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01, 2024
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12, 2023
A Charles Dickens Christmas
These words are from an 1843 Christmas novella written by Charles Dickens. His Christmas short stories include: “The Chimes”, “Cricket on the Hearth,” “The Battle of Life,” “Haunted Man,” and his most read, “A Christmas Carol”
“A Christmas Carol” was by far the most popular having never been out of print. It’s also been adapted many times to film, stage, opera, and other media.
Dickens divided his novella into five chapters, labeled “staves” or song stanzas or verses, in keeping with the title of the book.
The short tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s strange night visitors continues to send a message that cuts through all the trappings of the season and straight into the heart and soul of the holiday.
Dickens defined Christmas as
“a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of other people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
This description became known as the “Carol Philosophy” and Dickens strove to live accordingly for the rest of his life.
Charles Dickens has probably had more influence on how we celebrate Christmas than any single individual in human history … except the One whose birth we celebrate.
Wouldn’t honoring Christmas by “opening shut-hearts and thinking of others as fellow sojourners on the same path” be an excellent way to celebrate this holiday season and begin the new year?
~~ This will be our last post for 2023. New blogs will begin again after the holiday season.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
15
12, 2023
Ugly Christmas Sweater
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
Our school is doing a dress-up theme every day this week. Thursday is ugly sweater day.
I have the perfect sweater. And it has a story. The story first appeared in my December 2014 blog.
Twenty-one (now thirty) years ago, my parents gave me a Christmas sweater. It was something they knew I would never buy for myself but would love.
They were right. I wore that sweater for many years starting with our daughter’s first Christmas.
This very same daughter has borrowed the sweater not once but twice to enter her “tacky Christmas sweater” contests. This year she’s loaning it out.
I would be offended except for two years running, my sweater has won.
I think I deserve at least some kind of prize for having held on to that sweater long enough for college kids to think it is tacky.
I can’t wait to wear it on Thursday. I hope people are ready to hear the story. It is what makes the sweater the most interesting ugly sweater on earth!
~Read the original blog here: https://judythewriter.com/don-we-now-our-ugly-holiday-sweaters/
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12, 2023
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12, 2023
What is an Advent Wreath?
Advent comes from adventus meaning “coming” or “visit” and includes the four Sundays before Christmas ending on Christmas Eve. Advent also serves as the beginning of the liturgical year for churches.
Modern-day Advent services feature a garland wreath with four or five candles.
The purple color symbolizes royalty, repentance, and fasting. Many churches are beginning to use blue candles in Advent wreaths. Why blue?
Blue symbolizes hopefulness. Using blue candles emphasizes the difference between Advent and Lent.
The Season of Advent anticipates both Bethlehem and the consummation of history in the second coming of Jesus Christ. That’s hopefulness whereas Lent’s purple emphasizes repentance with a mood of solemnity and somberness.
Traditional liturgical churches light the first candle of an Advent wreath on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, or the Sunday, which falls closest to November 30, and lasts through Christmas Eve, or December 24. Each candle has a specific significance.
1st CANDLE is the PROPHECY CANDLE or Candle of Hope. The prophets of the Old Testament foretold the Messiah’s arrival. Isiah 7:14
2nd CANDLE is the BETHLEHEM CANDLE or the Candle of Preparation. The prophet Micah foretold the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2
3rd CANDLE is the SHEPHERD CANDLE or Candle of Joy. Angels announced the Christ child’s arrival to shepherds. Luke 2:7-15
4TH CANDLE is the ANGEL’S CANDLE which signifies peace. The angels announced that Jesus came to bring peace. Luke 2:10-11
5th CANDLE is the CHRIST CANDLE reminds us Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God and is lit on Christmas Day.
Lighting the candles of an Advent wreath in church or our home is a sign of watching and waiting in joyful hope for the coming of the Savior. Our home Advent wreath is a simple wreath with purple candles. Next year we’ll probably use blue. 
