To go back to the Advent Calendar or the Home Page, click on the text in the logo above.

Here is our Christmas Countdown Clock! Day Thirteen activities If you have an Advent Wreath - here is a short reading and ceremony before lighting the two candles. John Ch1 v19 to 28 John the Baptist Denies Being the Christ : Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' " Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. In this passage we find John the Baptist having to justify his teaching and baptising before the Priests and Levites. They asked him directly if he was the Christ and his immediate and definite reply was No! You can't be more definite than that. He told them that he was the one that Micah had prophesied as the one who would be the voice in the wilderness, opening or preparing the way for the coming of the Christ. The leaders wanted answers as he was causing problems for them. A lot of people had begun to follow John in his ministry and the leaders were worried that this could upset the delicate balance in the country between them and the Romans. They wanted to know why he was baptizing if he wasn't the Christ - this gave John the opportunity to point to the coming of Jesus. That is what we are doing in Church at Advent, waiting and pointing the way to the coming of the Christ Child. John wasn't afraid to do that, neither should we, so often we are compromised by our fears and worries, especially in these politically correct times. Let us use all the talents and abilities that we possess, individually and collectively to be the pointer to the coming of the Christ Child, remembering that we have good tidings of great joy to announce. Prayer: Gracious and Loving God, as each day brings us nearer Christmas day, we have so many things to think about and attend to, help us to set aside a few moments to spend with You. We give thanks for the example and strength of John, help us as we walk with You that we might be a pointer to Jesus, using our talents, skills and faith in Your service. Help us to serve You individually and collectively as Your people and Church, serving each other and our community, that we might bring the Joy of knowing Love and forgiveness in Jesus. As we look forward to Christmas, help us to remember all those who are sad, lonely, bereaved and afraid this Christmas, for there are many. Lord we bring them to You that somehow Your Spirit would touch them that they too may know that You are there, just a prayer away. Grant these things for we ask them in Jesus name. Amen. Something to think about and do today Christmas Carols: I thought that I would look at the special place Carols have in our Advent and Christmas Celebrations. It is fair to say that a carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, so we have lots of Christmas songs as well as religious Carols. Today the carol is represented almost exclusively by the Christmas carol, the Advent carol, and to a much lesser extent by the Easter carol, however despite their present association with religion, this has not always been the case. The word carol is derived from the Old French word carole, a circle dance accompanied by singers (in turn derived from the Latin choraula). Carols were very popular as dance songs from the 1150s to the 1350s, after which their use expanded as processional songs sung during festivals, while others were written to accompany religious mystery plays (such as the Coventry Carol, written in 1591). Originally, music compositions and songs at Christmas were in the form of chants and hymns. Find out more about Caroles - Click here - Opens in a new window Initially, the church looked down upon carols and carol singing as a pagan custom and they could not be included in the sacred services. However, in the countryside, many simple folk songs and Nativity carols were written and gained popularity too. In 1223, Saint Francis of Assisi introduced carols into the formal worship of the church during a Christmas Midnight Mass in a cave in Greccio, in the province of Umbria. That night, the songs and music that accompanied this sacred and formal event were not hymns but carols. Ever since then, carols caught on with the masses and were at their prime in the Middle Ages, when they were almost always a part of the mystery plays. There was a time, when wandering minstrels and waits or watchmen employed to guard the old walled cities in the night used to pass their time by singing carols and also sang them to the people who used to pass them by. They would go from home to home, singing carols and entertaining people and maybe get a treat in return. Later groups of musicians began singing carols and playing them for various events that were held during the Christmas season. Today, carol singing has becoming an important of this holiday season and a number of caroling events are organized throughout the world during the festive season, especially on Christmas Eve. Christmas carols were banned between 1647 and 1660 in England by Oliver Cromwell who thought that Christmas should be a solemn day. Thankfully that soon ended and people today still go carol singing. This is where people go from house to house singing carols and collecting money for charity. The traditional period to sing carols was from St Thomas's Day (December 21) until the morning of Christmas Day. As you discover the story of how "Stille Nacht" or Silent night came to be written listen to it sung by Olivia Newton John: In 1818, a roving band of actors was performing in towns throughout the Austrian Alps. On December 23 they arrived at Oberndorf, a village near Salzburg where they were to perform the story of Christ's birth in the small Church of St. Nicholas. Unfortunately, the St. Nicholas' church organ wasn't working and would not be repaired before Christmas. (Note: some versions of the story point to mice as the problem; others say rust was the culprit) Because the church organ was out of commission, the actors presented their Christmas drama in a private home. Even so, that Christmas presentation put assistant pastor Josef Mohr in a meditative mood. Instead of walking straight to his house that night, Mohr took a longer way home. The longer path took him up over a hill overlooking the village. From that hilltop, Mohr looked down on the peaceful snow-covered village. Reveling in majestic silence of the wintry night, Mohr gazed down at the glowing scene. His thoughts about the Christmas play suddenly made him to remember a poem he had written a couple of years