The Many Traditions of Christmas

     Among the traditions that our family has embraced for Christmas, the lighting of the Advent Wreath and the Christmas Eve Birthday Party for Jesus are two of my favorites. I never spent any money on either party, just used the simplest of decorations for each, yet both hold a certain poignancy of memory for me.
    As for the Advent Wreath, we adopted this tradition at home primarily because it was a tradition celebrated in our church. Each Sunday during the four weeks before Christ's birth we would light a candle during Sunday evening dinner and read a portion of the Christmas story from the book of Luke. We would have a candlelit dinner on those Sundays and it was always a special time.  I remember my children asking as their father read part of the story when they were little, "When is the baby getting borned?" "When does King Jesus get here?"
    I love that as the candles burned lower, the anticipation of the Holy Child's arrival was building. For my own Advent Wreath I always simply gathered pine boughs and holly from my yard and wreathed them around an old brass candle holder I had picked up at a garage sale. There were four white candles and either a fat candle for the middle or a single red candle in a candlestick in the center. Nothing fancy. Just what was on hand.

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I love the simple white plate filled with fresh eucalyptus
and stacked with white candles....lovely!

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The mixed greenery used here is especially appealing.

And how appropriate that wooly lamb's ear is used to 

represent the Lamb of God.

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Here is a sweet baby proof design, imagination required!

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Our birthday Party for Jesus was also simple and always took place on Christmas Eve. The Husband would read the Christmas story in its entirety. The long awaited babe had finally arrived. There was usually a great sigh of relief. The final light in the Advent Wreath would be lit. Then the lights were all extinguished and the children waited in darkness while I scuttled into the kitchen to bring back the cupcake with the single candle, surrounded by unlit cupcakes back into the room. Each person would have a chance to blow out the single candle and talk about why he or she was thankful for Jesus. Then we would talk about the meaning of Emmanuel, God with us, and the fact that Christ is the Light shining into the darkness both in the world, and most importantly, into our hearts. My heart is warmed that my children are embracing this tradition with their own children. It's a tradition so simple and easy to execute, but one fraught with great meaning.
   Here are some additional ideas. There are a host of resources available for the celebration of Advent on Pinterest and other blogs. Don't get overwhelmed. Just keep it simple.

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I love Christmas, but what I love the most, is the truth behind Christmas: The King of Heaven coming to earth in the form of an infant, a child born to be the sacrifice and the atonement for the sins of the world. It is at once both a wonderful and terrible truth, is it not...Emmanuel, God With Us.

Celebration Time

    This was a November to remember. As Vanderbilt graduates and longstanding Commodore football fans, 2012 was a season to savor and remember. The crowning achievement was a decisive and memorable victory over the University of Tennessee. Even though we usually find ourselves a somewhat divided household when it comes to sports allegiances, this day it was all about Vandy. The Husband was in the stands the last time that Vanderbilt defeated UT, and it was 30 years ago. A long long time. I guess that it made it even sweeter. He got some great shots but here are a couple of my favorites from that magical day.

It has become a tradition to have our daughter-in-law Annie's family come up every other year to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. We've become one big extended happy family, and I look forward to getting the "cousins" together. There's nothing like four little girls to completely take over a playhouse!

The weather was mild enough for everyone to play outside.
I think you might spot a princess or two.
It's important to have a princess at Thanksgiving.

Middle son and his baby girl! 

The next day we all celebrated precious Little Two's second birthday! Her momma had designed the party around a "camping" theme. There were tiny Coleman lantern favors, glow stick necklaces, and a firepit for roasting marshmallows...well supervised by the daddies, of course!

She was telling her daddy that this was fire,
 and she was not allowed near it!

 Enjoying the homemade cake pops!

 Men love an excuse to have a fire...but it's perfect for s'mores!

Time for some girl talk in the yard 

 Little Three joined in on the celebration, but he decided to chill inside with Pappy!

Easy Christmas Foods to Make and Give

   The older I get the less time I want to spend laboring over a hot stove, so I have reduced my holiday cooking to a few good things that I can prepare very quickly, sometimes even while I am doing something else. Here are five favorite go-to gifts that are not too labor intensive!

