Be Ye Separate

Traditions

{ 12:38, Monday, November 10, 2008 } { Posted in Country Doin's } { 1 comments } { Link }

Blessings!

We don't do the whole Santa thing but we do celebrate Christmas with decorations, gifts and most importantly in worship of our Lord and Saviour...The Reason for the Season!

We have a Creche that we keep up all year. Most folks call it a Nativity, I think. Anyway, we keep ours up all year. On Christmas Eve, the baby Jesus is placed in his manger and stays there until Easter when He is removed and put away to symbolize His resurrection and ascension:)

We decorate with our heirlooms and each year we choose a new ornament for the tree. It usually has something to do with something we have done as a family. Most often this ornament is purchased in the summer during a trip or event:) We are thinking that we might do something to represent Shea's birth as she is the most wonderful thing that has happened to our family this year:) We'll see. We hadn't picked our ornament this summer like usual but I think that was because we stayed home all summer instead:) It's all good:)

Although I do enjoy a real tree with all it's wonderful aromas wafting through the house for the month, we ended up purchasing a tree about 6 years ago. Why? Because we were down and out with hardly a cent before payday. We had saved 40 dollars for a tree and intended that to work. Well, that year the trees in all the lots and at the cut-em-yourself farms had literally tripled! We were stunned and dismayed. The small 4 foot tree we had thought would be perfect was over 80 dollars that year! Yikes! Instead, we went home and decided to use a beautiful tree that had been my grandmothers. It was our "Charlie Brown Tree". It stands 18 inches tall and sits on a music box. When the music is playing the tree rotates. It WAS all in gold as it had been something her own grandmother had brought over from the east when the weather had warmed enough for their wagontrain to make it to California that year. We took the 40 dollars and bought some blown glass angels to hang from it's tiny branches instead. With the money left over we were able to purchase some things to make a basket for a needy family at our fellowship. I think it was the most wonderful Christmas ever and the children still remember it fondly:)

I still have that tree but after the many many years that it has been stored away and reused the branches now need replaced. The musicbox still plays beautifully so this year we will refurbish it:)

Back to our artificial tree. We decided that year to save for an artificial tree when we were able. Well, imagine our surprise when we were gifted with a cash card from an anonymous gifter. Right after the first of the new year, we were at Lowes when we found THE tree. Not only was it just what we wanted but it was also 75% off! The tree cost us 50.00 and after the last 6 years (this being our 7th Christmas with it), it has paid for itself and saved us a ton of money:) Now, instead of buying the tree, we take that amount of money and put it into a gift basket for a needy family. It's fun to make and bake things to fill it:) It has become a family tradition.

We spend time baking, cooking, making gifts and planning:) It's a time when we begin to do a lot of cookie baking and fruitcake making and freezing them. Not only does that allow us to have those goodies for months after the fact, but it gives us the opportunity to share together, work together and gift others with our efforts:)

I have lots of crocheted gifts on my list this year and I'm nearly finished with at least half of them now:) I should be done along with some extras just in case we have surprise visitors this season:) It's always nice to be able to give the gift of a simple pair of slippers or washcloths or even a scarf and mitts on the spur of the moment:) Along with our jars of jams and soup mixes and cookie/treat mixes packed in mason jars this makes it an easy and less stressful time:)

The girls really like to hang lights outside the house. We will have our luminaries set out, the lights hung and the paths decorated by Thanksgiving Day. The tree will be decorated Thanksgiving night and the inside decorations set out.

As I said we don't do the Santa thing but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying the different Santa depictions over the years. When the younger children began to ask about Santa (we had indulged in it before our conversion) when they realized that other children had this in their celebrations we did a study on it all. His origins and why he is so popular now. With that we have collected different Santa's from different eras from the middle ages to now. Very interesting study, I encourage you to look into it. It's fun and informative and surely gives us something to share with others when challenged by the whole Santa thing. :) Just like the Candy Cane history:) It has two different stories and no one really knows which one is right and if they are real at all but it's fun and certainly makes sense and encourages the thoughts of our Saviour instead of a jolly old elf:)

The girls and I are already trying to figure out where the tree will go and how the decorations will be. And you know what?...even if we decided exactly where everything will go, we'll either never put them there or we'll change our minds and move them later:P In any case, I love the season and all it implies. How awesome is our Lord and how blessed we are that He loves us even when we are less than what we should be. :)

Have a very blessed day!

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Untitled Comment

{ 19:02, Monday, November 10, 2008 } { Posted by Ellesmira }
I love Christmas time! It somehow always make me feel peaceful and joyous at the same time=] Just to think how many people have enjoyed this holiday over the years makes me sure that there is a God, and that this is the time we need to think about him=] Just some thoughts,
Madge

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