Advent wreaths are a wonderful way to remember the true meaning of Christmas. Do you or your church use an Advent wreath?
8
12, 2023
Old Dog New Tricks
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
We got our first dog, Marv, from the vet school in town. He was a lab mix and lived in our backyard. We got him a food bowl but the first thing he did when we put food in it was to sling it all over the ground.
We decided to save him from that step and just dumped his food on the ground instead of using the bowl. He was happy.
Now we have smaller dogs that live inside. They each have their own bowl and their own spot in the kitchen.
None of them can pick up their bowls and dump them out but Max has learned a new trick. He flicks the pieces of food out of the bowl with his tongue.
They end up all over the floor. It is impressive. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!
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12, 2023
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12, 2023
Christmas Card Time
One of my favorite things about the holiday season is receiving Christmas cards from family and friends with newsy letters. I bundle the cards by year with a ribbon and store them in baskets. The baskets then become part of our holiday decorations.
I like to take a packet from the baskets, look at the photos, and read the letters. It always sparks memories. Some sad knowing the original writer is no longer with us. But mostly the cards trigger good thoughts. It’s almost like having the senders here with me again.
I’m not alone in my love of sending and receiving Christmas cards. As outdated as the practice may seem to some, others cling to the tradition along with me. Americans buy approximately 1.6 billion Christmas cards a year!
The tradition began in the 1800s. As printing techniques improved, and costs dropped, Christmas cards increased in popularity. Read a detailed history here.
When postage dropped to half a penny, more people were able to send greetings. I collect those vintage postcards. Some date back to the 1900s. I love reading through the handwritten notes and looking at the intricate designs.
Many people today send handcrafted cards or order family picture cards. Handcrafted ones are extra special. So are the ones with family pictures.
What is it about this old-fashioned tradition that appeals to me and so many others?
The Greeting Card Association research suggests: “The tradition of giving greeting cards is a meaningful expression of personal affection for another person…”
Some question whether that appeal will be compelling enough to survive the conveniences of the digital era.
I believe it will.
If you want to start the tradition yourself, create a Christmas card list. Gathering addresses is as easy as gathering email addresses and holding a card in your hand beats reading a screen, in my opinion.
My list is on a spreadsheet that I update every year. It’s an easy way to correct addresses and keep track of cards sent and/or received. Because I prefer holiday-themed stamps, I order seasonal stamps online https://store.usps.com/store/results/stamps/holiday/_/N-9y93lvZ1mzlvsg
To make the task less daunting, I use address labels and newsy letters. Some don’t like newsletters. I love them. Makes me feel like I’ve been a part of my friend’s world.
Christmas cards – sending and receiving – will always be a favorite part of the holiday season for me. They are a way to stay in touch, to share our lives even though we may live an ocean apart.
What do you think? Do you send Christmas cards?
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12, 2023
Thankful for Parks
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
Our grandsons brought their mother to see us the week of Thanksgiving.
They arrived on Monday evening. Tuesday, we drove to see their great-grandfather. It was quite an adventure.
The boys are now three and a half and eighteen months old. And they are boys – in constant motion. Opa had some fire trucks and a monster truck to add to the collection of toys Mom packed for them. They still needed room to run so we went to the neighborhood park tucked away behind all the houses.
There was no path to it so we traipsed through the grass. It was well worth the effort. The park had a marsh theme with structures, unlike any park we visited. There was a dragonfly whose wings made a seesaw.
There was also a puzzle that had frogs to put into the slots on lily pads and move around the pond. Alex really liked that.
Theo was unsure, however, about the lily pads connecting the parts of the playground. Maybe next year.
Back at Grandma and Pawpaw’s, we visited another park designed for people of all ages and abilities.
It is completely fenced in with double gates so we were comfortable letting the boys loose to run.
Their favorite part was the conveyor belt-like apparatus that allowed them to run, or crawl, in place.
Alex also enjoyed the train. Theo just liked running around. We had such a wonderful time.
I am very thankful for parks!
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11, 2023
