A Charlie Brown Christmas!

As we were putting up the Christmas tree on the 23rd and attending the Christmas pagent on Christmas Eve I felt as though I were in a Charlie Brown Christmas. Our poor little Christmas tree has seen better days, and my nieces were incredibly cute dressed as little angels.




Both the tree and the little angels brought back memories of childhood. The tree is almost as old as I am. It is the one that my parents got rid of almost 15 years ago and my brother adopted it and has been keeping it alive ever since. Though I think it is really sad looking now compared to the beautiful trees you can buy, it does bring back great memories of childhood. Though I swear it looked a lot bigger when I was in kindergarten :)

Watching the Christmas pagent reminded me of a time when I was a mouse in our churches Christmas pagent. I don't remember what the pagent was about but I do remember it was based on "Twas The Night Before Christmas." I was the mouse that was worried that no one realized how much work there was for a mouse to do getting ready for Christmas too.

Needless to say it has been a wonderful Christmas of remembering old memories and creating new ones. This year we started a new tradition of making a birthday cake for Jesus. This all started because my 2 year old niece has been walking around singing happy birthday to Jesus for the last week.


And of course this has been a great time of remembering the greatest gift we have all been given. The gift of salvation that came from God being born as a baby in Belahem so many years ago and the ultimate sacrifice when Christ laid down his life for us all. It is also a great time of anticipation for the return of our risen bridegroom King!

As Linus said
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:8-14

Awesome 12 Days of Christmas!!

This is one of the best arrangements of the 12 Days of Christmas I have ever heard. Enjoy :)

Advent

Okay so this is turning into more like Kelly's 4 days of Christmas but this has been one crazy week!! So I am going to try to be more diligent this week about it :)

Advent is a Latin word meaning "the coming." It is a time of anticipation and begins on the first Sunday closest to November 30. The coming has a three fold meaning referring to the first coming of Christ in human form as a baby in a manager, the second coming is Christ entering the hearts of those who accept him as their Lord and Savior, and the third coming of Christ when he returns to this earth to establish His kingdom.

The common symbols people use to help them remember the advent season are the advent wreath and candles. The wreath with its evergreen branches are seen as a symbol of faith. Candles were added to symbolize the light that Christ brought into the world. As the tradition spread a candle representing each of the 4 weeks leading to Christmas day were added. The candles typically represent Hope, peace, joy, and love.

Kelly's 25 Days of Christmas

I love this time of year!! Though, it is the time that we celebrate the birth of Christ, which I think we should celebrate year round, that is not why it is my favorite time of year. What I love about this time of year is all the tradition that surrounds it. From traditions like Christmas trees that the majority of Americans observe, to the more random personal traditions like the making of "Moose Balls," I enjoy every moment!

This year I have decided to hold "Kelly's 25 Days of Christmas." This will entail a little snippet of the history of different holiday traditions everyday. Some may just be general and others will include personal stories as well. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am going to enjoy studying up about it!

The first installment, Christmas Ornaments!

I love Christmas ornaments. I love taking them out of their wrapping every year. It is almost like unwrapping a bunch of small memories every holiday season. A few years back I started collecting Christmas ornaments from different places I have visited, so as I open them I am reminded of the good times had in these places. I have also started collecting ornaments from all around the world, places I will probably never make it to myself, that are handmade and the shops are part of a fair trade organization. A couple of the places I like to shop the most are WorldCrafts and 10,000 villages. Every time I open these ornaments I am reminded of places where I have friends living and to be thankful for all that I have.

The tradition of hanging ornaments on a tree is as old as the Christmas tree itself. Red apples were the first decorations on the Christmas trees. Other additions were candles, strings of popcorn, white candy canes, cookies, dolls, and even small toys. The first commercial ornaments were produced by Lauscha, a German company, in the 1860's. The first commercial ornaments were garlands of glass beads and small tin figures. These were items were so popular that they soon expanded their line to include glass ornaments shaped like nuts and fruits. These glass ornaments made it to the United states in the 1870's. By the 1890's, as standards of living rose in England and America, homemade decorations had gone out of style and ornament makers were hard pressed to keep up with the demand. By the turn of the century Christmas Ornaments had become a big business, grossing $25 million in one store chain alone! 1937 came with the invention of the solid color Christmas balls. The 1950's brought around plastic and the mass production or ornaments. Today Christmas decoration sales are second only too gift buying during the holiday season.