 |
| Welcome Wreath! |
It’s
here! Twenty-three more days to Christmas! The month of December has some varied
and crazy kinds of celebrations around the world. It just takes a walk through
a shopping mall to discover the prime time for retailers is now (we can check our
credit card statement in about four weeks!). And it seems each year is trying
to out-do the previous one. So much so, we tend to forget what in the world we
are doing!
Discover
Something New
Traditional
activities can somewhat calm down the craziness. A favorite, first made popular
in Germany in the 1900s, is various paper calendars to count down the days in
December. Each one has twenty-four or twenty-five little windows that can be
opened one day at a time exposing beautiful or fun pictures to the delight of a
child. We always had these when I was a child and I still enjoy them. Hurry and
get one because it’s already December 2nd!
Another
peaceful and meaningful practice in many homes is putting up a Nativity scene
either now or when the Christmas tree goes up. In 1974 a neighbor of mine, who made
ceramics, surprised me with a Christmas gift—a fifteen-piece Nativity set which
is still in one piece (or should I say 15 pieces) today and is put up on the first
Sunday of December (like yesterday). A string of tiny, white lights surrounds the
scene. It’s a joy to see it lit up every night!
Aside
from our own homes, we can witness Christmas traditions everywhere including in
our churches. Many churches begin the Christmas countdown with what is called
Advent candles. This consists of an evergreen wreath with four, large candles
around the edges and one more candle in the center. Each Sunday in December a
candle is lit and on each of the following Sundays, one more candle is lit. On
Christmas Day (or Eve) the last Advent candle is lit. What does it all mean?
There
are various meanings surrounding the season of Advent, which means “coming.” But
to make this simpler, we can remember that the five candles represent the
following themes:
 |
| Candle of Hope |
- Hope (or promise)
- Preparation (waiting)
- Joy (peace)
- Love (adoration)
And the fifth (center) candle represents the true meaning of Christmas, the Birth of Jesus
Who is the Light of the World.
It’s
a Perfect Time!
Traditions
anchor us in a world gone crazy during this season. As we see our children grown
and off making their own traditions with their own families, sometimes our
homes can take on a simple or “minimalist” environment. It’s not so important to
go “bananas” trying to keep it just the way it was when the kids were five,
eleven, or even thirteen. Actually, it’s rather fun to see a new kind of
wonderful appear in our homes.
The one
and only event to keep in the forefront is to remember and celebrate the
birthday of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who can light our world with
heavenly stars, angels blowing trumpets, and three kings bringing the gifts! Now
that’s a perfect birthday party!
“Let us
hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to
keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23 NLT).
No comments:
Post a Comment