Day eight activities
 If you have an Advent Wreath - here is a short reading and ceremony before lighting your candle today.
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Amen.
Waiting in Joyful Hope:
Sometimes it seems as though we spend our lives waiting. Daydreaming about all sorts of things, I suspect most of the children will be day dreaming about Santa and presents and holidays and so on, while most parents will have other things on their minds, organising the christmas dinner, buying presents, who to send cards to, how to pay for it all etc. In a sense this is what Advent is about, waiting in Joyful anticipation. Mary has been doing that for about 8 months by now, she is getting bigger and more tired with each passing day and the thought of having to go to Bethlehem to register is filling her with dread.
However, Advent is about more than Jesus and our remembrance of his arrival into our world more than 2,000 years ago, it is also about the return of Jesus in glory. Advent heightens this sense of waiting. Overwhelmed by the demands of the season, we can wait for Jesus in a state of anxiety, or cynicism, or harried indifference toward the miracle that is upon us. Or we can take our cue from the thought above and "wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ." Welcoming Jesus into our homes and our hearts, full of hope and joy, prepares us to properly celebrate Jesus' birth and anticipate his return.
 The stories of Advent help us strike the right note for our wait. Use these reflections to immerse yourself in the season, and find your own hope and joy along the wait.
Prayer:
Dear God Our Father, we have read Your Word and meditated upon it, help us not to be overwhelmed by the events and activities of Advent. As we light two candles each day this second week of Advent, help us to enjoy the warm glow of the lights and be reminded of Your faithfulness to every generation, that we can sing our carols and make a joyful sound, that we can know with a certainty that we are Your people, and love from the beginning of time. Grant us peace and renewal in our hearts that others may see Your peace in us. Amen.
Something to do today
The Holly
 Today we are going to find out about Holly and also learn about some of the legends associated with it:
Evergreens have been used for many centuries, indeed some say that they were used before Jesus was born. The Holly brings forth its fruits in winter and they are a symbol for hope and the future and spring to come. This made the Holly the most popular.
During the holidays, it was collected and used in Churches and chapels and homes, best of all it was free. Country folk used to plant a Holly tree outside their cottage to protect them from the evil eye, just as they planted Rowan trees in the Highlands.
Holly has healing properties and it is supposed to help rheumatism, asthma, gout and even measles. The North American Indians use Holly tea to protect their children from Measles.
In more recent times people love to decorate their their doorways and deck their halls with cheerful holly wreaths and garlands. The famous carol, the Holly and the Ivy is often sung at Advent time.
The pagan Druids are believed to have been the first to take holly to heart. They viewed holly and its beautiful greenery as a sacred plant, designed to keep the earth beautiful even as north winds howled and snow blanketed the landscape. They wore sprigs of holly in their hair when they went into the forest to watch their priests cut the sacred mistletoe. See about the Mistletoe tomorrow
The Romans also bequeathed the creation of holly to their god Saturn and used it in great abundance. Romans gave one another holly wreaths and carried them about decorating images of Saturn with it.
 Centuries later, in December, while other Romans continued their pagan worship, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus. To avoid persecution, they decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, holly lost its pagan association and became a symbol of Christmas.
The plant has come to stand for peace and joy, and people often settle arguments under a holly tree.
In England, British farmers put sprigs of holly on their beehives because they believed that on the first Christmas, the bees hummed in honour of the Christ Child. The English also mention the "he holly and the she holly" as being the determining factor in who will rule the household in the following year, the "she holly" having smooth leaves and the "he holly" having prickly ones. Other beliefs included putting a sprig of holly on the bedpost to bring sweet dreams and making a tonic from holly to cure a cough. All of these references give light to "decking the halls with boughs of holly."
The version of the Holly and the Ivy that we are familiar with today was first published by Cecil Sharp - a great musician and folk song collector. Listen to a modern version of the tune as you read the words of the carol.
This text will be replaced by the flash music player.
Listen to the Carol, The Holly and the Ivy!"
The Holly and the Ivy
 The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
The rising of the sun
And the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a blossom
As white as the lily flower,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet saviour.
The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good.
The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas day in the morn.
 The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown.
- Old English Christmas Carol -
Legends and stories about the Holly
 Holly is one of the trees said to be the tree of Christ's cross. Legend tells us that the trees of the forests refused the defilement of the cross, splintering into tiny fragments at the touch of the axe. Only the holly behaved like an ordinary tree, allowing itself to be cut and formed into a cross. It is as a Passion symbol that holly is found in pictures of various saints. It's presence indicates that the saint is either reflecting upon Christ's Passion or foretelling it.
In Germany, holly is called Christdorn in memory of Christ's crown of thorns. According to legend, the holly's branches were woven into a painful crown and placed on Christ's head while the soldiers mocked him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews." The holly's berries used to be white but Christ's blood left them with a permanent crimson stain.
Another legend about this Christmas plant says that a little orphan boy was living with the shepherds when the angels came to announce the birth of the newborn king. Having no gift for the baby, the child wove a crown of holly branches for its head. But when he lay it before Christ, he became ashamed of it's poverty and began to cry. Miraculously, Jesus touched the crown and it began to sparkle while the orphan's tears turned into beautiful scarlet berries.
There is a legend that tells of a little lamb who was following the shepherds to the manger when it became entangled in the thorns of a Holly Bush. The red berries are the drops of blood that it dropped. As we decorate our homes and Churches with Holly we should remember the symbolism of the berries and the greenery as well as the significance of them.
Here is a picture of a Holly Garland to colour in - right click to download the picture and colour it in using your Paint Programme.
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