before. It was a poem about the night when angels announced the birth of the long-awaited Messiah to shepherds on a hillside. Mohr decided those words would make a good carol for his congregation the following evening at their Christmas Eve service. However, he didn't have any music to which that poem could be sung. So, the next day Mohr went to see the church organist, Franz Xaver Gruber. Gruber only had a few hours to come up with a melody which could be sung with a guitar. However, by that evening, Gruber had managed to compose a musical setting for the poem. It no longer mattered that their church organ was broken. They now had a Christmas carol they could sing without it. On Christmas Eve, the little Oberndorf congregation heard Gruber and Mohr sing their new composition to the accompaniment of Gruber's guitar. Weeks later, well-known organ builder Karl Mauracher arrived to fix the St. Nicholas church organ. When he finished, Mauracher stepped back to let Gruber test the instrument. When Gruber sat down, his fingers began playing the simple melody he had written for Mohr's Christmas poem. Deeply impressed, Mauracher took the music and words of "Silent Night" back to his own Alpine village, Kapfing. There, two well-known families of singers -- the Rainers and the Strassers -- heard it. Captivated by "Silent Night," both groups put the new song into their Christmas season repertoire. Find out more about The carol - Still the Night - Click here - Opens in a new window Find out more about The carol, Still the Night visit the Museum - Click here - Opens in a new window Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright Round yon virgin mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night, holy night, Shepherds quake at the sight; Glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia! Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born! Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love’s pure light; Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. Silent night, holy night Wondrous star, lend thy light; With the angels let us sing, Alleluia to our King; Christ the Saviour is born, Christ the Saviour is born! The Strasser sisters spread the carol throughout northern Europe. In 1834, after they had performed "Silent Night" for King Frederick William IV of Prussia, that king ordered his cathedral choir to sing it every Christmas Eve. The Rainers brought the song to the United States in 1839, singing it (in German) at the Alexander Hamilton Monument located outside New York City's Trinity Church. In 1863, nearly fifty years after being first sung in German, "Silent Night" was translated into English (by either Jane Campbell or John Young). In 1871 the English version was published in an American hymnal: Charles Hutchins' Sunday School Hymnal. Kings College Cambridge: Most Churches hold a special Carol service on Christmas Eve. Probably the most famous carol service is 'The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' held in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. It takes place on Christmas Eve and always begins with the carol, 'Once in Royal David's City' sung by a solo chorister. History of the service Our Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first held on Christmas Eve 1918. It was planned by Eric Milner-White, who at the age of thirty-four had just been appointed Dean of King's, after experience as an army chaplain which had convinced him that the Church of England needed more imaginative worship. A revision of the Order of Service was made in 1919, involving rearrangement of the lessons, and from that date the service has always begun with the hymn 'Once in royal David's city'. The service was first broadcast in 1928 and, with the exception of 1930, has been broadcast annually, even during the Second World War, when the ancient glass (and also all heat) had been removed from the Chapel. Sometime in the early 1930's the BBC began broadcasting the service on the World Service. It is estimated that there are millions of listeners worldwide, including those to Radio Four in the United Kingdom. In recent years it has become the practice to broadcast a digital recording on Christmas Day on Radio Three, and since 1963, a shorter service, which uses different music and readings, has been filmed periodically for television. Find out more about King's College Chapel, Cambridge Carols and Lessons - Click here - Opens in a new window Once in Royal David’s City: Cecil Frances Alexander took her position as an Anglican bishop’s wife very seriously. She accompanied her husband throughout Ireland, scolding the wicked and praising the good and most of all working with the youngsters, for whom she wrote a number of little poems and hymns. Her most famous collection was published in 1848 – Hymns for Little Children – and it was here that "Once in Royal David’s City" first appeared. A year later, H. J. Gauntlett discovered Mrs. Alexander’s poem and set it to music. The city, of course, is Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and of His ancestor King David. This text will be replaced by the flash music player. Listen to the Carol, Once in royal David's city" 1. Once in royal David's city Stood a lowly cattle shed, Where a mother laid her Baby In a manger for His bed: Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little Child. 2. He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all, And His shelter was a stable, And His cradle was a stall; With the poor, and mean, and lowly, Lived on earth our Savior holy. 3. And through all His wondrous childhood He would honor and obey, Love and watch the lowly maiden, In whose gentle arms He lay: Christian children all must be Mild, obedient, good as He. 4. For he is our childhood's pattern; Day by day, like us He grew; He was little, weak and helpless, Tears and smiles like us He knew; And He feeleth for our sadness, And He shareth in our gladness. 5. And our eyes at last shall see Him, Through His own redeeming love; For that Child so dear and gentle Is our Lord in heaven above, And He leads His children on To the place where He is gone. 6. Not in that poor lowly stable, With the oxen standing by, We shall see Him; but in heaven, Set at God's right hand on high; Where like stars His children crowned All in white shall wait around. Find out more about Bethlehem - Click here - Opens in a new window Here is a picture of the Nativity to colour in - right click to download the picture and colour it in using your Paint Programme.