Alphabet Advent

Spider   My mom makes Christmas stockings for everyone who joins our family. The Christmas before my niece was born, several of us gathered together to participate. I don’t have much patience for most crafts, so I left the beading to my mom and sisters. I was asked to sort through beads and sequins to help speed along the process. I found all the spider sequins and explained that we needed to add Christmas spiders to the stocking. I was amused. Andrea was not. The next Christmas, I received a package from Andrea. Inside was a Christmas spider with the following story: A long time ago in Germany, a mother was busily cleaning for Christmas. The spiders fled to the attic to escape the broom. When the house became quiet the spiders slowly crept downstairs for a peek.   Oh what a beautiful Christmas tree!   In their excitement they scurried up the trunk and out along each branch. They were filled with happiness as they climbed all over the glittering tree. As they climbed, t...

Reindeer   Did you know that reindeer are the domesticated version of caribou? They are both classified as Rangifer tarandus , but caribou are slightly larger and might eat you for lunch. The reindeer will happily pull your sleigh as you deliver goodies to your neighbors.  Reindeer have some pretty amazing adaptations for surviving the cold weather. They are completely covered in hair from their noses to the bottoms of their feet. The hairy hooves give reindeer excellent traction while navigating the frozen tundra. The wide hooves can also be used for paddling while swimming.  They also have two layers of fur. The first coat is a fine, soft wool that stays close to their skin. The top layer has long, hollow guard hairs that use trapped air to hold in their body heat. In addition to providing insulation, the guard hairs help the reindeer to float when they swim across rivers.  Reindeer also have highly adapted noses. Their noses actually warm the air before it enters ...

Questions Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. Here are your answers:  We believe Christ was born in the spring. How did we come to celebrate his birth in December? Joanne Why December? What is the origin of the threat of coal-in-your-stocking that is near-universally dreaded by children the world over?  Daniel  Coal and La Befana Who decided there should be 12 days of Christmas and why did it stick? Is there something special about 12 days?  Nicki Twelve Days of Christmas How do you wrap oddly shaped presents? Brent Wrapping Presents What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Tamara and Andrea Favorite Traditions Hot chocolate or hot eggnog on Christmas morning? Tamara Hot Cocoa vs. Eggnog What are your top three Christmas smells? Tamara Do You Smell What I Smell? What are the benefits of an artificial tree versus a real tree? Tamara Faux vs. Fresh Christmas Trees What is your theory on how Santa fits down the chimney? Catherine Science

Poinsettia Maria and Pablo quietly walked along the dusty road. Earlier they had been chattering with excitement and joy. Their entire village was celebrating the birth of Christ. A life size nativity was being displayed at their church. Traditionally everyone would bring exquisite gifts for the Christ child on Christmas Eve, but Maria and Pablo did not have anything to give their Savior. Their hearts were heavy as the walked empty handed into town. In a moment of inspiration, Pablo suggested they gather the green plants along the way to create a soft bed for the manger. With renewed enthusiasm they quickly picked the softest of plants and scurried to the church so they could place their gifts before the Christmas Eve service began. The door creaked as the children slipped into the chapel. They began carefully placing their gift in the manger. They tucked and twisted the leaves so the baby Jesus would have a soft bed. Maria silently prayed that their gift would be acceptable. A warm ca...

Oranges Nicholas was born to affluent parents who taught him of Christ. At a young age, his parents died and Nicholas decided to accept Christ’s invitation to follow him. He sold his earthly possessions and sought opportunities to help those in need. He became the Bishop of Myra and was known for his generosity and love. In his travels he met a father with three lovely daughters. At that time, a young woman needed to have a dowry in order to marry. To this father’s heartache, he did not have anything of value to offer prospective husbands. He feared that his beloved daughters would never marry because of his poverty and would therefore be sold into slavery. The next night Bishop Nicholas returned and anonymously tossed three bags of gold down the chimney. The bags of gold transformed into gold balls and landed in the shoes and socks drying by the fireplace. These gold balls secured the future for the three daughters. Centuries later, we hang our stockings and fill them with gifts and o...

Nutckracker After the Brothers Grimm wrote and modified many folk tales, they set out to create the definitive German dictionary: Deutsches Wörterbuch . They were unable to complete the task, but they published their unfinished work in 1854. In their dictionary they defined nutcrackers: Nussknacker - often in the form of a misshaped little man, in whose mouth the nut, by means of a leaver or screw, is cracked open These “misshaped little [men]” began appearing in Germany somewhere between 1800 and 1830. They reached commercial production in 1872, when the Father of the Nutcracker, Wilhelm Füchtner, created a lathe that aided production. For your nut cracking pleasure: Will it Blend? – Nutcrackers Nutcracker hands; crack nuts with bare hands Nutcracker Around Town 2020 Update

Mary, the Mother of Jesus Suggested reading: I want to be more like Mary by Shannon @ The Red Headed Hostess The Influence of Righteous Women by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Mary, Mother of Jesus by Camille Fronk