If you are in love with Christmas trees as much as I am, still get a REAL tree every year, and then have a hard time chucking the beloved object out on the curb just yet, this is the book and activity for you.
The After-Christmas Tree is a lovely little story about a family who is sad to say good-bye to their Christmas tree. The mother decides to re-purpose the tree into something that still gives and they can still gaze at; they invite friends over for a decorating party and adorn the tree with things for birds to eat. The After-Christmas Tree is then placed in the back yard and the family and friends can watch all the birds come and enjoy.
Our favorite thing to put on our After-Christmas Tree is Peanut Butter Pinecones.
Collect pinecones, the larger and more open the better.
Tie a length of string to the pinecones.
Fill a bowl or deep tray with birdseed.
Spread peanut butter mixed with a little vegetable shortening all over the pinecones.
Roll the sticky pinecones in the birdseed.
Tie finished pinecones to your tree.
Other items you can decorate your tree with include strings of berries or apple and pear pieces, and chunks of bread or cereal.
Because we can get some string winds at our house, we lash our After-Christmas Tree to a large, tall tree right outside our back yard dining room door/window.
Here's the first one we ever did, with the smallest of our trees.
The best part of Christmas? Skyping with our missionary!
We miss him so much! It was such a gift to hear his voice and his laugh, and see that face we love. We got to hear "the rest of the story" of many of the things he hasn't had time to write about. He got to see and hear us and to tease his siblings from afar. Whoever thought any of us would miss the teasing? And how on Earth did folks survive going months or years in between hand written letters from loved ones? I sometimes lament the changes and challenges that come with technology, but not this week!
Some people consider Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to be distasteful at best and sacrilegious at worst. I find it to be just the opposite and consider it a blessing to read it annually.
A lot of people are known to say something about remembering "the reason for the season" at Christmastime. Certainly, let's remember the reason for the season: Jesus Christ. But let us not forget the reason for the reason of the season: we are all in a fallen state and in need of the healing and atoning power of the Savior. This is why I love this book. It is a stark reminder of the reason for the Reason.
The seeming antagonists of this story are the Herdman children. They are outrageous. They are as bad as kids can get. But you know what? It's not their fault. They were never really tended or taught. If nothing else, this story shows the results of parenting, or a lack thereof. By then end of this book, I always find myself more on the side of the Herdmans, who finally get their first taste of the gospel, than on the side of the prim and proper faithfully church going congregation who would rather not ever have to deal with these juvenile delinquents in any way, shape, or form, than take them under their wings and teach them something.
The narrator's mother inherits the job of directing the annual Church Christmas Pageant. How she handles what she is dealt is admirable. Every time I read this story, I consider her a real hero. After a harrowing first rehearsal, with the non-religious and uncivilized Herdmans as main characters, she thoughtfully tells her husband what happened.
"'Well,' Mother said, 'just suppose you had never heard the Christmas story, and didn't know anything about it, and then somebody told it to you. What would you think?'
"My father looked at her for a minute or two and then he said, 'Well, I guess I would think it pretty disgraceful that they couldn't find any room for a pregnant woman except in the stable.'
"I was amazed. It didn't seem natural for my father to be on the same side as the Herdmans. But then, it didn't seem natural for the Herdmans to be on the right side of anything. It would have made more sense for them to be on Herod's side.
"'Exactly,' Mother said. 'It was perfectly disgraceful. And I never thought about it much. You hear all about the nice warm stable with all the animals breathing, and the sweet-smelling hay--but that doesn't change the fact that they put Mary in a barn. Now, let me tell you...' She told my father all about the rehearsal and when she was through she said, 'It's clear to me that, deep down, those children have some good instincts after all.'"
As you meet the characters of the church congregation, you see someone you know in every one of them. All the faults and failings of humanity are on display here; the book shows both the need for a Redeemer, and it shows the power of the Redeemer and His gospel to change a life. This book easily passes my "best book" test: it makes me laugh, it makes me think, it makes me cry, and it makes me want to be a better person.
No, you don't have to follow "Pfeffernusse!" with "Gesundheit!" (Both are German words, though.)
