The Candle in the Window - Is there room in your inn?

In Ireland a lovely Christmas tradition, handed down and still very much alive today is: ‘The candle in the window’. The ancient Irish custom of placing a lighted candle in a front window of a house on Christmas eve. The large lighted candle is placed there after dark, and not extinguished until after midnight. Now we use electric or battery powered lights just for decorations, but it was originally a symbol of welcome to Joseph and Mary, who, despite their need, were refused shelter in the inn. By this symbol, we offer shelter and room in our hearts for Jesus. As you see the candles in the windows, remind your children to open their hearts to Jesus.

The Christmas Tree - Part II

Despite many historians' attempts to link the Christmas tree to an ancient pagan practice, it is actually Christian in origin. The Christmas tree goes back to the medieval German mystery plays. One of the most popular "mysteries" was the Paradise play, representing the creation of man, the sin of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Paradise. It usually closed with the consoling promise of the coming of the Savior with reference to His Incarnation. These plays were performed in the open, on the large squares in front of churches, or inside the house of God. The Garden of Eden was indicated by a fir tree hung with apples. It represented both the Tree of Life and the Tree of Discernment of Good and Evil, which stood in the center of Paradise. (Gen 2:9)

The Tree in the Home
When the pageant was performed in church, the Paradeisbaum (tree of Paradise) was surrounded by lighted candles and inside the ring of lights, the play was acted. After the suppression of the mystery plays in the churches, the only symbolic object of the play found its way into the homes of the faithful and the Christmas tree became a symbol of the Savior. Following this symbolism, in the 15th century the custom developed into the decorating of the Paradise Tree, already bearing apples, with small white wafers representing the Holy Eucharist. These wafers were later replaced by little pieces of pastry cut in the shapes of stars, angels, hearts, flowers, and bells. And finally, other cookies were introduced bearing the shapes of men, birds, roosters and other animals. The first known use of the fir tree as a Christmas tree is found in a description written by a German traveler visiting Strasbourg in 1605. He tells of trees being planted in rooms, and he notes that they were ornamented with roses of colored paper, apples, tinsel, sugar and cookies. (LaVern Rippley, Of German Ways, Barnes and Noble Books, 1970)

Until the 17th century the Christbaum (as the tree is called in German) had no lights. The Christmas candles, generally used in medieval times, were placed on the Christmas pyramid made of graduated wooden shelves. As time went on, the tree replaced the pyramid in its function of representing Christ as the Light of the world. The candles and glittering decorations were transferred from the pyramid to the tree. A reminder of the origin of the Christmas tree may still be found in sections of Bavaria where fir branches and little trees, decorated with lights, apples and tinsel, are still called Paradeis. (Francis X. Weisner, 1952, The Christmas Book. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1952)

Although the Christmas tree is now the principal symbol of Christmas in America, it was by no means in general use in American families until late in the 19th century. German immigrants most likely set up the first Christmas trees in America as early as 1710, however. Later, during the Revolutionary War, Hessian soldiers were responsible for disseminating the practice throughout the Eastern seaboard.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, pioneer families who settled in areas where evergreen trees were scarce made Christmas trees out of bare branches painted green or wrapped with green paper or cloth. Sometimes a "tree" would be made by drilling holes in a broomstick and inserting branches of cedar or juniper into it. Often the only Christmas tree in the community would be in the Church or in the school. In the absence of a Christmas tree, presents were often hung by ribbons from a decorated clothesline strung across the corner of a room.

Compiled by Marie Macri

The Christmas Tree

On Christmas, so soon to come, let not the parents take the position that an evergreen placed in the church for the amusement of the Sabbath school scholars is a sin; for it may be made a great blessing. Keep before their minds benevolent objects. In no case should mere amusement be the object of these gatherings. While there may be some who will turn these occasions into seasons of careless levity, and whose minds will not receive the divine impress, to other minds and characters these seasons will be highly beneficial. I am fully satisfied that innocent substitutes can be devised for many gatherings that demoralize.

Christmas is coming. May you all have wisdom to make it a precious season. Let the older church members unite, heart and soul, with their children in their innocent amusement and recreation, in devising ways and means to show true respect to Jesus by bringing to Him gifts and offerings. Let everyone remember the claims of God. His cause cannot go forward without your aid. Let the gifts you have usually bestowed upon one another be placed in the Lord's treasury. . . . In every church let your smaller offerings be placed upon your Christmas tree. Let the precious emblem "evergreen" suggest the holy work of God and His beneficence to us; and the loving heart-work will be to save other souls who are in darkness. Let your works be in accordance with your faith. . . .

