by Alex WildeWhat does the candy cane have to do with Christmas? I will tell you…
What letter does the candy cane look like? It's not an ‘r’. Flip the candy cane over. Now, what letter does it look like? It probably looks like a ‘J’, for Jesus who was born on Christmas day. I think ‘J’ also is for Joseph, Jesus’s father. Now, turn the candy cane over. It looks like a staff. Who visited Jesus at his birth that had a staff? The Shepherds! They were the first people to get to the Nativity, after Mary and Joseph of course. The stripes are for Jesus’s death and resurrection. Candy cane day is a day in Advent when my family eats candy canes and candy cane pears which is whipped cream with candy canes and pears. We also read The Legend of The Candy Cane by Lori Walburg. We also put some candy canes on the Christmas Tree. We can bake candy cane pears then eat the candy cane pears until it’s finished! Recipe for Mommy's Candy Cane Pie Ingredients:
How to make Mommy’s Candy Cane Pears: First, take the plastic off the candy canes, put the Candy Canes in a pan on the stove and add water. Second, turn on stove to dissolve candy canes in the water. Third, peel the skin of the pears, core out the cores and dice up the pears. Fourth, put the pears and candy cane syrup in a pan in the oven. Bake 350 for two hours or until the pears are caramelized. Serve in bowls and top with homemade whipped cream. 6 people can eat it.
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by Brecklyn WildeWhen you are decorating the Christmas tree at your house, you probably are thinking that the Christmas tree has many pretty ornaments. Each of them has a special meaning for it to be there on your Christmas tree. But have you wondered about the meaning of the Christmas tree and its story about Jesus? The Christmas tree started out as not being a part of Christmas. It started out as an evergreen tree. Then a monk named Saint Boniface said that it resembled the Holy Trinity because it had three corners but was still one tree. But the story does not stop there. In the medieval times, people would celebrate a holiday on December 24. They called it the ‘Feast of Adam and Eve’. On that holiday, they would decorate evergreen trees with apples and bread twists to tell the story of Adam and Eve. It still was not a Christmas tree yet. The next story begins when a man was walking home from a Christmas Eve mass. His name was Martin Luther. He was going to see his children back at home. Then he stopped and he saw a evergreen tree. It was covered in icicles. The moonlight was reflecting off them. They looked like candles. He cut down the tree, put it in his house, and since the icicles melted, set candles on it. On Christmas day, he used it to tell the story of Jesus’s birth to his children and said that he came to be the light of the world. The last story of the Christmas tree is probably the one that we likely use today. People usually decorate it with glass ornaments and treats. Sometimes people put handmade ornaments on. But on top of all the ornaments and the tree is something that is very special. People usually put a star or angel on top. This resembles the angels who told the shepherds about Jesus, or the star who guided the wise men to Jesus. And that is the story of the Christmas tree. I got this history from a book called The Legend of the Christmas tree that is illustrated by Bill Dodge and written by Rick Osborne.
What I do to celebrate the Christmas tree in Christmas is watch Charlie Brown Christmas, make ice cream cone Christmas trees, and decorate the Christmas tree. I decorate the Christmas tree by putting plastic ornaments, glass ornaments, metal, paper, and handmade ornaments on the tree. I put an angel on top of the tree. On Christmas Eve I open up presents from my family under it. We don’t have a real evergreen tree. We have an artificial one that lights up on the tips of the branches. In my room, I put a purple plastic Christmas tree on the floor. On top of it, I put a princess. GG and Grandpa get a real evergreen tree. Granny and Tractor Pops decorate their tree with big balls. One of our friends has a Advent tree. In conclusion, the Christmas tree isn’t just about presents. It isn’t about decorating the Christmas tree like everyone else because it is popular, either. It is about celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is about the traditions that you do. And whenever you think about the Christmas tree, it gives back great memories. by Jason WildeI know you've all watched the animated version at least once a year since age four. Yes, the little story that has been repeatedly scrubbed into your mind year after endless year since when you were in Kindergarten, when they forced you to watch shows like Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” instead of letting you go outside whenever the weather turned sore. But, I’m going to take this very story, which you thought you knew from end to end like a cinch, and turn it on it’s head, flip it around, and in so doing, make you rethink your fundamental childhood understanding of the lovable character we all simply know as the