Pfeffernusse, also known as peppernuts (English), pepernoten (Dutch), and pebernodder (Danish) are so called because they are the size of nuts and full of spice. (And actually, they do contain ground black pepper!) They are a small dunking cookie that is very popular at Christmastime in Germany, Denmark, and The Netherlands.
I have a batch of dough chilling in the fridge right now, my fingers still smelling awesome from the mix of all my favorite spices. I woke up to discover that today is National Pfeffernusse Day, and because I loved the word (it's just a fun word to say, like "Fluffernutter," and if you know my family, you know we LOVE silent Ps) so I started looking up recipes. I realized, after looking several over, that I have eaten these before but never knew what they were called. I just had to make a batch!
I've been intrigued by this book since I first saw its cover and read the synopsis. I finally found it at a price I was willing to pay (at Sam's Club) and last week I read it to the kids. We give it eight thumbs up.
I liked the clever use of fairy tale creatures in a new story (a continuation, if you will) and my children thought the book pretty funny. My 14yo avid reader appreciated getting a story from the villains' points of view for a change. But what really makes this book a hit for me is this idea from Santa:
"...But lately I've been wondering what would happen if instead of threatening children with a sack of coal, we give each and every one of them a gift--something that would inspire them. Nobody's perfect in every moment. Every kid tries to be good. Some just have a harder time than others. Maybe the greatest good some kids will do is still waiting deep inside them, somewhere. And maybe the gift we give this Christmas will turn them around and open their hearts. You see, there is so much good in the world, my friends. We just need to encourage it to come out."
It's a worthwhile read. In fact, as soon as I finished reading it to everyone, they were each grabbing the book to read again on their own.
Sometimes you meet a person who just seems to ooze talent--whether it be several talents in many areas, or just an amazing "forefront" talent that appears larger than life. I've met some people, sadly, who think they have no talent at all, though I don't believe that's ever really true. I've met others who have obvious talent(s) but don't appreciate them or give in to a lazy streak and don't develop them. (I do realize that some people don't develop their talents because of a lack of resources or opportunities, but I believe that if you want something badly enough you can always find ways to learn and grow and develop.)
When talents are recognized and appreciated, the developing of them blesses the one God gave the talent to. The virtues of hard work are learned. Hopefully gratitude is developed along the way; gratitude for the gift of the talent, gratitude for opportunities to develop and share (and parents/people who help make it possible). Ideally, humility is also cultivated when one realizes that he or she cannot take all the credit for a developed talent--God giveth and God can take it away. And finally, a sense of stewardship and responsibility should grow out of the endowment of talents.
Luke 12:48 tells us, "...For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required..." I believe this applies to talents as well. Not just in developing them, but in sharing them and using them to bless the lives of others. Talents bless the talented, but ultimately they're meant to bless everyone.
I LOVE ThePianoGuys. I've been a fan from the very beginning. Not only are they terrific musicians who write and perform amazing music, they are great people who know what it means to share and use their talents to benefit the lives of others.
Last week, they (ThePianoGuys), David Archuletta, Alex Boye, and Peter Hollens, along with many, many other talented people, set a new Guinness World Record for the largest live Nativity. That might seem unimportant, but what they created is beautiful, and a blessing to all who witness it.
I came across this fascinating essay today while looking for something else and I just have to share it here. It is very well written and informative.
IS GOD AGAINST CHRISTMAS Raymond L. Cox
Is God against Christmas?
If you listen to certain partisans you might adopt that idea! With the annual approach of this holiday, writers burst into print, radio preachers harangue and pulpiteers propagandize against observance of Christmas.
When opponents of the observance get down to particulars they voice objections on five specific grounds. Christians should not celebrate Christmas because of the name of the holiday, because of the commercialization of the observance, because of the use of the abbreviation Xmas, because Christmas trees are condemned in the Bible and because December 25th is the wrong date.
What's wrong with the use of the word Christmas?