Every tree in Satan's garden hangs laden with the fruits of vanity, pride, self-importance, evil desire, extravagance - all poisoned fruit, but very gratifying to the carnal heart. Let the several churches present to God Christmas trees in every church, and then let them hang thereon the fruits of beneficence and gratitude - offerings coming from willing hearts and hands, fruits that God will accept as an expression of our faith and our great love to Him for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Let the evergreen be laden with fruit, rich and pure and holy, acceptable to God. Shall we not have such a Christmas as Heaven can approve?

By Ellen White - Review and Herald, January 29, 1884

Christmas Wreaths - Make Your Own!

One of the Christmas decorations that we have during the holidays are Christmas Wreaths. Christmas wreaths have had a long history and they are one of the original decorations used during Christmas until today. However, did you ever stop to think about its meaning and significance?

Today, many regard the wreath as a symbol of the Lord’s undying love and the blood He shed for us. Specifically, the red holly berries as well as the scarlet ribbons signified this. Moreover, other people take the Christmas wreaths as a symbol of the Lord’s crown of thorns. The circle represented eternity because of its never ending repetition.

Understanding the history of the Christmas wreaths is necessary if we want to find the right place for it in our homes. It simply makes it more meaningful for us knowing what they symbolize. When it comes to decorating the wreaths, most people buy premade ones. However, you can actually create your own wreath. All you need is a wreath ring, florist wire and then some vegetation to decorate the wreath.
You can buy the wreath ring and the florist wire in any crafts store. They are definitely affordable and will not be difficult to find. As for the vegetation, you can find them in your area. Conifers can serve as an interesting base while holly, ivy’s and other shrubs would be interesting to incorporate in the wreath. If color is important, go for berries, seedpods, poppies, teasels, and pinecones, even fruit.

First thing to do once you have everything is to secure a certain length of wire at the bottom of each foliage. Use the wire to tie the foliage to the wreath ring. Keep on repeating this procedure until the foliage becomes steady and secure. After you have managed to place everything, you can start adding the vegetation. You can go ahead and design it the way you like. This is where your creativity and input comes in. Just make sure that it will look pleasing to the eye. The more interesting things you add, the more unique your wreath will become.

Bethlehem - "House of Bread"

Bethlehem means “house of bread” – and the baking of special breads during this season centuries ago were in honor of Bethlehem. Specifically “gingerbread” became a special treat at the Christmas season in Germany. The tiny houses made from gingerbread were originally made to remind them of the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem. Now gingerbread houses have just become part of the “season.”


I suggest that you have fun and make gingerbread stables for your kids and allow them to be creative in making the manger scene – this is a great activity if they have 4 sheets of gingerbread – one long one for the back of the stable, 2 short ones for the sides, and a larger one for the roof. You can buy premade gingerbread cookie dough and roll it out and make a pattern to trace around it before you bake it. Follow directions for baking. Once it has cooled – all they need is a can of frosting, some coconut (add yellow food coloring to make hay), pretzels, marshmallows, all kinds of candy to decorate with – and you will be amazed at the mangers, marshmallow sheep and other animals that your kids can make – and if you don’t have time to make gingerbread – let them use graham crackers to build with! You can use cookie cutters to make animals out of the gingerbread – or just plain sugar cookie dough (you can buy it pre-made if you don’t have time). Just have fun – make it as big as you want – you don’t have to be fancy to have fun.

The Christingle

Marie Macri came up with the idea of posting a series on "putting Christ back into Christmas". For the next several weeks she will be sharing some interesting and fun ideas for activities you can do as a family to make the holidays more meaningful.

Enjoy!

The Christingle History:
The Christingle has its origins in a Moravian children's service held in a castle in Germany on Christmas Eve in 1747. The bishop conducting the informal service gave each child a lighted candle, tied with a red ribbon, in memory of the Saviour's coming which he said has kindled a flame in each heart which keeps burning "to His joy, and our happiness".

