Christmas is Coming

[deogratias]

I think that would be a very fitting tribute to Grandma’s memory and a legacy you can pass on to someone else in your family some day. If you want to send me one, I’ll pm you my address

 

[deogratias]

Do you serve any special dishes at the tree trimming party?

My daughter used to have a tree trimming party with the children - but they did not have much money - so she would make beans and tortillas - well later she could afford better but the kids objected - they wanted the beans and tortillas - she just added a few condiments like salsa, guacomole and shredded cheese but she dared not take away the beans and tortillas.

 

[Annunciata]

deogratias:

Do you serve any special dishes at the tree trimming party?
.

Deogratias,
I usually just have finger food and eggnog since everyone has about had it from Thanksgiving…
I also make gingerbread cookies in different shapes i.e., trees ,stars, snowmen, etc…some for trimming and some for eating.
Annunciata

 

[Ana]

deogratias:

Okay - what this “hide the pickle” thing LOL

Oh! I thought everyone knew about “the pickle”! It’s from the German or Polish strain in my family, I can’t remember which. It’s a pickle ornament that is hidden in the tree on Christmas Eve, the child who finds it first on Christmas morning gets a little extra present.

deogratias:

I read this as you meaning to have typed Christmas Eve ? Correct?.

Yes, I meant to type Christmas Eve. :whacky:

 

[deogratias]

See* we learn all sorts of customs - including hiding the pickle LOL. I am German heritage but the pickle is new to me. From 1870’s to 1930’s, Germans made the finest molds for making ornaments with nearly 5,000 different molds at the time. At the turn of the century there were over one hundred small cottage glass blowing workshops in Europe. Probably your beloved pickle was one of these molds LOL.*

*I do know the Christmas Tree was originally from Germany. This is how the legand goes. *

The fir tree has a long association with Christianity, it began in Germany almost a 1000 years ago when St Boniface, who converted the German people to Christianity, was said to have come across a group of pagans worshipping an oak tree. In anger, St Boniface is said to have cut down the oak tree and to his amazement a young fir tree sprung up from the roots of the oak tree. St Boniface took this as a sign of the Christian faith. But it was not until the 16th century that fir trees were brought indoors at Christmas time

Of course this may be just legand but since ancient times the evergreen has been a symbol of rebirth and since the story above attaches the birth of Christianity to Germany to the fir tree - it may indicate how the legand began.

 

[Handmaid]

We have lots of traditions, but this one popped into my head.

Each child picks a tag from the local children’s hospital tree (we try to get the same gender and age as our child) and we all go shopping for these kids. It’s a fun way to put the focus on giving. We make a big deal out of it and they love it.

Heather

 

[deogratias]

That is fun isn’t it. The soriety I belonged to used to adopt a family each Christmas - we would shop for the entire family and had so much fun wrapping the gifts. We’d get the names from various sources and info about the ages and sizes, etc. Then we would just anonymously deliver them.

Another year, one of our coworkers with 5 children and an unemployed husband was stressing about this and the whole dept. pitched in and did the same thing plus a Christmas dinner food basket. We knew someone who went to her church that we swore to secrecy and she supplied the sizes etc for that family. Then we had the friend deliver the whole shebang and she never knew it was her coworkers who had done this.

It truly is more blessed to give than receive and it makes the custom of giving gifts at Christmas a Christian experience when done this way.

 

[deogratias]

And that reminds me of another little Christmas giving story I have to tell.

This was when my son was not yet married and I was away visiting his sister for Christmas. He got a rather big Christmas bonus that year. He took it to a local diner and said, give me as many take out Christmas dinners as this will buy. He filled his VW to the brim and just drove around giving them to homeless people he saw on the street - said it was the best Christmas he ever had.

 

[La_Chiara]

*I do know the Christmas Tree was originally from Germany. This is how the legand goes. *

Of course this may be just legand but since ancient times the evergreen has been a symbol of rebirth and since the story above attaches the birth of Christianity to Germany to the fir tree - it may indicate how the legand began.

Actually, the German Lutherans claim that the Christmas tree started with Martin Luther who went off into the woods and brought back a tree for his children! (Presumably, after he was no longer a Catholic priest…)

So now I know that it wasn’t Martin Luther (the heretic!) but a Catholic saint–St. Boniface! I like that version much better!

 

[deogratias]

---

I
**have **
heard the German
**Lutheran version also **
but someone did a piece on
the history of the Christmas tree
and could find no mention in any of
Luthers writings or of the early church
**mentioning a Christmas tree …Yet another **
legend tells of a poor woodsman who long ago
met a lost and hungry child on Christmas Eve. Though
**and shelter for the night. The woodsman woke the next **
**morning to find a beautiful glittering tree outside his door. **
**The hungry child was really the Christ Child in disguise and **
he had created the tree
to reward the good man
for his charity

Do you like my Christmas tree?