The ecumenical atmosphere which seems prevalent in many religious circles today tends to muffle this objection, but it will be heard this year and next and probably for a long time to come. The objection to the name pertains to its derivation. Christmas is obnoxious to some because it represents the combination of two words, "Christ" and "mass." The word means "the mass of Christ."
But what does "mass" really mean in the compound word Christmas? Any authoritative dictionary will reveal that the English term mass evolved from the Anglo-Saxon word maesse, which derived in turn from the Latin missa, which is a form of the verb mittere, which means "to send."
Consequently, the root meaning of Christ-mass is "to send Christ," or "Christ is sent."
Is God against describing the coming of His son with a word meaning "Christ is sent"? Did not Paul refer to Immanuel's incarnation as the sending of Christ? "When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman..." (Galatians 4:4). Moreover, the Savior spoke often of "him who sent me." There is nothing inherently obnoxious in the name Christmas. The term accurately represents what the holiday is all about or should be—the sending of Christ.
But Christmas is becoming terribly commercialized. Shouldn't Christians repudiate its observance on that score?
No Christian would justify much that goes on in the name of Christmas. No one disputes that the holiday is grossly prostituted to unchristian purposes. The world abuses Christmas. Alas, the church often abuses Christmas. But does abuse dictate abandonment of the observance?
We'd have very little left if we gave up everything which is abused or misused. We couldn't eat corn, for distillers misuse it in making whiskey, which robs families of food, clothing and shelter. We'd have to prohibit all fires, because arsonists employ them for criminal ends. We'd have to eliminate knives from the kitchen because murderers use them to kill.
Christians certainly deplore the modern manner of celebrating Christmas. But that does not mean we must discontinue the holiday. We don't do away with all birthday parties because some of them become drinking bouts. We don't discard the Bible because false cults misuse it. No more does the abuse of Christmas dictate its repudiation by Christians. God is certainly against the gross commercialization of the birthday of His Son. But millions of believers celebrate Christmas reverently. Is God against this?
"But the use of the abbreviation Xmas takes Christ out of Christmas!" opponents allege. "Xmas is an irreverent modern substitute for Christmas. The abbreviation represents the substitution of X (which means the unknown quantity) for Christ."
Most Christians today would nod in agreement with those charges. And certainly some who use the abbreviation may employ it for such purposes. Neither is it my intention to whitewash the use of Xmas. But in all fairness and honesty we must recognize that the abbreviation did not originate either to take Christ out of Christmas or as an "irreverent modern substitute for Christmas."
Xmas is not of modern coinage. The Oxford English Dictionary documents the use of this abbreviation back to 1551. Undoubtedly it was employed before that. Now 1551 is fifty years before the first English colonists came to America and sixty years earlier than the completion of the King James Version of the Bible! Moreover, at the same time, Xian and Xianity were in frequent use as abbreviations of Christian and Christianity.
You see, the X in Xmas did not originate as our English alphabet's X but as the symbol X in the Greek alphabet, called Chi, with a hard ch. The Greek Chi or X is the first letter in the Greek word Christos. Eric G. Gration claims that as early as the first century the X was used as Christ's initial. Certainly through church history we can trace this usage. In many manuscripts of the New Testament, X abbreviates Christos (Xristos). In ancient Christian art X and XR (Chi Ro—the first two letters in Greek of Christos abbreviate his name. We find that this practice entered the Old English language as early as AD 100. Moreover, Wycliff and other devout believers used X as an abbreviation for Christ. Were they trying to take Christ away and substitute an unknown quantity? The idea is preposterous.
Some may use Xmas today as an unchristian shortcut for Christmas, but the ancient abbreviation by no means originated as such. The scribes who copied New Testament manuscripts had no intention of taking Christ out of the New Testament. They used the abbreviation simply to save time and space. We use abbreviations for the same purpose today, as witness FDR, HST, JFK, LBJ, and a host of others. Xmas is a legitimate abbreviation. I do not use it because of the possible misunderstanding it often causes as a result of its misrepresentation or abuse. But by no means can the use of the abbreviation be a valid objection to the observance of Christmas itself! Is God against abbreviations?