Grinch. You see, the Grinch wasn’t a bad guy after all. And I don’t mean that he changed…no, contrary to what our Hallmark made for TV culture would like you to believe, the Grinch didn’t really become nice and non-confrontal. His heart didn’t actually cause him, out of the black, to become a good Who and forget every bad thing that the Whovians ever said about him, and learn to forgive and play nice and give everyone their precious things back. No, what I am trying to say is that from the beginning, Grinch wasn’t a bad guy… In fact, he was the savior of the town of Whoville. Ok, stay with me here, will you try? ;-) Let’s start instead with the Whovians. Here, we have a Christmas-loving society who could think of nothing other than Christmas - the gifts, the feast, the music, the decorations and the glamour of it all coming together into one giant mass of Christmas. I mean, what more could our inner child want than to live in a town that either celebrated or prepared for Christmas year round? But then, that evil Grinch steals it all away from them in a night of rage...but that doesn’t get them down! No, instead, they prove that mean ol’ Grinch wrong by coming out into the street, holding hands, and singing ‘Dabu Doray’ till it “changed” and convinced that old Grinch to bring their stuff back...because, you know...it’s theirs, and they need it for Christmas, right? But what if I said that the Grinch was actually Whoville’s savior? What if, instead of thinking of the Whovians as victims of an evil villain, we take a deeper look into why they acted the way they did when they suddenly realized that their worldly possessions had disappeared? You see, the Town of Whoville had actually forgotten about Christmas...or we could say they didn’t really need Christmas other than as an excuse to buy things, to show off and be the most merry Whovian in town. They lived in an eternal state of more, MORE, MORE! Every store flashed with the latest sales, and every house had to be absolutely brilliant and decked with the latest lights and tinsel and the biggest tree one could fit into his little Whovian door (or, why not install a tree roof, so it can be dropped in?) Now, the Grinch saw this whole fiasco and asked what it all really meant, and all they could tell him was that it was the right thing to do, because what respectful Whovian could not celebrate Christmas? O, and since you don't look like or agree with us, you aren't really welcome here. Of course, they politely asked with tight little smiles, like good little Whovians, for him to come and join them for a little ceremony, to allow him to feel 'welcome’, but Grinch saw right through the scheme as it was only a selfish spectacle to make them feel better about themselves...and to have another reason to hold a town festival. And to give an award for the merriest Who? C’mon, can you really get any more vain? And so, he took it all away. What happened next was a test of Whoville - did they actually remember what Christmas was without all of the distractions? Well, of course they did, right? They remembered that Christmas wasn’t about the presents at all! They could have Christmas without the ribbons and tags, the packages, boxes, or bags! Instead of these meaningless things, Christmas is a spirit of compassion and love that comes from knowing our God and how he asked us to love and take care of one another. But here’s the key to my entire argument: If the town of Whoville woke up that fateful Christmas morning to find their well lit trees, shiny ornaments, stuffed stockings, burning fireplaces, roast beasts, and mountains of presents just as they had imagined in their dreams… Would there be any spontaneous choral song? Would they remember each other for long? Would they think about why they were celebrating during the mess? Would they have all come together to find the spirit of Christmas? Would they have welcomed Grinch into their homes for the feast? Would they have let him cut the roast beast? You see, devoid of all of the shiny distractions and gifts, the Whovians were left with nothing but the spirit of Christmas in their hearts, and that spirit not only filled the Grinch’s heart, causing him to come down from his hilltop, but more importantly, it allowed the Whovians to truly accept and love him. My argument is that if they had woken up to find everything as they expected, then they would have once again been too distracted by the spectacle of it all to really find the spirit that God asks us to kindle in our own hearts - the Spirit which fills us with love and kindness and charity for all humanity - the Spirit which asks us to love one another, to do selfless works, and to expect nothing in return for us. So I ask you all: Should you play the part of Grinch this Christmas? |
On a MissionTwo passionate parents and their four children are excited to bring His Word to everyone in need while living a life of Gospel poverty as missionaries. They invite you to join them on a journey to encounter our global neighbors that Jesus commands us to love through works of charity and service. Archives
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