Christmas traditions Part One

Last time around, we talked a little about how Christmas traditions enhance our faith. Our traditions are unique to each culture, but it is fascinating to read about some of the other traditions from all around the world.

BETHLEHEM:

Historically, the celebration in Bethlehem was full of pomp and circumstances. Flags and banners decorated the whole town, and there would be a parade with Arabian horses leading a dramatic procession. A solemn horseman carried a cross while riding a coal black steed, leading church and local officials, ending with an ancient effigy of Baby Jesus. The procession wound its way to the church, ending at a silver star marking the site thought to be where Jesus was born.

*Each Christian home would have a cross painted over the door and a homemade manger. A star was placed on a pole in the village square.

THE BRITISH ISLES:

The gift giving as we know it now is thought to have originated from the Victorian era, along with caroling, feasting and “good cheer” (drinks). Prior to that, gifts were given in the New Year.

*Hanging holly and ivy came from the pagan tradition of remembering spring throughout the cold winter; kissing under the mistletoe is thought to be from ancient Druid rites.

*Decorating a tree was from Germany. It spread to England, apparently, sometime after 1840 when Prince Albert set up a tree in Windsor Castle for his wife, Queen Victoria and their children.

*Wassail is derived from AngloSaxon phrase waes hael, which means “good health.” It was originally made from mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, nuts, eggs and spices.

AUSTRALIA:

The population in Australia is 70% Catholic, Lutheran or Anglican, so for most people, Christmas is a time for remembering the true meaning of Christmas. It’s summer there, so surfing, shopping, and vacationing are the activities. They use artificial trees, and follow many English traditions. Some have replaced the huge turkey and steamed pudding for backyard barbecues or picnics.

BRAZIL:

Each town in Brazil sets out to create a nativity scene or Presepio. (“bed straw). Introduced in the 17th century, they are now set up in December and displayed in churches, homes, and stores.

*In Northern Brazil, as in Mexico, they put on a folk play Los Pastores, “The Shepherds.” In the Brazilian version there are shepherdesses rather than shepherds and a gypsy who attempts to kidnap the Christ Child.

*Papai Noel (Father Noel) is the gift bringer; he lives in Greenland. When he arrives, he usually wears silk clothing due to the heat. Funny, huh!

*Traditional dinners include turkey, ham, colored rice, and various vegetable and/or fruit dishes.

*(Catholics often attend Midnight Mass, or Missa do Galo (rooster); the rooster announces the coming day and Mass finishes at 1 am.

*Decorations include fresh flowers. Brazil goes all out with the fireworks; and since they don’t have a lot of pine trees around, they display huge christmas “trees” of electric lights. (see picture below).

This post was so long, that part two of Christmas traditions will come on 23 December, where we'll "visit" China. See you then!

Brazilian Christmas “tree” from The North-Pole.com

Senses of the Season

Some people might look at the world and remark that God made a messy world. In a way, they are right. The universe is not a sterile lab experiment God put in a back room somewhere--the universe, incredibly complex and larger than we can fathom, is not sterile, or boring. We don’t worship God in a vacuum.

He gave us the senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. One of the earliest Biblical passages indicates that God uses senses as well, “God saw all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Gen. 1:31).

The sight of candles lit at the church, the smell of incense, the sounds of the choir help focus our senses on God and bring us closer to Him. Spiritual songs and poems promote meditating on the meaning of the Gospel. The Word comes to life for us through hearing.

Don’t the sights and sounds of Christmas traditions do the same, bringing us closer to each other? Hearing Christmas music brings us into the season; marking off an Advent calendar reinforces that anticipation of the season; evergreen or holly scented candles smell like the Winter solstice, even during the day; the taste of wassail, holding the hot mug in our hands, brings us closer in fellowship to the world around us. And who could forget the smells of all the baking!

These little traditions engage the senses, bringing us together to remember the Savior who is Lord of all of us, and our Brother. I try to always remind myself just Who this season is all about.

In our family, we open “one” present on Christmas Eve. It used to always be pajamas, ones we could wear that night, so we’d look nice in our pictures the next morning!

We always received socks, too. I think this came partly for economic reasons--we needed socks, and it gave us another present to open. But I like it; I try to give out warm fuzzy socks so my loved ones feel special when they pull them on.

Advent calendars are a treasured tradition: the youngest opens the date and reads the scripture verse. We also light the Advent wreath, and everyone around the table takes turns reading the Bible verses from Isaiah: “The people who walked in the darkness have seen a great light. Upon those who dwelt in a land of gloom, a light has shown. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing.” (IS 9:1-2).

Then we pray “May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ’s promise to bring us salvation.” That’s what we’re celebrating.

To paraphrase St. Theresa of Avila, do whatever impels you to love. The kindness and little tasks spread our love out among our fellow man as much, or more, than great statues and awe inspiring works of art could ever do. It really is “the thought that counts.”