"But the Bible is definitely against Christmas trees!" many proclaim with reference to Jeremiah 10:2-4: "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen....For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers, that it move not."
Now if this passage refers to decorated Christmas trees, we most certainly would be disobeying God by having them. But by no legitimate interpretation can this 10th chapter of Jeremiah be twisted into a prohibition or condemnation of Christmas trees! The context plainly associates the action not with apostates in this Christian dispensation, but with idolaters who were alive at the time! Jeremiah is not foreseeing paganism 2000 years in the future (the first Christmas tree apparently was decorated in the 16th century AD), but denouncing rampant contemporary heathenism!
Jeremiah writes to Jews about to go into captivity in Babylon. The circumstance dictating his rebuke was the widespread idolatry in the land whither the captives were bound. The prophet's purpose was to forewarn the Jews against apostatizing further in their new and idolatrous environment, and to give guidance how to avoid involvement in rites and orgies indulged in by their eventual neighbors.
A reading of the entire chapter gives a proper perspective for understanding the chapter. Verse 11 offers a formula pious Jews might use to decline the invitations of their neighbors to participate in the ceremonies: "Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens."
But what about the tree in this chapter? Obviously the passage has nothing to do with decorating a tree. The warnings relate to the practice of carving idols! A man fells a tree and transports the trunk to a woodworker who carves an idol therefrom with his axe. While the rich could afford idols made of molten metals, the poor had to content themselves with gods of wood (cf. Isaiah 40:19, 20). In Jeremiah 10 we have a wooden idol plated with precious metals. The prophet outlines the steps in the "creation" of such gods: First, the log is felled—"one cutteth a tree out of the forest;" second, the trunk is carved—"the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe;" and third, the idol is plated—"then deck it with silver and with gold."
Verses eight and nine corroborate that this decking refers to the covering: "...the stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men." Thus not only is the idol plated, it is clothed with bright rainment— something true of no Christmas tree which I have ever seen.
But some might still be puzzled about why Jeremiah would refer to an idol as a tree. The prophet here uses a figure of speech called synecdoche by which the name of the material is used to denote the product made of it. Since the tree was used in making the idol, the finished product is by synecdoche called a tree. Likewise the Bible refers to Jesus' cross as a tree because its materials came from such a source.
Is God against Christmas trees? The Bible certainly does not so reveal. But even if he were, that would hardly dictate abolition of the whole Christmas observance. Is there anything intrinsically immoral or unrighteous about a decorated tree? Are lights on a fir tree more evil than candles on a birthday cake? Is a tree in the house more improper than having plants and cut flowers indoors? If you think so, then by all means remove your tree. But don't use a Christmas tree as a whipping boy to slander Christmas!
Which brings us to the final principal objection against the holiday. "December 25th is the wrong date."
Probably it is. There is one chance in 365 (or 366 if Jesus was born, as some suppose, in a leap year) that the date is correct. But because we do not know the date, must we ignore Christ's birth? We don't know for sure in what year Jesus came. Yet we mark our calendars according to anno domini (AD). We do know for sure that Jesus was not born in the year one of the Christian era, for Herod the Great died in what we call 4 BC! Shall we junk our calendars and stop keeping track of dates just because the year marked AD is incorrect?
Jesus' birth probably did not take place in December. But those who insist it could not have taken place in December go too far. They argue that shepherds could not have been in their fields as it was the height of the rainy season. However, weather is a variable quantity and the Palestinian climate is quite mild. The particular December—if it was December—could have been a warm, rather dry, month. But what if Jesus was born instead in January, March, April or October, as has been suggested? Would that make God object to the observance on December 25?
Secular events are sometimes observed on dates different from their occurrences. England's late King George VI annually proclaimed a date in June for the celebration of his birthday, but he was born on December 14th. His people did not rebel, because they celebrated his birth and not just its date!
"But isn't Christmas on December 25th a continuation of the pagan holiday of the same date?" ask opponents.