Spicy Pecans
   There are endless variations of this dish and most are oh so easy. Thankfully, we no longer live in a day and time when we must shell and pick out the pecans ourselves. I grew up living in a pecan grove so I have certainly picked my share of pecans, and trust me, it is tedious work. Now I just hop over to the grocery store and find the freshest nuts available. To pick a good pecan, look for those that have not darkened in color (the oils in the pecan darken the flesh as it ages), are not brittle or shriveled and are still fragrant. If you follow these tips, you will pick good pecans every time!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 Cup sugar (I cut it back slightly)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1-2 egg whites
2 cups pecan halves
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large ziplock bag. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. I sometimes add a shake or two of Tabasco sauce at this point, but this is my own variation of the recipe. Dump the 2 cups of pecans into the egg white and stir to make sure they are coated, then empty the pecans into the ziplock bag, seal and shake well! Your granddaughter can help you with the shaking part!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Coat lightly with cooking spray. Spread the pecans out on the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. Wrap in a cellophane bag and tie with a ribbon!

Recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.

Pretzel Treats
Three easy variations for this.
Number One Tip: Go ahead and buy the waffle shaped pretzels which are called snaps. They seem to disappear quickly around the holidays so I pick up a bag or two whenever I can find them!

Ingredients:
1 pkg of waffle shaped pretzels
1 pkg of Hershey Hugs or Hershey Kisses (I buy the mixed bag)
Option 2:  Red and Green M&M's
Option 3: Rolo's

Unwrap the Hugs and/or Kisses. I do this one evening, and then store the unwrapped candy in a ziplock bag. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (who wants to clean up?!). Preheat oven to 350. Line your cookie sheet with the pretzels and then place a Hug or a Kiss on top of each one. Set your timer for TWO minutes. No longer. Cook the pretzels with the Hugs and Kisses for the requisite two minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press another waffle pretzel on top to make a little pretzel cookie sandwich. Let cool and then store in a ziplock bag.

Option 2: You may also choose to press a red or green M&M into the top instead of the pretzel. Then you have an open-face treat as opposed to a little sandwich! It's also a bit sweeter and less salty than the other version.

Option 3: The decadent version. Buy Rolo's. Upwrap them. Try not to eat too many. Place the Rolo on top of the waffle pretzel. Heat. Press an M&M or another pretzel on top. Gooey. Caramelly. (That's not a word, I know.) Yummy. Also more expensive, but definitely worth the extra cost.

Nuts and Bolts
This is an old recipe that I received nearly 40 years ago by way of The Husband's grandmother Mimi. I still have the original recipe in her lovely handwriting. There are many variations to this recipe, but I love the slow cooked buttery goodness of this one. It's the slow roasting and stirring that let the flavors penetrate the nuts and bolts and make it delicious. Try it, you'll like it.
Ingredients
4 cups of Cheerios (may use whole wheat, if preferred)
3 cups of Wheat Chex
3 cups of Rice Chex
3 cups of Corn Chex
2 1/2 cups of unsalted mixed nuts (preferably with cashews)
4 cups of skinny little pretzel sticks
4-6 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (no substitute)
1 Tbsp celery salt
1-2 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp onion powder

Melt butter, Worcestershire Sauce and spices together in a large roasting pan. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well coated. Bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes.
Cool and package into airtight containers.

At my house, each person likes a different component and will dig through to pick it out. You won't find any cashews left after my husband has been around, while I prefer the Cheerios!

Fire 'n Ice Pickles
You don't really "pickle" these because they have already been pickled, but you are "dressing" them up in a little holiday finery that is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy.
Ingredients:
1/2 gallon of dill pickles (you don't need to buy the expensive name brand)
1 head of garlic, peeled and minced
2 lbs of white sugar
1 (2 ounce) bottle of Tabasco (must be this brand!)
Red pepper flakes
1 gallon jar

Drain your pickles and discard the juice.  Slice your pickles into substantial rounds (not too thin). Layer in the larger jar in following order: a layer of pickle slices, a layer of garlic, a couple of shakes of hot sauce, a blanket of sugar, flakes. Repeat until all used up.

