and help us to do the right thing. He gives us the opportunity to receive the Gift of Discernment and Wisdom .When we are finally able to love all people that would be our ideal time to meet Jesus. He will be there for us again, with arms stretched out to welcome us to His Kingdom.
CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATION OR A REFLECTION OF YOUR TRUE SELF???
The Christmas tree is a bundle of symbols showing what creation has to offer: light and the movement of angels, the gifts of orchard and field, forest and sea, all topped off by the star that pointed to the end of the journey, the place of peace. A Christmas tree is one of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas. It is normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, and is decorated with Christmas lights and colorful ornaments during the days around Christmas. An angel or a star is often placed at the top of the tree.
Individuals' decorations vary wildly, typically being an eclectic mix of family traditions and personal tastes; even a small unattractive ornament, if passed down from a parent or grandparent, may come to carry considerable emotional value and be given pride of place on the tree. Conversely, trees decorated by professional designers for department stores and other institutions will usually have a "theme"; a set of predominant colors, multiple instances of each type of ornament, and larger decorations that may be more complicated to set up correctly. I will use Tinsel and several types of garland or ribbon to decorate my Christmas tree. I would see to it that the lighting with candles or electric lights is commonly done, and a tree topper completes the ensemble. I will hang strands of tinsel in groups from longer branches to simulate icicles. Baubles are another extremely common decoration, and usually consist of a fairly small hollow glass or plastic sphere coated with a thin metallic layer to make them reflective, and then with a further coating of a thin pigmented polymer in order to provide coloration. I have heard that many people also decorate outdoor trees with food that birds and other wildlife will enjoy, such as garlands made from unsalted popcorn or cranberries, orange halves, and seed-covered suet cakes.
The Christmas season is upon us and people everywhere are digging out decorations, choosing trees and checking fairy lights. But did you know that THE WAY YOU DRESS YOUR TREE SPEAKS VOLUMES OF YOUR OWN PERSONALITY TRAITS? According to psychologistspeople who stick to a conventional red and gold theme are more likely to be traditionalists, who buy into the concept of Christmas and have done so for many years.
The ones who dress their trees in all one color, have a streak of obsessive-compulsiveness in their system. Alternatively, they may be perfectionists who take extreme care to co-ordinate their tree. For those that subscribe to the "anything goes" method of tree decoration, are the ones who probably love Christmas but aren't that concerned with conventions and may be a bit disorganized.
As for the age-old "real vs. fake" debate, a fake Christmas tree could be the sign of a person on-the-go, without time to "muck around with the real stuff". He still enjoys celebrating Christmas but perhaps doesn't have the time to deal with the mess and fuss of a real tree. On the other hand, those that opt for a real tree are more family oriented, who want to bring children and family members into the equation and have the time to put some extra effort into a real tree.
A Christmas tree is one of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas. It is normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, and is decorated with Christmas lights and colorful ornaments during the days around Christmas. But do you know how the Christmas tree came into existence? I chanced upon the interesting origin of the tree and wish to share it with you. I hope you would feel the same way too. Many legends exist about the origin of the Christmas tree. One is the story of Saint Boniface, an English monk who organized the Christian Church in France and Germany. One day, as he traveled about, he came upon a group of pagans gathered around a great oak tree about to sacrifice a child to the god Thor. To stop the sacrifice and save the child's life Boniface felled the tree with one mighty blow of his fist. In its place grew a small fir tree. The saint told the pagan worshipers that the tiny fir was the Tree of Life and stood for the eternal life of Christ.Another legend holds that Martin Luther, a founder of the Protestant faith, was walking through the forest one Christmas Eve. As he walked he was awed by the beauty of millions of stars glimmering through the branches of the evergreen trees. So taken aback was he by this beautiful sight that he cut a small tree and took it home to his family. To recreate that same starlight beauty he saw in the wood, he placed candles on all its branches. Yet another legend tells of a poor woodsman who long ago met a lost and hungry child on Christmas Eve. Though very poor himself, the woodsman gave the child food and shelter for the night. The woodsman woke the next morning to find a beautiful glittering tree outside his door. The hungry child was really the Christ Child in disguise. He created the tree to reward the good man for his charity. Others feel the origin of