December 25th was indeed a pagan holiday. In ancient ages many new converts yielded to temptation to keep that feast. It seems that Christian leaders endeavored to counteract that practice by giving believers a Christian festival on the same day, celebrating the birth of Christ. Some churches in our day conduct special banquets or other attractions for their high school seniors on the night of the senior prom for much the same motive. Certainly the celebration of Christmas is not a continuation of the pagan holiday. It is a unique Christian observance hailing the birth of Jesus Christ.
Moreover, December 25 is especially fitting in that it comes four days after the winter solstice. As the days grow longer with more light, Christians rejoice in the hope of the world in the birth of him who called himself the Light of the World. G. H. Montgomery wrote, "Church leaders saw in the birth of Jesus a triumph of light over darkness, spring over winter and of life over death. What more appropriate time could have been selected to commemorate the birth of the Man whose life, teachings and vicarious death were to change the trends of history, cause light to shine out of darkness and offer light to those who dwell in the valley of death! It will be good to keep these things in mind as you observe Christmas."
God isn't against Christmas. God is in favor of Christmas—of the proper observance of the holiday, that is. God planned and executed the first Christmas. No matter how flagrantly men may abuse this holiday, they cannot rob devout believers of its wonder and glory as expressed by the angel of old, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10, 11).
Copyright by Raymond L. Cox.
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This lesson can be used as a way to start your homeschool day or for Family Home Evening.
Begin by singing specific verses of several hymns/carols. Tell everyone that they are looking for what these verses all have in common.
"Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful," verse 2
"Angels We Have Heard on High," verse 2
"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," both verses
"While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks," verse 3
"Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains," verse 3
Hopefully everyone will clue into the recurring theme of "Glory to God in the Highest." (Be sure to explain that Gloria in excelsis Deo is Latin for "Glory to God in the Highest.")
What does that mean?
First, pull out your dictionaries and look up the word glory.
Definitions we found:
*praise given to someone who has accomplished something extraordinary
*great fame or honor
*something that brings fame or honor
*splendor or magnificence
Look in your Bible Dictionary for glory and you will find "Glory of the Lord." Read that definition and then discuss the difference between "Glory OF the Lord" and "Glory TO the Lord." Start by looking under "God, Glory of" in the Topical Guide and choosing some scriptures describing the glory of the Lord relating to its definition of "splendor or magnificence." (We focused on just a few: Exodus 24:7, Moses 1:5, D&C 65:5, Joseph Smith History 1:17.) Next read Moses 1:39 and discuss how this scripture relates to the definition of "something that brings fame or honor." Talk about God's work and glory bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man--specifically HOW He does it and WHY he does it. This should segue into His giving us the gift of His Son.
It was this living gift of love, the Savior of the world, His crucial role in the Plan of Salvation and thus the good news of the gospel that caused the multitude of angels to praise God, saying, "Glory to God in the highest..." (Luke 2:13-14). Thus "Glory TO God" is referring to the definition of praise, and we also sing and praise and adore thousands of years later. Indeed, we give glory to God in the highest in our ever increasing gratitude for the Christ Child, the man He grew up to be, His atoning sacrifice, and the glorified, resurrected God He is.
To finish, everyone writes an acrostic poem about GLORY.
*Doctrine & Covenants 93:36 states, "The glory of God is intelligence." Elder Bednar addressed this in an interview and you could include this in the above lesson. I didn't, but will bring it into a review of this lesson later.
I am often awed by the rich poetic truths found throughout hymns and carols in expressions of very few words. Half a line carefully articulated has stopped me mid-melody to consider and reflect. Just as an entire sermon can be given on one verse of scripture, a complete thematic unit can be created from one phrase of hymn.
One of the phrases that’s caught my attention in the Christmas carols is, “Let every heart prepare Him room,” from Handel’s “Joy to the World.” I wanted to spend some time with my children focused on this choice of words and tactilely explore all that it could mean to us. I thought I’d share what we did in the event that you could use a “new” Christmas lesson at your house.
We read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett. We also watched a few different film adaptations of Dickens’ novel.
I handed each child a copy of "Opening Our Hearts" by Elder Gerald N. Lund and asked them if they knew what the heart maps and this talk had to do with “Joy to the World.” We then read through the talk together.
