Advent 2010 #4

For the four Sunday's before Christmas at church we light one more candle on the Advent wreath. Then on Christmas Day the fifth candle is lit. I think we may do this Christmas Eve. A different family in the church reads the scripture and lights the candles each week. The full story may come later but  here is the picture of Sunday's third candle:

Advent Wreath - Week Three

I forgot to mention in an earlier post on our family traditions that the third major activity we did with the girls during Advent was to light the candles on the Advent wreath at home each night. This was the favored activity and the rotation was strictly adhered to, at least once all three girls were old enough to do it. Since the tradition faded as the older girls were not around as much, MCP probably had fewer opportunities to light the candles. (Warning: This probably means that she is the one who is most interested in playing with fire.)

Cheap Advent Wreath Story?

There are lots of sites that tell the story and symbolism of the advent wreath. My search started with the realization that I had lots of options if I wanted to purchase the story of advent.

I started to post a list of the more interesting web sites that give the story. But since each story has a little different focus and the symbolism behind each element of the advent wreath varies I will spare you all the variations on the theme. Here is the quick summary. Multiple sites identify the meaning of the candles and the traditional colors:
Week 1: Prophet's Candle (Purple)
Week 2: Bethlehem Candle (Purple)
Week 3: Shepherds Candle (Pink or Rose)
Week 4: Angels Candle (Purple)
Christmas Day: Christ Candle (White)

Catholic Advent wreaths have 4 candles in stead of the 5 we use at our church. On Christmas day they switch out all four candles for white ones. I imagine some Scottish Presbyterian probably determined that it would be much more frugal to 5 candles rather than 8. Undoubtedly this is the cause for some serious seasonal debate somewhere in the world. Maybe not. I just like the fact that each day and each week I am reminded about why we celebrate. And a good discussion of the variations on the theme probably would point out a whole lot more reasons to rejoice.

Advent 2010 #3

The Peters' Gingerbread House 2010

No deep thoughts here... A friend's gingerbread house party is a tradition we have enjoyed since the kids were young. Even though none of our kids came home to join in the festivities this year, we still and made a gingerbread house. Marsh and I collaborated on one house. She took care of decorating the house proper while I focused on the yard.  A new insight this year was that you should complete the decorations on house before putting up the fence. Every gingerbread house needs a fence but the fencing contractor was not happy when asked to remove part of the fence to put on the house decorations. In the end the Christmas festivities were saved from disaster. Only one cross-beam (pretzel) was removed and a special tool was invented to place the decorations behind the fence posts.

No Chimney this year - going green in gingerbread land.

Note Side Building (Dog house or ???) and nice walkway

Note the wise selection of candy for the wall and roof  (Wrapped candies can be eaten!)

Taking your time in building and plenty of breaks to see other construction techniques is the proper approach. As each new family arrives throughout the afternoon, more dishes arrive that it is only proper to sample. I was content with hot cider and a couple of variations on meatballs augmented by chips and dip. But then the clam chowder came. It demanded a second helping. But, as always, the main event was not the houses or the holiday foods but the great conversation with old friends and a few new ones.

Note the lovely fence (Pretzels and small Gingerbread men probably won't get eaten.)

Hershey's Kisses for me, Rolos for Marsh. No one actually eats the little hard candies that have the little Christmas trees on them, do they?

Continuing the tour - Candy Cane Door - Bet you wish you had one.

Note the fire pit and walk ways in the front yard - oooo - 

So much for going green

And a first for all the years and hundreds of houses made at this party - a fire pit with Gingerbread kids roasting marshmallows. The correct way of course, letting them flame up.

With a better camera you could see the tremendous skill required to create the blazing fire ... Well, perhaps not much skill, but definitely a tremendously random mind to conceive of it.

Advent 2010 #2

Sun rising in the Neighborhood

Today's post was actually the first thought that caused me to think I should post an Advent series.

I took a walk the other day just before sunrise. As I walked the sun was striking the mountains, too bad I did not capture that picture. The sunlight struck the mountains then the houses across the street. The mountains were filled with dark shadows until light broke through, exposing more and more of the valleys and crevices. And the houses, shrouded in a dim light. slowly filled with light. What I had thought I could see clearly suddenly became even clearer, revealing things I had been staring at but not able to see.

Sunrise

Looking toward the sun, it was still hidden from my sight by a hill. The hill itself was in the dark. As I walked, the edge became more defined and the glow somehow made the hill look even darker, darker than the mountains. The edge of hill became clearer and clear until when the sun finally rose I could no longer see the edges or the hill, until I was forced to look away. I found that at sunrise, the clearest view was in looking away from the sun toward what it reveals.

My faith has brought me to a place where I often look at the completed picture, exposed to the full light of day. And sometimes I lose sight of how that picture came together, both in history and in my life. Each day, considering a new facet of the Christmas story draws me into the story. Slowly the full story is exposed but I have connected with each part, distinct and special. The words of Isaiah and Psalms, the announcements by the angels, the musings of Joseph, the reaction of Mary, the birth, Simeon, and Anna, the Wise men, and the shepherds all bring me to a place of anticipation and hope. 

I appreciate that our culture provides some symbols to remind me of Advent. But my anticipation is not what it was as a child looking forward to Santa Claus and Luminarias and presents and snow. My anticipation is not about some celebration of a historic event (which it is) or even some final end result (which it has). It is deeper or different than that and I don't have the words, or enough of the right ones to describe this today. But even if I did explain it, since it does have to do with faith you may not even think it is rational. That is okay. For now, just know, that I connect with that story and sense a bit more of its depth with each year. And for this month I'll simply take it in, and let the story speak.

Peace to all.

Advent 2010 #1

If I were a very linear person this post would have been on the 1st of December to initiate an advent series of posts or on November 30 as an introduction to what it is I like about this season. But here it is, the 7th and I am finally posting this note. I do have a number of thoughts that would make a nice series of reflections. If there are no more posts in my Advent series then the thoughts were not as grand as I had originally thought. Here goes, Advent 2010, #1.