Traditions are neither good nor evil; but the traditions that tie us to the best parts of our beliefs and memories are the ones we should treasure and teach our children.

Leave a comment, and please share with us your favorite, treasured Christmas traditions. And feel free to adopt a new tradition to share with your loved ones.

Because, as we all know, love is the greatest gift.

“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.”

St Theresa of Avila 1515-1582.

December blog chain



See sidebar for the December blog chain links! (Thanks to Traci B again--for the feedback!)

First review and a small challenge

So today I posted my first review on Shvoom. It's a review of the science fiction classic by CS Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet. I plan to follow it with reviews of the two other novels in the trilogy, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. Then I'll review some other works, probably the Dragonkeeper chronicles.

I am writing these reviews for two reasons: 1. to practice my craft of writing and 2. to stay in the Nanowrimo habit of writing consistently. They may start to feel like homework in a while, so we'll see how it goes. When I have a WIP (work in progress), I don't want to feel like I have too many distractors. Part of creativity is in just producing work, everything does not spring from the artist's skull like Athena from the head of Zeus. Don't I wish!

On the other hand, when I don't have a WIP going strong, it is good to continue practicing my craft with actual writing. The charting I do at work (I am a nurse practitioner) is not supposed to be creative. It's supposed to be as uniformly written as possible, which does not lend itself to the creative process.

The Challenge: the challenge is that I joined the christianwriters.com December blog chain. The theme is Christmas (no more detail than that), and my date is Dec 21. So I need to write a blog on that topic, right here! I need to do a bit of research on it, and I hope my fellow cwr's will enjoy it.

My next entry will be a bit more interesting than this one: I'm going to talk about -- and diss! -- my own inner critic. See you soon.



If you want to check out my review, here is the link to it. Thanks!

http://www.shvoong.com/WebAgents/Redir.aspx?wID=5&tURL=http://www.shvoong.com/books/science-fiction/2084072-silent-planet/

Why NaNoWriMo ?

So this is my first post for this blog.

The purpose of this blog is to focus on creativity, and discuss writing from an artistic and spiritual manner. I will try to do research and provide some inspiration as well. Today though, I will discuss NaNoWriMo and what I have learned so far.

Next year, for Nanowrimo, I definitely need to plan ahead! For now, I am trying to come up with some ideas for April's Script Frenzy. In addition, I plan to edit my novel and write some reviews.

Anyway,

Here goes!

From a Nanowrimo Champ-ee-yon!!



Why NaNoWriMO:

To be succinct, I needed to get over some serious writer’s block.

In the third grade, I had a teacher who became my “inner critic.” (Note: Read The Artist’s Way, by Julie Cameron, for more information on the inner critic).
I had written a short story (the first part, I should say), about a girl who found an old trunk with treasures, and somehow became transported into a magical world. This teacher, who never intended to be cruel so far as I can tell, implied that in order to begin this story, it was essential that I already know the ending. I should only write if I know the ending, I became convinced.

I have spent about 40 years since, in and out of writer’s block, and have not finished anything but one short story (which I discarded) in all that time. I wrote for work, and not for myself.

***Now I know it does not matter if I know the ending from the outset. I am NOT tied to an outline, or any preconceived notions. I need to reach deep down inside, and trust my instincts. I WILL make mistakes. That's okay!


How I succeeded:

--Find your voice. This includes what makes YOU unique. (more on that in later blogs)

--Find what makes YOUR characters come alive. That is not found in their appearance, wealth, education, or even their diction, although these things may help you flesh out their character development.
No, characters come alive through their dreams; their pain, their past, their motivation. Think it over.

--It does not matter if your first draft is total MUSH. JUST WRITE!

--You can look for gems in the rubble after your first draft is done.

Right now, I have about 58K words. No, it is not finished; but two major story arcs are finished and I have a lot of subplots to work with. On November 1st, I had NOTHING!


TIPS:

*Plan ahead of nano wri mo if you can, but if you didn’t don’t be afraid, JUST WRITE!
*Use incidents from the news, from your past or those of your friends, from your favorite movies or books, but change them to make them uniquely your OWN
*Go ahead, and go into the Forums. Make friends, get moral support from others!
*Also, read the posts of other people who are panicking about NaNo, and realize that you are NOT alone!
*Go to the adoptables forum, and/or the “dare” forum, and decide if you see something there you want to write about, or just see if you can get some great ideas. You can always alter the ideas to fit what you are interested in writing about.
*Try to write about characters that excite you: you love them, you hate them, or you identify closely with them.
*If you don’t know the exact word for something right away, don’t waste a lot of time poring over it. Just put in the word “ROVER” instead, and mull it over later. You can go in at the end and say “Find” all the ROVER’s, and then fix them. But you’ll have a rough draft, YAYY!

**Best tip: go to Word Wars. Challenge others or just declare war against yourself. Don’t be afraid: JUST WRITE!



http://writinglite.blogspot.com/