I wrote the phrase, “Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room” on a whiteboard and we dissected, discussed, and diagrammed each word individually. My kids supplied the ideas, and I include them here just for clarity of the lesson.
Let – invitation; to not keep from doing; agency/free will
Every – everyone; all; each; all that there could be—the Gospel and Atonement for all collectively and personally and individually
Heart – the main or most important part; symbol of mind and will of men; strength and courage; tender, guarded place; can change
Prepare – make or get ready; for a visitor, clean house—for Christ clean self; purify
Him – Jesus Christ
Room – space; place to live; with Christ “moving in” we don’t lose square footage but gain it—our hearts are enlarged to include others when we make room for Him
Then for each word, we also found sentences or paragraphs within Elder Lund’s talk that corresponded to our ideas.
We discussed other ideas found within the talk. We especially talked about Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.” Using a bag of roasted pistachios, we talked about what it means to have a “broken heart.” Just as a pistachio that is sealed tight cannot be accessed, so is a heart that has no “cracks” in it for the Lord to penetrate. You cannot find the pistachio goodness inside if the shell is not pliable, nor can anyone find the goodness in your heart if it’s unbroken. Preparing room for the Lord means having a way He can enter.
We talked more of preparation. Elder Lund’s talk is about being open to the Spirit; we can’t make room for Jesus if we don’t have the Spirit. Referencing the Parable of the Sower, and faith being a seed, we discussed preparing our hearts like we would soil with labor and nutrients.
When Brother Lund began speaking of those whose hearts are set upon the things of the world, I was delighted that my children readily recognized Scrooge and that segued into a writing assignment I’d prepared with the following quotes and questions.
CHRISTMAS PAST: “’There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,’ returned the nephew. ‘Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the rave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!’”
*What good have you derived from Christmases past, and how has it reflected on Christmas’s namesake?
CHRISTMAS PRESENT: “’Business!’ cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. ‘Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!’. . .
. . .‘At this time of the rolling year,’ the spectre said, ‘I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!’”
*What can you do now to change how you see and treat other people?
CHRISTMAS YET TO COME: “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
*How can you honor Christmas in your heart and keep it all the year in years yet to come?
We looked over our heart maps to see if everyone had already included Jesus. Then we copied Matthew 6:21 on the backs of the maps.
While listening to Michael McLean’s "The Innkeeper (Let Him In)" from The Forgotten Carols we made personally meaningful collages by cutting and pasting Christmas cards around Neal A. Maxwell’s quote, “Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus.”
Finally, each child chose their favorite artist’s rendition of Christ knocking at the door. Under a printout, they copied Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.”
All these pages were then bound together in homemade books to be cherished every Christmas!
Tie everything in this mini unit together with this song, "Do You Have Room?"
My children read the newspaper every day. Well, they read the comics every day. And the boys always read the Sports page. My daughter has recently started reading more news articles; she shocked me the other day when she came to me and said, "Mom, listen to this--I just don't get it. It says this guy will go to jail instead of prison. Aren't jail and prison the same thing?" Ugh. I kind of wished she'd just stuck with the comics.
As frivolous as some people might think comics are, I regularly find them thought provoking and a good litmus of a person's education. After all, there are many that cannot be understood, let alone considered funny, if a person doesn't have a broad-based education in Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic.
Today's "Hagar the Horrible" proved to be such a litmus--and a little bit of a validating "Attamom!" As I sat down for breakfast my daughter told me I had to read "Hagar." I did, and she smiled at me and said, "Haiku!" Having just taught her Haiku a couple of months ago, I love that she remembered and made the connection. Yay!
I have been very blessed to spend four of the last ten Christmases with newborn baby boys. People thought I was crazy, and nowadays December birthdays are hectic at best. But I wouldn’t trade those four magical, wonderful Christmases for anything. Staring at a Christmas tree in the quiet wee hours, rocking a brand new baby boy has brought a special light and understanding into my life that I couldn’t have received or appreciated any other way. My ponderings from those times have evolved into a traditional December Family Home Evening with our Christmas Tree of Life.