Put the jar into the refrigerator and turn it over every day. Upside down. Then right side up. In about 5 days your amazing pickles will be crisp and ready to eat!

Reindeer Nutter Butters
Haven't made these yet, but I picked up a couple of packages of Nutter Butters at the grocery store this week, and I have the rest of the ingredients on hand so I think I am good to go! I am hoping you just use the icing (royal from Wilton is my easy choice) to get the pretzel ears to adhere. Then pipe the eyes and put a bit where you will stick the red nose (for Rudolph, of course!) I am betting that is black licorice for the mouth but I am going to use a bit of chocolate instead.

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Happy Cooking, Happy Eating, and Happy Gifting. 'Tis the Season to do all three!

Here She Is Again...The Christmas Bride

    A friend of mine recently asked me if The Christmas Bride was coming back again!

    "Of course," I replied. 

    And here she is in all of her glory...

     One of our oldest family Christmas traditions was borne out of desperation rather than necessity as the age-old axiom asserts. In the early years of our marriage my husband and I argued incessantly over the annual purchase of the Christmas tree. It is not that the man was the incarnate Ebenezer Scrooge, but rather the one who tended to view life from an immensely practical side (I suppose ole Ebenezer did too). My husband's point of view was based on the fact that since we traveled 500 miles to spend Christmas with my family of origin every other year, the purchase of a Christmas tree for a house that would be vacant on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was totally superfluous. But I, who was raised by the Queen of Christmas Decor, knew otherwise. 

      It mattered little whether the house was occupied on the actual day of Christmas or Christmas Eve...the tree was an essential component of the festivity and celebration of the season. Yet my husband would not budge. Thus I was forced to badger, cajole, plead, and use every resource available to convince the recalcitrant man that a Christmas tree was a vital purchase EVERY single year.

     Once I had won this battle, I had little time to rest on my laurels before another problem arose. The tree was purchased and firmly ensconced in the living room but alas, there were very FEW LIGHTS and virtually NO ORNAMENTS. What was a girl to do? I was desperate. I had won the right to have the tree each year, but who wants a naked tree in the house...staring at you night after night waiting and begging to be dressed in some appropriate holiday finery. And I knew better than to go to my husband and ask for more money to purchase items that he already struggled to find necessary. And so in my desperation I prayed for inspiration and inspiration I found.

     The first year I popped popcorn, bought cranberries and made garlands galore until my thumbs were sore from the needles going in and out, in and out as I strung for hours on end. And when I realized the next year that I was in the same boat as before because used popcorn and cranberry garlands are only good for the birds... I prayed once again. On the hunt in our tiny apartment, I dug through an old trunk to find carefully preserved bows, ribbons and leftover tulle from our wedding. I also found a few bits -- a yard or two here and there-- of several laces that I had purchased to embellish a dress or two. Soon these ribbons and laces found their way onto the tree and over time have become the tradition in our home. Now there are ribbons from our daughter's wedding and some gorgeous antique lace given to me by a special friend over 20 years ago that have been added to the original collection.

      Each year these ribbons and bits of lace more than garnish our tree-- they serve as the tree's primary decoration and help to make each tree a object of beauty. 

    When my daughter was about six or seven, she was helping me drape the tree in its finery when she turned to me and said, "Look Mommy, our tree is a bride." 

     And I stepped back and squinted my eyes just so. And then I saw it. The tall green lady in her odd bits of lace and ribbon had suddenly become a very beautiful bride. And so it has been for the past thirty-five years that all our Christmas trees are brides. Each one different and each one beautiful in her own right. 

      I love it. 

     For me, it is another extension of the picture of Christ and his love for His people, the Church. We are His bride and He is the Bridegroom. And each year when we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the mystery of the unlovely who become the lovely by the grace, mercy, incarnation, and sacrifice of God. And each year our tree stands in her bridal glory as a tangible reminder of that glorious and powerful love.

      And here is our tree in wedding finery, another reminder to me of the faithful love of God and the fact that despite the darkness that prevails in the hearts of men, Jesus is the Light of the World.

