Archives For Christmas

The Twelve Days Of Christmas

December 27, 2012 — 3 Comments

For some of us Christmas is over. The gifts have been exchanged, children have awoke and squealed with delight at the sight of the presents left by Santa, and shopping malls are advertising After-Christmas Sales to cash in on all of the holiday gift cards that were exchanged. But did you know that Christmas is not over?

According to tradition, the twelve days of Christmas actually started on the 25th with the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, however, it will continue until the night of January 5th, finally winding down on the first day of Epiphany, which is celebrated on January 6th each year. This day is known by some as Old Christmas.

I was reminded last night of Old Christmas as my wife and I discussed taking down our Christmas tree. (There actually wasn’t much discussion going on, she was busy trying to put the house back in order.) It was common practice when I was growing up to keep up the Christmas decorations until after Old Christmas, I never quite understood why because we never did any other celebrating, but regardless the tree would stand until January 6 each year.

Continue Reading…

In General , ,
permalink

Christmas Memories – The Gift

December 26, 2012 — Leave a comment

Christmas day has once again come and gone. We have spent the last month looking forward to this special time. Day after day we have tried to take a unique look at the holiday. Now that the day has passed I am sure that you were probably expecting a post on something other than Santa Claus or mistletoe but I have one more Christmas memory to share with you.

This special memory is one of my favorite of all Christmas memories, it is one in which the entire family gathered at home to celebrate this wonderful day. For most of you, you will read the previous sentence and think to yourself “that sounds like every Christmas to me” but you would be wrong. So please bear with me as I share one more Christmas memory from my past with you.

This particular year of my memory had been a very difficult one for my family. We had faced illnesses, some broken bones, and a lot of tears. We had spent many hours in and out of hospitals, hospice homes, and even nursing homes.

Continue Reading…

In General , , ,
permalink

A Child Is Born

December 25, 2012 — 1 Comment

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.   Luke 2:1-20 ESV

Merry Christmas!

[image © Martin Beek]

 

In Christianity , , ,
permalink

Where Is Santa?

December 24, 2012 — 4 Comments

The big day is almost here and if you have children in your house then you know that they, along with millions of kids around the world, are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. Last year, we told you how to track Santa and his sleigh through the technology available at NORAD. This year I thought we would take a look at another method of tracking the deliveries of the toys.

Google has harnessed the power of their Google Maps and Google Earth data to deliver a Santa tracking experience that your kids will be sure to enjoy. Google has been tracking Santa’s journey since 1994 but this year they have spent numerous hours redesigning the algorithm to accurately track the movement of Santa and his sleigh. This is no small feat considering that Santa’s sleigh is the fastest vehicle on earth.

Continue Reading…

In General , , ,
permalink

A Child’s View

December 21, 2012 — 2 Comments

In today’s Video of the Week, we take a look at the nativity story through the eyes of children.

Now that you have heard the children’s version, be sure to check out the Christmas thoughts of Bill and Ed today, they are just big kids anyway.

In Video , , ,
permalink