Recall with me the visions of the Tree of Life (see 1 Nephi 8 and 11). Picture the dark and dreary waste, the rod of iron, the great and spacious building and the tree with its most desirable fruit.
Now picture yourself in a dark room, with your Christmas tree all lit up and bursting with beautifully wrapped packages underneath, beckoning you.
For our Family Home Evening we make gingerbread cookies, one boy or girl for each family member. We turn out all the lights but those on the tree and take our gingerbread “family” to the Tree of Life (Christmas tree) via the iron rod (reading scriptures). We talk about how the Christmas Tree of Life with all the gifts represents the love of God and all that he has in store for us and wants to give us. We talk about how He is eternal like the evergreen; how the light of Christ penetrates everything, just as the lights of our Christmas tree add a special sparkle to our home and hearts. We discuss what great and spacious distractions keep us from the word of God and thus the tree and the joy found there.
In 2 Nephi 31:20 we read, “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”
The anticipation of Christmas gifts is the analogy for hope. But real hope is a sure trust. It’s the twin to faith. As the tree lights twinkle with a perfect brightness, we talk of Christ and his love for us and his gift to us. We talk of our hope in him. We pledge anew to press forward with faith and hope, showing love to all men all year (charity) and to feast on the scriptures to hold to the rod, that we will always find ourselves together as a family at the Christmas Tree of Life.
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I wrote this in 2005 and it was published that same year in The Sentinel. Since then, I have discovered an interesting article, "The Tree of Life in Ancient Cultures", that doesn't go with the lesson per se, but is good informational reading.
I love, love, love Little Golden Books. I have loved them my whole life and have been collecting them--especially the older books--like the ones I used to read as a child at my grandmothers' houses. So I was enormously excited when I discovered these new books put together by the editor of the Little Golden Books. She has created new books full of sweet advice compiled from the pages of many, many old beloved, classic Little Golden Books. These are golden!
I have a long way to go to becoming who I want to be. It's so frustrating sometimes! I've been touched the past couple of days by the following two things, though, and I'm giving them a lot of thought and energy, adding them to the recipe of the future me.
Today (December 4th) is National Cookie Day! Here is a cookie unit study I created and did with my children a few years ago and originally wrote up for The Sentinel.
Biscuits, Biscotti, and Brownies: Cookie Coaching at Christmas
Americans enjoy over 2 billion cookies a year or an average of 300 cookies per person annually.[1] Not only are there countless cookie cookbooks—books dedicated solely to cookie recipes—there are countless Christmas cookie cookbooks. Besides delighting taste buds, however, cookies can serve as a delightfully educational unit of study. And what better time to study them than at Christmas?
The English word cookie comes from the Dutch koekje, which means “little cake.”[2] These treats that we use as snacks or stand alone desserts, and consider a destination, were once just a small part of a journey to something else. Cookies began as oven regulators, literally little cakes to test temperatures. The earliest “cookies” are thought to date back to 7th Century Persia A.D. when luxurious cakes were being made in one of the first countries to cultivate sugar. These were merely test cakes, as it was better to use a little batter to check an oven than to waste an entire large cake.
Begin your unit learning about the history of cookies through the years. (The websites cited below are great places to start.) You’ll find that America’s favorite cookie, the delicious and infamous chocolate chip cookie, came about through an accident at the Toll House Restaurant in Massachusetts. As you learn about this happy accident, it would be a good time to add some geography to your unit with the book All in Just One Cookie by Susan E. Goodman. This book takes children around the world to learn where the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies come from. Add a small journaling assignment where children think of a time when they experienced a “happy accident,” when something didn’t go as planned, but turned out to be good anyway.
Continue your social studies and language studies by learning the words for cookie in other languages and cultures. In England and Australia, they’re biscuits. Italy has biscotti, Spain galletas. Germans call them keks, and they even have a name specifically for Christmas cookies—Platzchen. Of course, bake, bake, bake! And eat, eat, eat!
