Advent

Day 28: Christmas Pageant

December 24, 2011

Some people deride Christmas pageants, viewing them as a seasonal entertainment for overly sugared kids and exhausted parents. But the tradition is long and noble, dating arguably back to the live nativity scene staged by St. Francis’ in 1223 (discussed in a previous post). Still, I never sensed the magnificence of Christmas pageants until my first [...]

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Day 27: Taking Stock

December 23, 2011

Is anticipation of the “end of Advent” in full swing at your house? Probably your children won’t express it quite that way. Christmas is coming! That’s more likely the cry. Things may be getting calmer, or busier, depending on your family. Either way, the long season of anticipation is drawing to a close. In these [...]

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Day 26: Weihnachtsmarkt

December 22, 2011

Advent is nearly over, and so it’s time for the Christmas Markets in Germany to shut down. Most of the gingerbread hearts, woolen caps, Italian cakes, and hand-blown glass ornaments have been sold. Vendors working in the cold for weeks are eager to pull down their wooden kiosks and return to the warmth of their [...]

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Day 25: Shepherds

December 21, 2011

Shepherds.  I’ve gained a lot of respect for them in recent years. Sheep were the primary source of food, milk, wool, and hides in Biblical times.  Shepherding as a profession dates back at least to 6000 B.C when people started keeping flocks of sheep and goats apart from the smaller animals around their household. Shepherds [...]

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Day 24: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

December 20, 2011

A friend sent me a card, saying he hoped O Come, O Come Emmanuel would be a topic for one of the remaining days of the Advent Calendar.  This song, for him, evoked special memories of childhood. That set me to thinking.  It’s certainly not the first Christmas Carol most children learn.  In fact [flash!], it [...]

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Day 23: The Manger

December 19, 2011

Christ’s entry into the world was not what a parent would choose.  Newborns should be placed in a soft bassinette and wrapped in satin-edged blankets. We sing about the “manager” and it sounds poetic.  But, think seriously for a moment.  For His Son, God ordained a dusty, crusty trough as a bed. Would you put [...]

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Day 22: Advent IV

December 18, 2011

In the first post for this 2011 Advent calendar, we talked about the roles different family members would play in lighting the Advent Wreath.  The youngest child would light the first candle, the oldest child, the second.  The mother would light the third rose-colored candle for “Rejoice” Sunday (Gaudete). On this fourth Sunday of Advent, [...]

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Day 21: Christmas Oratorio

December 17, 2011

On what surely is a busy day for all, let’s give ourselves a treat and explore two wonderful numbers from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio: the opening chorus Rejoice! Exalt! (Jauchzet frohloket) and the short aria “Prepare Thyself, Zion” (Bereitet dich Zion). The Christmas Oratorio was written as a six-part work intended for six separate [...]

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Day 20: The Annunciation

December 16, 2011

John Collier, an artist living in Dallas, produces some marvelous works of art on religious themes.  I encourage you to spend a little time viewing his paintings and sculptures. John is also a dear friend, and when I asked him to talk to the Circle of Scholars about his painting “The Annunciation,” he graciously agreed. [...]

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Day 19: Advent Poetry

December 15, 2011

Not that long ago, poetry was still part of our popular culture.  It appeared regularly in the pages of the popular press, from fashion journals to fishing magazines (my friend remembers his dad reading aloud the poems in Field and Stream magazine). That common enjoyment of poetry meant that there was easy access to a [...]

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