 

[pnewton]

Here’s another holiday season tradition my wife taught me. On the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas, everyone puts their shoes outside their door to be filled with candy and maybe a small present.

 

[deogratias]

I think this is a dutch custom, the shoes of course were wooden and made great receptacles. If the Germans are responsible for the tree, I think the Dutch may claim Santa Claus. Other names for Santa are St. Nicholas and Father Christmas that I know of. I am sure there are moe.

 

[marajade73]

That explains the blown glass pickle ornaments I see in stores at Christmas. I’ve always wondered who would want a pickle ornament on their tree (besides my pickle-loving son
)

There is a store in Germany that I found online that has beautiful Christmas ornaments-- Kathe Wohlfahrt. eshop-wohlfahrt.de/kw/ The site is being updated until the 10th, but it’s beautiful. It’s supposedly the largest Christmas store in Germany. I’ve got a friend whose parents are from Germany, and she’s shown me the many beautiful German Christmas ornaments her grandmother passed on to her.

 

[Ana]

*****

I
**have **
heard the German
**Lutheran version also **
but someone did a piece on
the history of the Christmas tree
and could find no mention in any of
Luthers writings or of the early church
**mentioning a Christmas tree …Yet another **
legend tells of a poor woodsman who long ago
met a lost and hungry child on Christmas Eve. Though
**and shelter for the night. The woodsman woke the next **
**morning to find a beautiful glittering tree outside his door. **
**The hungry child was really the Christ Child in disguise and **
he had created the tree
to reward the good man
for his charity

Do you like my Christmas tree?

Very… verrrry nice!!:yup: :clapping:

 

[deogratias]

marajade73:

That explains the blown glass pickle ornaments I see in stores at Christmas. I’ve always wondered who would want a pickle ornament on their tree (besides my pickle-loving son
)

There is a store in Germany that I found online that has beautiful Christmas ornaments-- Kathe Wohlfahrt. eshop-wohlfahrt.de/kw/ The site is being updated until the 10th, but it’s beautiful. It’s supposedly the largest Christmas store in Germany. I’ve got a friend whose parents are from Germany, and she’s shown me the many beautiful German Christmas ornaments her grandmother passed on to her.

I’ll look forward to seeing their catalog. I have not put up a tree for about 10 years now but some german ornaments might be nice Christmas heirloom gifts to give. We had some when I was a child but I don’t know what happened to them now.

 

[Ana]

My mom is Puerto-Rican, and grew up there. I remember her telling me that they did not exchange gifts on Christmas Day, but instead on the Epiphiny or “little Christmas”. The children would leave shoeboxes filled with hay for the camels, and would wake to find the hay gone and gifts in its place. I’m assuming this has something to do with the three Kings bringing gifts to Baby Jesus.

 

[deogratias]

Hay for camels - that’s interesting too.

I think Epiphany gift exchanging occurs in several cultures - sometimes instead of Christmas gifting and sometimes in addition to it.

I read that, “Children in Puerto Rico acknowledge both Santa Claus and the Three Wise Men (or the Three Kings, as they are known locally) as holiday gift-bearers, but there has been an increased emphasis on celebrating the coming of the Three Kings given the island’s Spanish heritage”

I guess when she lived in Puerto Rico they did not look for a Blanca Navidad LOL -

But since I live in a desert climate, neither do I

 

[Toni]

What wonderful ideas I love the Polish ideas and many others. Thank you for posting this it is truly wonderful to help each other prepare for this great day.

Here are a few of mine
When my children were little I had a baby Jesus they would each have one week to care for him and that meant taking him everywhere with you. It was very beautiful. I also did this at school and had found a baby that had a heart beat and they each got to ake him home for a day and care for him.
I have also hung up a Jesus stocking that I purchased at a craft show that had the Name of Jesus printed on it. The children would do acts of love, prayers and sacrifices to fill the stocking for Christ as their gifts to him for Christmas.
I have also taught them to make sacrifices during Advent to prepare for Christmas I never realized the importance of this.
Can’t wait for new posts on this board.
PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD!

 

[khkhk]

deogratias:

please put a penny in the old man’s hat
if you havn’t got a penny
a half penny will do
and if you havn’t got a half penny, God Bless You.
QUOTE]

That’s a quote from “A Soalin” Peter, Paul, & Mary sing that! (in their Christmas concert-1988)