Here is our Christmas Countdown Clock!
Day Fifteen activities
 If you have an Advent Wreath - here is a short reading and ceremony before lighting the two candles.
Isaiah Ch7 V13 and 14
Birth of Jesus foretold by Isaiah:
Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
We are now on the countdown to Christmas and we will follow how the Christmas Story unfolds from the Old Testament into the New. It is amazing to think that there are over 300 prophecies that relate to the birth, life and death of Jesus - all of them fulfilled. This is just one of them - where we are told that a virgin will be with child. But there is more than that here, because we are also given the family that He would be born into, that of King David. Indeed Matthew thinks it important enough to give his lineage or family tree. Family is important at Christmas, we tend to make it a family time when we all get together, sharing a meal and giving presents etc. I think the most significant thing in these two verses, is the name that God has given Him, Immanuel which means God with us. This is a wonderful promise from God, He is telling us that He is with us now, in that He is promising a child, His Son, Immanuel who is going to be with us in the future and indeed for ever. At Christmas we have family around us where possible, but it is comforting to know that we have God with us as well. I think that makes a significant difference to our celebrations and musings as we draw nearer and nearer to Christmas.
Prayer:
Almighty God our Father we have considered the words You gave Isaiah, telling us that You will be with us always. We thank You that where ever we are, what ever our condition, what ever our worries and fears, You are with us, bringing comfort, peace and Love. Because we have You with us we need not fear anything, nor do we need anything else, because You have provided the perfect gift in Jesus, Immanuel. Help us always to know and experience that You are with us as we live our lives among our family, friends, neighbours and colleagues and strangers, that we may show by our lives that we believe that You are with us. Amen.
Something to think about and do today
Christmas Presents:
 I thought that as our readings was essentially about God's gift to a needy world, that I would look at the history of giving presents. Long before the Christian festival of Christmas, people used give each other gifts in mid-winter. In ancient Rome, during the mid-winter Saturnalia celebrations, wealthy people gave money, food and clothes to the poorer people who lived nearby.
Christians kept up this mid-winter giving to celebrate what was a very happy time of year for them. Giving presents reminds Christians of God's gift of his Son, Jesus, and of the first gifts given to the baby by the wise men. So the giving of gifts at Christmas has a long and honourable tradition.
In 1647, when Christmas was abolished by the Puritans, all shops were open on 25 December, and the churches closed. Many years later, King Charles II came to the throne, and Christmas was brought back; the people rejoiced because they could celebrate again. But many the old customs and traditions were forgotten, for the people become used to the strict rules of the Puritans.
  Nearly a couple of centuries later when Queen Victoria was on the throne, her husband Prince Albert popularised the Christmas Tree and then the people began to look back on the good old days of past, and many old customs were revived.
 Back came the lavish Christmas feasts, the gaudy decorations, singing and the dancing, and the elaborate present giving.If you were poor there would not be anything much for Christmas, but if you were reasonably wealthy to very rich, then Christmas was a lavish and opulent time. It was a different time where educated children would make up poems and the write them out very carefully and give them to their parents. Girls liked to sew samplers and many of them survive and frequently come up at auction today and make good prices. The gifts would be treasured for years. Why not ask you parents or Grand parents if they can remember one very special Christmas present that they were given and treasured. You might get some interesting answers. Why not try and make some presents for your family this year, here is a great site with lots of ideas:
Click here to visit Christmas Activity Village online. - Opens in a new window
 I thought we should now find out about the presents that Jesus received:
Gold that was given to the child, to signify he was a King.
Find out about Gold on Wikipedia - opens in a new window
Read about Melchior
Melchior supposedly came from Asia or Arabia. He is usually portrayed as an old man. See the picture, which is part of a Mosaic in Ravena, Italy, in the Basilica di San Vitale. His gift of gold is believed to have financed the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. It represents the immortality, purity, divinity, and kingship of Jesus Christ and His titles of the Light of the World, the Morning Star, and the Dayspring. Gold was used in the temple worship. The wise men received spiritual wealth and the gift of Charity for their gold.
 The gifts of the wise men were also thought to represent the three items contained in the Ark of the Covenant. Gold symbolized the manna. Frankincense represented the tablets of the Ten Commandments. And myrrh was emblematic of the rod of Aaron.