the Christmas tree may be the "Paradise Play." In medieval times most people could not read and plays were used to teach the lessons of the bible all over Europe. The Paradise Play, which showed the creation of man and the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden was performed every year on December 24th. The play was performed in winter creating a slight problem. An apple tree was needed but apple trees do not bare fruit in winter so a substitution was made. Evergreens were hung with apples and used instead. Another story comes from Germany about spiders and Christmas trees. Long ago families allowed their animals to come inside and view the Christmas trees on Christmas Eve. Because the Christ Child was born in a stable, they felt that the animals should take part in the Christmas celebration. But spiders weren’t allowed because housewives didn't want cobwebs all over everything. Of course the spiders were unhappy about this, so one year they complained to the Christ Child. He felt sorry for them and decided that late at night He would let them in to see the trees. The excited spiders loved the Christmas trees and all night long they crawled about in the branches, leaving them covered with webs. On Christmas morning the housewives saw what the spiders had done. But instead of being angry, they were delighted. For in the night the Christ Child had turned all of the cobwebs into sparkling tinsel. And even today, tinsel is often used to decorate Christmas trees to add that same sparkle the Christ Child gave the cobwebs long ago, in Germany.
Hey all! Its Christmas time & the first thing that I need to do is to make plans to decorate my house. So, first I will decide on the sort of Christmas look that I want to achieve. Whether it should be beautiful and elegant Christmas decorations? Or Whether it should be whimsical decorations that reflects a child’s love for Christmas? Whether a bright decorations in the living room and a more subdued look in the dining room would look good or not. It will take me a few minutes to decide on it and then my plan for Christmas decoration will become much easier.
Grouping similar Christmas decorations together is another way to simplify my Christmas decoration. I will create a small village of snowmen or a choir of singing angels on the mantle. I will use snow-globes on side tables in similar colors to coordinate the look and place Christmas candle holders on shelves and tables to finish the theme.
To add warmth and a coordinated look to my Christmas decorations, I would garnish the decoration with lighting and fabrics. I would use Christmas fabrics to create table runners, throw blankets, tablecloths, and throw pillows that coordinate with my Christmas decorations. Christmas candles would add the ultimate finishing touch to my Christmas decor. This is because, not only do candles create a warm glowing look, they add the unmistakable smells of Christmas. Scented candles such as cinnamon, pine, apple cider and peppermint all add the perfect Christmas touch and am definitely going to use them this Christmas to make my Christmas decoration JUST PERFECT!! This is because with just a little thought and creativity Christmas decorations can give our home a warm and inviting feel for the holiday season.
Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas , Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy, or simply Santa is a mythical gift-giving figure in various cultures who distributes presents to children, traditionally on Dec 24th, Christmas Eve. The popular American form Santa Claus originated as a mispronunciation of Dutch Sinterklaas which is a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas). One of the most basic stories about the origin of Santa says he was a Christian named Nicholas, who gave gifts to the poor, and because of his Godly, charitable acts, he came to be known as Saint Nicholas. After his death, the truth of who he was, why he did what he did, and even how he did what he did came to be wrapped in fantastical myth and legend. Today, an extraordinary number of Christians decry anything whatsoever to do with Santa during the Christmas season, many seeing any attempt to link the gift-giving Santa and Jesus , as blasphemous and sacrilegious. I only have one problem with that thinking - the true spirit of Santa is still with us and in fact, he paid this Christian a visit last night. When my friend Laura and her husband returned from Europe at the beginning of summer, they returned with clothes and books. They rented an unfurnished apartment and took their stuff out of storage and unpacked more clothes and books. With very little money on hand and only one income, they realized they would be without a wardrobe for quite a while. Thankfully, their landlord was not an unobservant fellow and by the end of their first week, he came and offered to loan them his old wardrobe, which lay unused in storage until he could get around to refinishing and refurbishing them. That was over 2 long months ago and they still had their landlord's wardrobe for such a length of time. Laura began to regularly harangue the Lord about the absence of wardrobe in her life which she desperately needed to stuff in the clothes that she got. She just couldn't see how the Lord was going to be able to help - after all, it was only a few weeks before Christmas .
