Polmont Old
Parish Church - Scotland
Parish Church - Scotland
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 Day Nineteen activities  If you have an Advent Wreath - here is a short reading and ceremony before lighting the two candles. Luke Ch1 V5 and 17 The Birth of Jesus explained to Mary: "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.  Zechariah was a man of God, yet he questioned what he was told and what was happening. For all his blamelessness he is human after all and we can see the frailty in all of us, isn't that what we do, so often we question God. Mary is such a contrast, she is taken aback by what she is told, It was quite momentus for her - especially as he was a Virgin. You can imagine what was going through her mind, what will I tell Joseph? Will he believe me? what will every one in Nazareth say? I am sure that you could think of other questions and problems that she thought about.  But then she come out with the amazing words - "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Such obedience and trust in one so young, as we know from the story life was to be difficult for Mary and Joseph, but she acceded to God's request, knowing that God had a plan for her, Joseph and the child as well as her cousin Elizabeth. I often wonder how we might react if an angel come to us saying that God had something special for us to do. I expect our initial reaction might be like Zecharaih, or even Mary, but would we be able to say as Mary said, "May it be to me as you have said." As we light our candles today, let us ask God for internal and spiritual illumination so that we will be able to see the things that are staring us in the face, but so often go unnoticed in our preoccupation with our own, families, friends, jobs and preparations.
Prayer: God our Father we give thanks that Jesus is the Light of the world, grant that through Your Spirit we may be touched by that light so that we may begin to understand a little of Your purpose for our lives. In the words of the Hymn, help us to let our little light shine so that others will see that we have been with Jesus. Lord help us to be open and willing in our service that we may echo Mary's words and know that you are with us in all that we do in serving you. Lord hear our prayers as we light our candles. Amen.
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Babouschka lived in a little cabin in the coldest corner of a cold and frosty land. Her tiny little house was sitting right in the place where four roads came together. When Father Frost (King Winter) was in the land, then Brother Wind howled at her windows and piles of deep snow piled around her house and hardly anyone ever came to visit her or passed by on those nearby roads.
As the day of the party drew closer, Babouschka began to clear the snow away and make a path to her house. When she was outside, she thought she could hear in the far off distance the tinkling of bells. “Oh dear, she thought, my guests must be arriving early. I still have much work to do. I’m not ready. I must hurry!” 
So Babouschka quickly went inside and began to set the table for her party. She was just putting the plates on the table when the first knock happened. Babouschka went to her door and opened it, but the person standing there was someone she did not know. Babouschka was surprised to see that he was wearing a magnificent crown, and he bent his head to her and said, “Babouschka, we are following a wondrous star in the sky. A special baby is soon to be born. We think He will be a king and that that shining star will lead us to Him. Come with us Babouschka, and you too can see the newborn king.” Babouschka looked past the king and she saw two more kings sitting on camels. She could hear the camel bells ringing as the large beasts stomped their feet.
“Now I must take my bread out of the oven and put the candles on the table,” thought Babouschka. That is when the second knock happened. Babouschka once again opened the door and peered into the darkness. She thought she could hear the voices of her friends in the distance, but in front of her out of the darkness appeared another king. His clothes were from a country far away from Babouschka’s land, and she thought she could see the light of that star the other king had mentioned shining in his face. Sweet smelling wisps of smoke floated around the king as he waved a golden censer. 
Babouschka closed the door once again and became very busy sweeping the last bit of her floor. Then she heard the third knock. “ My friends are finally here,” she thought. Babouschka ran to the door and threw it open and was surprised to see yet another king. He was young and Babouschka liked him instantly. His smile was a wise one for his young years, and when he too asked Babouschka to come and follow the star, she knew she wanted to go very much. “Stay with me tonight and come to my party,” she said. “Then I will go with you tomorrow to see this wonderful king.” But the wise king sadly shook his head and said, “We must follow the star. You have many things to offer this newborn king, Babouschka. Bring them with you and come with us too.” But Babouschka shook her head. She could see that her friends were arriving. As she welcomed them, her gaze followed the Kings as they mounted their camels and set off on a path toward that great star that filled the whole night with light.
Again Babouschka went home, and she followed the longing that was growing in her heart to find that Child of Light. So it came to pass that with every returning year, Babouschka set out to find that Child the three kings had told her about. Each year, she prepared something for Him, and each year she gave her gifts to children who smiled and delighted at her presents. Babouschka grew to love the children greatly.
Babouschka means a grand mother or mother in law or more generally an older woman. A set of matryoshkas – their proper name - or Babouschka dolls consist of a wooden figure which can be pulled apart to reveal another figure of the same sort inside. It has, in turn, another figure inside, and so on. The number of nested figures is usually five or more. The shape is mostly cylindrical, rounded at the top for the head and tapered towards the bottom, but little else; the dolls have no hands (except those that are painted). Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan. Inside, it contains other figures that may be of both genders, usually ending in a baby that does not open. The artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be extremely elaborate. 
Matryoshkas are a relatively new Russian handicraft; the first one dates from 1890, and is said to have been inspired by souvenir dolls from Japan. However, the concept of nested objects was familiar in Russia, having been applied to carved wooden apples and Easter eggs; the first Fabergé egg, in 1885, had a nesting of egg, yolk, hen, and crown. 
It was carved by Vasiliy Zvezdochkin in a toy workshop and painted by Sergei Maliutin. It consisted of eight dolls; the outermost was a girl in an apron, then the dolls alternated between boy and girl, with the innermost – a baby. 