     

     

The Old Old Story Part II

We pick up the story where we left off yesterday:

     The King was very sad at what had happened with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but He had already put His plan in motion. Even when they were told to leave the Garden, He knew that He was sending a King from His family, a King who was like Him in every way, a King who would to put things right. The King and His Only Son, who was also a King were so much alike you could not tell them apart. They were like one and the same person. How can that be you might ask? That is part of the wonderful mystery.
    Many years went by. Men and women lived on the earth and continued to do things that were wrong. Yet in every generation there were people who were known as The King's people. These were men and women, who even though they didn't do everything right, still wanted to follow the King. You might have heard about some of these men and women. One man was named Abraham, and he is called the Father of Many Nations. Another was David, the shepherd boy who slew the giant named Goliath. David is known as a man after the King's Own Heart. 

Yet another was Daniel, who went without fear into the den of the lions and survived. In fact, Daniel came out without a single scratch. 


    Then there was a woman named Ruth who would not leave her mother-in-law, even after her first husband died. She is a very special woman who is known for her faithfulness, and she ends up being the earthly great-grandmother to the King's Only Son.
   The King's people knew that something wonderful was going to happen one day. They were waiting for the King's gift, someone called the Messiah. But there was a big problem. Many of the King's people were waiting for someone who would come and change everything around. If they were poor, they wanted to be rich. If they were slaves, they wanted to be free. If they were ashamed, they wanted to be proud. These are some of the reasons that they almost missed the big event. 
   The King knew his people better than anyone else. He knew just what they needed. They needed a King who would change their hearts from the inside out. The King knew that the soul of a man was the most important thing. It was more important than the actual body of the man, or what he owned, or the things that he did. But when Adam and Eve had taken the apple and eaten it, something terrible happened to their souls. Their souls became dark and began to pull away from the love of The King. 
   So The King had to make a way for things to be different. He had to send someone that the people would be able to see was like them on the outside, but who was very different from them on the inside. This person was the Son of the King, and he was just like the King in every way. He was good. He was pure. He was holy. The Son of the King never ever did anything wrong. It is hard to believe that someone could be born who would never do anything wrong, but this was the way that the King wanted it and the way that He knew it had to be. He wanted His Son, to be a human being and to still be The King. And so it was.
    When a king comes to visit a country, there are a lot of things that usually happen. There are parades and special dinners and lots of fancy parties and lots of very important people who come from near and far to see the king. But since this King was coming to change the hearts of men who had become hard and cold and stony, He didn't come like the kings on earth usually come. First of all, He was born in a stable, alongside cows and donkeys and sheep. No one would ever think to look for a king, The King, in a stable, but that was just what the Father wanted for His Only Son. He also sent angels out to deliver a singing message about the baby King who would be born. He did not send the message to the palace or the city or the people who thought they were the most important, he sent the message to some poor shepherds who were watching over their flocks in the field. 

    These shepherds were the first people to get the news about this new King. At first they were very scared when they heard the angels singing because they had never seen angels before. But then they decided to follow the angels' directions, and they went and found the baby lying in a manger, just as the angels had said He would be. The shepherds knew as soon as they saw the baby that he was no ordinary child. They recognized that He was The King. They left as soon as they could and told all of their friends about the arrival of The King. They were happy and excited.

    The Father King also sent a beautiful star to shine over the baby, because after all, His Son, the King, was a star himself. He was the most important person ever born. His name was Emmanuel which means God With Us. His name meant that The King was setting his plan in motion to make things right with the souls of men. 

Part III to follow

Retelling of an Old Old Story

   Do yourself a favor this Christmas. I don't care how old you are or how much you think you know, give yourself permission to become a child again. Be willing to shed your sophistication, your urbanity, your intellectual prowess or your supposed maturity to enter once again into the wonder that is Christmas. Let go of that jaded, self-serving self. The world of mystery is as real to children as the air they breathe. I dare you to become the child again. It's is absolutely imperative if you are to understand what happened then and what is happening now.

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  This is a story overflowing with the Glory of God. And I am not talking about Santa Claus. I am talking about Emmanuel, the mystery of God With Us. It's a story that can hold your heart captive if you let it. This is no ordinary story.