Laura's landlord lives with his aging parents. Last night, her landlord's dad, John, knocked Laura's door and asked if she wanted some furniture. She thought he might be confused .She asked him if it was for sale . John said "no" and asked Laura to go with him and take a look at something. He took her in front of an apartment door on the first floor. He opened the door and ushered Laura in. The tenant of the apartment was moving, which was apparent by the half packed boxes everywhere. He was unable to take all of the furniture with him and had said that the landlord could keep it. John and his son thought of Laura. John pointed to a lovely country cottage style three-seater couch, a long, solid wood coffee table, and guess what......a wardrobe.
Laura truly couldn't speak because she was choking on tears. John asked Laura whether it was fine with her. Laura threw her arms around that dear old man and blessed him through her tears and told him that he was an answer to her prayer. Just then his son came into the apartment and Laura excitedly pointed out to him that Christmas had arrived early with these truly wonderful gifts she had just received. They both chuckled and then, just as Laura stepped out of the door, John said that he loved Christmas and used to play Santa every year for a number of years at one of the Universities there . Laura was not kidding when she said that as she turned and looked into that old man's face, she saw the twinkling eyes of 'Santa' — a servant of God, giving gifts to the poor!
Christmas is truly a global celebration! Although the traditions and foods associated with it vary with climate, culture, country—even calendar, as in “Christmas in July”, - the spirit of the day transcends all such differences. "Christmas Celebration" is about adding joy to your Christmas by offering words that amplify this seasons' true meaning. As regards my Christmas celebration, I love the Christmas time. I love the potential in the air, the unwrapping of the gifts under the tree, and the smell of a Christmas tree in the house. It gives me immense pleasure to go outside when its snowing and see the flakes in the light of the streetlights, dancing their worship to God. On Christmas, I enjoy sitting with others as we sing the familiar carols. I join my friends and share warmth and time, to sing and laugh and just be there. I worship our God, who gave us a gift of eternal love in the Word Incarnate, Jesus, His Son. I feel like saying Merry Christmas to one and all and laugh because we all know what it really means. My mom sings "Glory to God, Glory in the Highest". The sound of her voice, as she reads of God's Promise fulfilled here on Earth - of a family that was more than just a family, enthralls me. I love to see my mom as she unwraps the gifts I give her, and as she laughs at the way I wrap mine. However, I don't care much about decorated trees, presents, crowded shopping malls, heavy traffic, dealing with depressed folks who've gone into great debt, etc. On the flip side of the coin is my Mom's tree. It is really Christ honoring. She has selected and collected every single decoration that hangs on the limbs. She's made scrolls and put scripture verses on them I really like what she does with our tree. We couldn't put one up this year because our home is full of boxes with just about every earthly thing we own and there is simply no room! I do thoroughly enjoy the lights. My friends Jessica, Pat and I are going to find some time to go look at lights. You can count on that. I wish I'd thought to get a picture of the yard I which I love. The graphic accompanying this piece is my neighbor's home across the street. Tastefully done and a real joy to drive by coming home at night. Do something this Christmas that doesn't cost anything. Play some games with your family. Go cruising, looking for lights. Have fun with family. You'll build the right kind of memories and find a reason to do it again next year.
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of the Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. It can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians whose chief God was Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk, the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year called Zagmuk. The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. The Scandinavians celebrated Yuletide. The Roman's celebrated their God Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. "Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia. But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God. Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas. The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, chose December 25th as the observance of Christmas.
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I have seen Sign of the Cross. In her eyes I see the face of Jesus. Some years ago Sandra, my grandmom's world was between her bed and her chair. Alzheimer's had taken away her cognitive abilities. I am sure she did not recognize me. But each time when I lifted Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, she would smile and her face would light up. She knew who Jesus was... and I had gotten to know him closely, too. Then there was a family with a large dog. I visited them to bring communion to the husband as he was suffering with cancer. The dog would bark and bark each time... and when I held up Jesus, he would mysteriously quiet down and look at me with doleful eyes. Did he really know what was going on? I think so. ... because Jesus is alive... he might not have seen Him, but he knew He was there.