Christingle Today:
Much later, this simple candle was replaced by a more elaborate Christingle which is rich in symbolism.
The modern Christingle consists of (I've added scripture readings to be read as you make the Christingle):
• an orange: representing the world
Scripture: Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1; Jeremiah 32:17
• a red ribbon, tied round the orange: representing the blood of Jesus OR the love of God encompassing the entire earth.
Scripture: John 3:16; Psalm 119:64; John 15:12
• four toothpicks - North, South, East & West representing the four seasons
Scripture: Psalm 107:2,3
• fruits and sweets (raisins & small candies), skewered on 4 cocktail sticks (toothpicks) which are pushed into the orange: representing God's good gifts - the fruits of the earth and the four seasons.
Scripture: Genesis 1:3,4; Genesis 1:29
• a small cross-shaped cut: The cross on which Christ died for our sins, into this cut is place the candle
Scripture: Genesis 3:4-6; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8
• a lighted candle, pushed into the centre of the orange: representing Christ, the light of the world (can use a small white candle with foil or a birthday candle with holder)
Scripture: John 1:1-5

To make a Christingle you will need:
an orange, red ribbon, a pin, silver foil, a candle and candle holder, four cocktail sticks,sweets or raisins.

Christmas Traditions - Baumgart Style!

“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!".... Pretty soon, the lyrics of this song and many others will be heard on all radio stations.

After all the frenzy of unpacking fifteen Christmas boxes from the attic, the house is a Christmas wonderland. An 8 feet tall red and gold-trimmed Christmas tree stood resplendent in the family room bearing all the vintage collections since 1982. There are photos of the girls when they were still babies; there were homemade ornaments that the girls used to bring home from Pre-school and many handcrafted trims mixed in with the expensive ornate collectibles. There isn't a single branch of this tree that's left untrimmed. The mantle next to it is arrayed with Nutcrackers that I have been collecting all these years. Next, on a special gold table, stands the favorite ceramic Nativity set that has withstood all the hurdles of packing and unpacking throughout our constant relocations. Then there's our Victorian Christmas tree in the living room which is richly adorned with gold/white and pearl ornaments. This was always called "Mama's tree" because it holds all the ornaments that I love: fuzzy snowballs, flights of fancy cream-colored birdies, soft and plush bearded Santas, pearl-studded stars, all my soft and silky snowmen and snowdrops. It is quite a sight to behold. Within a few hours with all the helping hands, our home was transformed into a Christmas wonderland.

Then Kristi came down for the view and said, "Where is the 'parol' Mom?...It won't look the same without it!" I then realized that even though the girls are now teenagers, they still value the tradition we have began when they were little.

"Parol" is a traditional Filipino Christmas decoration, a five point star-shaped Christmas lantern. Originally made of thin bamboo frames and covered with colored cellophane or with rice paper also known as Japanese paper or "papel de Japon". It has two tails that serve as the rays of the star. "Parol" reminds the Filipino Christians of the star of Bethlehem that guided the Three Wise Men on their way in search of Baby Jesus. Every Filipino home has one hanging somewhere in the house, mostly by the window or outside the door.

Our "parol" is made from Capiz shells, shaped like a star and stands guard at our front foyer so anyone who comes to the house passes by it. Amidst the commotion I forgot our emblem of Christmas tradition. I went right back to the attic and searched for that one special flat box that holds the treasure that will light up our home and remind us of that beautiful Christmas story of how three wise men followed that star to find the Messiah born in the manger to save mankind.

Each family has different Christmas traditions. Whatever yours is, it will always be a special moment when as a family we embrace it. Since my husband is from Germany, we usually have an advent wreath with four candles on it. A candle is lit every Sunday until the four candles are all lit Christmas evening. Each person has also an advent calendar filled with chocolates so one gets a treat each day. We always have a festive meal on the eve of Christmas. We have special a dinner with everyone's favorite dish which we all prepare together. Each family member contributes a special or favorite dish. The kitchen becomes the center of activity, and what a mess we create by the end of the day! But the meal is always worth it. We use all the special china and finery and the tablescape is always out of this world. Last year, it was a winter wonderland, complete with black forest trees, some cabins and snow all over. Then after dinner, we exchange gifts taking turns in handing out special inexpensive gifts as tokens of our appreciation for each other...we also write notes to each other. There are always surprises and the "unexpecteds". On Christmas day, we spend it with relatives or special friends who live nearby. Our trees and "parol" stays lit till my birthday, the 7th of January. That too, is another family tradition.

By Raylene Baumgart