In exchange for their expensive gifts, Mary gave the wise men some of the swaddling clothes in which Jesus had been wrapped. She also gave them a little box with a stone in it. The stone was supposed to remind them that their faith ought to be as strong as a rock. Mary must've neglected to tell them that because, thinking this stone was worthless baggage, the wise men tossed it into a well. Whereupon fire from heaven filled the well. The amazed wise men carried the fire back to their own country and built a magnificent cathedral around it so that the people could worship it. Later, they were baptized and, giving all their possessions to the poor, they went about living a life of poverty and preaching the Gospel of Peace until their martyrdom in India.
 Frankincence was brought as a gift to the new born child, to show this was a holy child
To obtain the Frankincense, a deep, longitudinal incision is made in the trunk of the tree and below it a narrow strip of bark 5 inches in length is peeled off. When the milk-like juice which exudes has hardened by exposure to the air, the incision is deepened. In about three months the resin has attained the required degree of consistency, hardening into yellowish 'tears.' The large, clear globules are scraped off into baskets and the inferior quality that has run down the tree is collected separately. The season for gathering lasts from May till the middle of September, when the first shower of rain puts a close to the gathering for that year.
To find out more about Frankincence check out Frankincence on Wikipedia - opens in a new window
and Botanical.com - opens in a new window
 Myrrh was presented to show that this child was destined for suffering and death.
Myrrh is obtained from the bushy shrub Commiphora myrrha. This grows up to 9 feet in height with knotted branches and branchlets that stand out at right-angles, ending in a sharp spine. The trifoliate leaves are small and unequal, oval and entire. It grows on the Red Sea coast, thriving in bare and dry conditions.
The myrrh resin is discharged when the bark is cut or from natural fissures and flows as a pale yellow liquid, hardening to a reddish-brown mass. The tears are found in many sizes with the average being that of a walnut. The surface is rough and powdered and the pieces are brittle with a granular fracture, semi-transparent, oily, and often with whitish marks. The odour is aromatic with an acrid and bitter flavour. It is inflammable but burns poorly.
Myrrh has been long used as an ingredient in incense and perfumes, in the holy oil of the Jews and the Kyphi of the Egyptians for embalming and fumigations. Today the best comes from Somaliland and is bought at the fairs of Berbera by the Banians of India, shipped to Bombay, and sorted. The best quality is usually exported to Europe and lesser grades find markets in the Far East.
Myrhh has been recognised since ancient times for its medicinal properties. It has been as a tonic and stimulant and it is a common ingredient of toothpowders, and is used with borax as a mouth-wash. As a compound Tincture it is used in veterinary practice for healing wounds. It was also an ingredient of Jewish holy incense, was greatly valued, but cannot now be identified.
Lets find out about the Christmas Tree now:
 A beautifully decorated evergreen tree, with colored lights ablaze inspires in many warm memories of Christmases long past. The Christmas tree has become one of the most beloved and well know holiday symbols.
The tradition of a holiday tree has been around since ancient times and has played an important part in winter celebrations for many centuries. Many pagan festivals used trees when honoring their gods and spirits. In Northern Europe the Vikings considered the evergreen a symbol and reminder that the darkness and cold of winter would end and the green of spring would return. The Druids of ancient England and France decorated oak trees with fruit and candles to honor their gods of harvests. At the festival Saturnalia the Romans decorated trees with trinkets and candles.
 There have also been many legends surrounding the lore of the Christmas tree. In one story Saint Boniface, an English monk, came upon a group of pagans who had gathered around an oak tree and were preparing to sacrifice a child. To stop the sacrifice and save the child, the Saint flattened the oak tree with one blow of his fist. A small fir sprang up in its place, which Saint Boniface told the pagans was the Tree of Life and represented the life of Christ.
Another legend tells of Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant religion, walking through the woods late one night. As it was clear, many stars were shining through the branches of the trees giving the impression of twinkling lights. Luther was so inspired by the beauty of the sight that he cut down a small evergreen and brought it home. He recreated the stars by putting candles on the tree's branches.
The use of a Christmas tree indoors appears to have begun in Germany. German Christians would bring trees into their homes to decorate. In some areas evergreen trees were scarce so the families would build a Christmas pyramid, simple wooden structures which they decorated with branches and candles.
 The tradition of the Christmas tree eventually spread through out Europe. The English Royalty help popularize the tree in England by decorating the first Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1841. Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, decorated the first English Christmas Tree with candles, candies, fruits, and gingerbread.
When the German immigrants went to American they also brought along their Christmas trees. In the 1830's most Americans still considered the Christmas tree an oddity. One of the first public displays of a Christmas tree was set up by German Settlers in Pennsylvania. At the time many still considered the tree to be a symbol of pagans and it wasn't until the late 1800's that Americans began accepting the Christmas tree.
