Advent 2011: Why the Pine?

"What may be known about God is plain to them, because God made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine qualities--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that mean are without excuse." Romans 1:19-20

The Christmas Tree is the center of seasonal fun around the world.  Some use it for Christmas on Dec 25^th while others put it up for New Year’s celebrations.  But, each year as I assemble this icon of the  season, one thing always fascinates me – Why the pine?  Why is it that we are not decorating oak trees or maple trees, or even palm trees?  Throughout the world in so many other cultures, the story is the same; we decorate pines, firs and other evergreens to celebrate the season of Christmas and New Year.  But, Why?

According to the Christmas Tree Farm Network, before Christ, evergreens were used in winter solstice celebrations.  It is know that that Egyptians worshipped evergreens at this time of year using date palms to symbolize a triumph over death.  The Romans also celebrated the winter solstice with a celebration called Saturnalia.  On Saturnalia, Romans hung greens, lights and exchanged gifts to honor one of their many gods, the god of agriculture, Saturnus.  Closer to our part of the world, the wood priests of Great Britain (known as Druids) used evergreens in their rituals to symbolize eternal life and keep away evil spirits.  And in the middle ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees near the doors of their homes to ward off evil spirits. 

Although modern Christmas traditions probably evolved from these non-Christian rituals, it was a man named Martin Luther who really brought began the traditions that we uphold today.  Legend has it that Luther was walking in the woods on a snowy evening when he came upon a group of snow-covered evergreens.  The moonlight danced on the branches and snow twinkled like the stars with such beauty that Luther was captivated.  Wanting to share this vision with his children, Luther brought in a fir tree and began decorating it with candles as he told of the trees’ shimmering beauty.  Once the tree was covered in candles, he lit them to honor Christ’s birth.

Today, we do not worship trees nor the gifts that we exchange.  However, sometimes it is difficult to Christ in Christmas because of these things.  Each year as we bring out our trees, we should remember that it is not just a thing of beauty to adorn our homes.  It is a reminder of the trees given to us by our loving God.  It is a reminder of the snow-covered trees whose twinkling beauty can capture our breath, reminding us of God’s greatness.

Christmas Adventus Day 3:  Place the green, brown, and star buttons in bag #3 on our advent garland.  Have your angels take down the bag and see what is inside.  Tell them that this is everything that they need to make a tree but what kind of tree do they think that it will make?  Read today's story and make button tree ornaments.



For our other Advent activities, see "Christmas Adventus 2011: Celebrating Allergy-Free".

Advent 2011: The Christmas Cast

A few years ago, we spent an evening making a nativity scene from salt dough.  The whole family and even the grandparents got involved.  It was great fun!  Each year, our nativity scene is one of the first things to get pulled from the Christmas box.  I place the dough characters in a shoe box and they are played with until the day that we create a manger for the baby.  These ornaments have been played with as dolls, set up as decoration, and even puppets in a play.

As you know, every good play has a good cast and that could be no truer than in the Christmas story.  Today we are using salt dough to create the “cast” for our Christmas play.   I hope that you will play along with us.  If you do not have time to make a salt dough nativity set, you can find most of these characters in any set that you buy in the store, including the ones that are made especially for kids.  Here are the characters that you will need:

God: No need to make Him since he made us all!

Joseph: Jesus step-father; known for his godly character and compassion.

Mary: Jesus mother; young, obedient and highly favored by God

Jesus:  Son of God; carpenter; Messiah

The Angels:  Appeared to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds

Shepherds:  working at night, faithful, told others about Jesus, praised God

3 Wise Men:  Brought 3 gifts, followed the star

The Star:  Led the shepherd and wise men to Jesus

The King:  Saul, David, Jesus, and Herrod

Extras: sheep, cows, donkey

Christmas Adventus Day 2:  Place one of the nativity characters (or the recipe for the salt dough) in the envelope for Day 2.  Next, place all of the ingredients (or characters if already made) in a shoe box under the tree.  As you craft each character in the cast of the Christmas story, talk about who they are, their character traits, and why they are important.  If your characters are already made, place them in a shoebox under the tree.  Place baby Jesus in the bag for Day 2 on our Advent garland.  Have your angel remove Jesus from the bag and tell you all that they know.  Use our guide above to be sure that your angel knows the basic information about each of the people in the story.

For more information on our salt dough nativity, go to our "Christmas Adventus 2011" page.



For our other Advent activities, see "Christmas Adventus 2011: Celebrating Allergy-Free".

Advent 2011: The Advent Calendar

We always celebrate the first day of advent with the making of our advent calendar. The word advent comes from the Latin term "adventus" which means "coming.  For Christians, the Advent season is a time of waiting for the coming Messiah and, so, the advent calendar is a way to mark the coming of Christ on Christmas Day. 

This year, we will be making Christmas garland using twine and small paper bags to serve as our family's advent calendar.  Inexpensive, functional and fun, this craft may be as simple or as involved as you choose.  So, reach deep inside of yourself, find your inner crafter and let the holiday fun begin!

Click HERE to find out how to make our advent calendar.

For our other Advent activities, see "Christmas Adventus 2011: Celebrating Allergy-Free".