   This is a story about a King, the most powerful and most amazing King the world has ever known. This King is more powerful than you can imagine. He, alone of all the Kings that ever were and ever will be, has the power to create: to make something out of nothing. He created all that is natural in our world. Natural means not made by man. He made the perfect mix of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and other gases into the air that we breathe. He is the first scientist. This King understands proportions perfectly. He made the bird to fly and the man to walk and the cheetah to run like the wind. 
    This King created mankind and the marvelous and complex bodies which we inhabit. He breathed life into the first man, Adam, and then drew the woman, Eve, from Adam's body. He gave to each human being something inside of us that would always remind us of our Creator, the King. He gave us a soul. The soul is the part of us that makes us different from all of the other creatures on the earth. Our soul is like a highway to God, a road that calls us back to Him, and forward with Him, and helps us desire to walk daily beside Him. In short, our soul is filled with longing for Him. When the King calls to us and we meet Him, we feel complete in a way that satisfies our deepest longings. 
     It is important to understand that Adam and Eve were designed to live in perfect harmony with God. That means that everything between God and the man and the woman was "in tune," just like the words and melody of beautiful song. 

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Then something terrible happened. The Man and the Woman could not believe that everything was just as wonderful as the King said that it was. They listened to some terrible advice from a serpent, and it caused some things to happen that have made things so very hard since that time. 
    When Adam and Eve first came into the world, no one got sick, no one died, no one got mad, or lost his or her temper. Everything was peaceful and calm and happy. There was even no winter. Can you imagine that? No frosty fingers, frosty toes, or frosty hearts.

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But then something horrible happened that changed everything for everyone, even you and me. Adam and Eve ate from the apple in the garden, and things have been going wrong ever since. People and children are selfish and greedy and hurt each other. People and children get sick and die. It is not an easy world.
   Thankfully this King was not satisfied to let things just keep going downhill. From the beginning, He has had a plan to restore things, to make things right. He planned to send His Son, a King of the same family, a King just like Him in every way, to set things right. And that is what He did. 

Part II to follow...
    
 

O Come Let us Adore Him

    Since the Advent of the Christ, man has sought to capture the story of the Savior's birth with music, pen, and brush. I am drawn to the classical artists and their interpretations of the Nativity. I invite you to enter into the scenes pictured below and to become an observer. Perhaps you, too, will kneel in the straw to pay Him homage.

Gerard Van Honthorst, 1622

I love this interpretation of the Nativity. See how the light emanates forth from the Christ Child, and how he is the center of adoration. Joseph has laced his hands on the horns of the cow and seems comfortable with what is transpiring; his gentle smile says it all. I love the humble faces of the shepherds, and in particular the boy who is turning aside to say something about the baby while he points his finger at the child they have come to see. I like to think that there are other shepherds standing outside the cave, awaiting their turn to see this Savior whose birth had been announced to them by an angelic host.

Caravaggio, 1609

Here an exhausted woman reclines, just having given birth. Mary's weariness is portrayed in the bent of her hands, but her love for the babe she has borne comes through in the tilt of her head and the expression on her face. Note how the angel bends low as he seeks to look into the face of the long awaited One.

Adoration of the Shepherds, Georges de La Tour, 1644

This is one of my favorite paintings. The artist, Georges de La Tour, invites you to become the sixth person in the scene, bidding you to come and worship. All is still and quiet; you can almost hear a pin drop. Even the lamb does not utter a sound. There is such simplicity and stillness bound together with a sense of wonder and awe. Note that the illumination in the painting comes from a candle shielded from view by the left hand of Joseph. I love that Mary's face seemingly has an oriental cast to it and her robe is reminiscent of a kimono.

Here's a close-up of the lamb and the Christ-child who was born to be the Lamb of God. 

The following verse was written in 1656. That year, under the reign of Oliver Cromwell, England was in the middle of the Anglo-Spanish War, which began in 1654. Before it ended in 1660, the conflict had pulled in the Caribbean, the Canary Islands, and the Spanish Netherlands.

from THE NATIVITY 
Peace? and to all the world? sure, One
And He the Prince of Peace, hath none.
He travels to be born, and then
Is born to travel more again.

~ Henry Vaughan (1622-1695), Welsh physician and poet