Early Christmas trees were often decorated with apples, nuts, cookies, colored popcorn and candles. The invention of electricity in the early 20th century and use of electrical Christmas lights helped spread the use of the Christmas tree.
Click here to colour in a Christmas Tree online. - Opens in a new window
It is now common in most communities through out the US to feature public displays of Christmas trees. Every year the President of the United States lights the National Christmas Tree in Washington and in New York skaters spin beneath the lighted tree of Rockefeller Center. Through Europe and the rest of the world the Christmas tree has also become readily accepted and adored.
Read the story of The First Christmas Tree
 In a forest in the far, far East grew a great many pine trees. Most of them were tall trees, higher than the houses that we see, and with wide, strong branches. But there was one tree that was not nearly so tall as the others; in fact, it was no taller than some of the children in the Nursery School.
Now, the tall trees could see far, far out over the hilltops and into the valleys, and they could hear all the noises that went on in the world beyond the forest, but the Little Tree was so small and the other trees grew so high and thick about it that it could not see nor hear these things at all; but the other trees were very kind, and they would stoop down and tell them to the Little Tree. One night in the winter time there seemed to be something strange happening in the little town among the hills, for the trees did not go to sleep after the sun went down, but put their heads together and spoke in strange, low whispers that were full of awe and wonder. The Little Tree, from its place close down to the ground, did not understand what it was all about. It listened awhile, and then lifted its head as high as ever it could and shouted to its tall neighbour: "Will you not stoop and tell me what is happening?" And the big tree stooped down and whispered: "The shepherds out on the hilltops are telling strange stories while they watch their sheep. The air is filled with sweet music, and there is a wonderful star coming up in the east, traveling westward always, and the shepherds say that they are waiting for it to stop and shine over a humble stable in their little town. I have not heard why it is going to stop there, but I will look again and listen." So the tall tree lifted up its head again, and reached far out so that it might hear more of the wonderful story.
 Bye and bye it stooped down again, and whispered to the Little Tree:
"Oh, Little Tree, listen! There are angels among the shepherds on the hills, and they are all talking together. They seem to be awaiting the birth of a little child, who will be a king among the people, and the beautiful star will shine above the stable where the little king will be laid in a manger."
The tree again raised its head to listen, and the Little Tree, much puzzled, thought within itself: "It is very strange, indeed.
Oh, how I wish that I could see it all!"
It waited a little longer, and everything grew quiet, and a great peace came upon the forest.
 Then suddenly the town, and even the forest was illuminated with a strange, white light that made everything as bright as day, and the air was filled with the flutter of angels' wings, and with music such as the world had never heard before.
The people and the trees, even the stars in the heaven, lifted up their voices and sang together and the whole world was filled with music and joy and love for the little Christ-child who had come to dwell upon the earth.
The Little Tree was filled with fear and wonder, for so great was the excitement that the other trees had almost forgotten it, and it could not understand the mysterious sounds; but bye and bye its tall friend said, "Listen, listen, Little Tree! Such news I have to tell! The Christ has come--the King! And the whole world is singing such beautiful music. There are wise men coming from the East, bringing beautiful gifts to the Christ-child. The angels, too, are upon the earth, and they bear gifts of gold and rare, beautiful stones. Wait! I will tell you more."
The tall tree had scarcely lifted up its head when it stooped again and whispered to the Little Tree, "Look! Look! Little Tree! They are coming this way; the angels are coming here, into our forest! Lift up your head high and you will see them as they pass."
The Little Tree lifted up its head and saw the white flutter of angel robes and heard the weird, sweet voices of the heavenly host who came with precious gifts into the forest.
"Oh," said the Little Tree, "they are coming here, toward me! What shall I do?" And in fear it bent its head so low that it almost touched the ground.
But the music came nearer and nearer, and the Little Tree felt a tender hand upon its branches, and a soft, gentle voice said to it, "Arise, Little Tree, and come with us, for we have come into the forest to seek you. Yes, you, the very smallest among the trees, are to be our gift-bearer. Come; lift up your head."
In fear and trembling the Little Tree did as the angel bade it. But when it looked into the angel's face and saw the love and kindness there, all fear was gone, and it said to the angel: "Yes; make me ready. I will come with you to the little Christ-child in the manger."
So all the angels brought their gifts of precious jewels and shining gold, and fastened them upon the branches of the Little Tree. Then the leader of the angels' band took up the Little Tree from the ground and bore it, laden with its precious burden, to the feet of the Christ-child.
Here is a picture of a Christmas Tree to colour in - right click to download the picture and colour it in using your Paint Programme.
|
|