For the most part, it’s up to you and your excited children to decide which cookies you’ll make. There is one batch of cookies, however, that I specifically suggest you make during this unit, and that is Thumbprint Cookies. Prior to making the cookies, get an ink pad and let everyone experiment with their fingerprints. Make little Christmas pictures by making people or animals out of your fingerprints like these. Talk about how each person's fingerprints are different from everyone else’s. Next take those fingers and thumbs to the cookie dough. As you make the cookies, talk about how each person is unique, and how even with all the many people in the world, Heavenly Father and Jesus know each one of us personally. President Ezra Taft Benson taught, “Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar His face is to us.”[3] And just like Jesus had a mission and role to fill that was specifically His, each of us has a mission to complete as well. While there are certainly future events pertaining to each person’s life mission, many elements are in affect now. Learn that our missions in life are now, with each person having a “unique set of gifts, a unique set of challenges, and there are specific needs in the world that the Lord wants us to respond to now.”[4] When you’re done with the pictures and cookies, add a journaling assignment: “What My Fingerprint Means to Me.”
Now, the act of baking cookies is automatically mathematical in measuring ingredients, but you can do more than the obvious. This would be a good time to teach or review not only fractions but systems of measurement and conversions. You can rely on learning by doing, or you can add some extra activities.
Get going with Gallon Man (or Gallon Guy or Measurement Man).
Make it a game using (or creating your own) materials like "Merry Measurement" and Cookie Sums, seasonally festive and educational, from FlapJack Educational Resources. You can even add music to the mix by choosing catchy tunes on YouTube about measurement.
Baking cookies also lends itself to a lesson in following directions. If you can stand it, let your kids experiment with the order in which they add ingredients to see if it really makes a difference. Try substitutions. This is also a perfect time to let kids invent their own recipes. Have a cookie creation contest, with the stipulation that all new recipes must be written out and part of the test is how clearly the directions are written. You could also do cooking shows and practice speech and presentation.
Experimentation is science, and yes, there is science in baking cookies! It’s called Chemistry. You might want to learn about the chemistry of cookies before or after experimenting (or both).[5]
And now for treasured reading. Believe it or not, there are some fantastic cookie books out there that aren’t cookbooks. Amy Krouse Rosenthall has written a wonderful series that teaches important lessons through the medium of cookies. These are brilliant! Read them again and again around the table while you sample your cookies together.
Last but most definitely not least, is the lesson of the unit to tie it all up and make it meaningful.
Read together The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth by Dandi Daley Mackall. Make your own Nativity cookies, either by purchasing cookie cutters like these, or by drawing your own silhouette shapes on paper to use as a stencil to cut out of sugar or gingerbread dough. Let your children tell the story of Jesus’ birth with them and then take some to others to share the true meaning of Christmas.
Because of the saturation of senses, the smells and tastes of food leave distinct impressions. Finish your unit with a final journaling activity exploring the importance of traditions and the role that food plays in it. It would be appropriate for you to share your own childhood memories of cookies at Grandma’s or other fond recollections of traditions involving food. Children could even contact extended family members and collect their memories, making a volume of “Family Christmas Traditions and Recipes” to give as a gift for this or a future Christmas.
Merry Christmas! May your hearts be warm, your hands busy, and your heads full of newfound knowledge to ponder and bless.
Have you ever licked a candy cane and wondered how it came to be? If not, you're suffering from a serious lack of curiosity. Learning about the little things we take for granted can provide us with rich educational experiences and really broaden our base of knowledge. Anything can be turned into a lesson (or unit study)--even a candy cane!
Open a box of candy canes and disperse to each family member. As you open the canes and enjoy the sweet, tasty, mint-flavored confection, discuss if anyone knows where the mint flavor comes from. Mint is a plant and we get our mint flavoring from extracting oils from the plant. Here you can see how the process is done:
Once there is mint extract, there are lots of things that can be done with it. Since we're talking candy canes, look on the box that held the ones you're eating and find the location of the factory on a map. You can watch here to see how canes like the ones in your hands are made in factories these days:
Automation is amazing, but it begs the question, how were candy canes made BEFORE all these machines were invented? Watch this to see an old-fashioned candy maker in action:
If you live in a place with a large candy factory, or a small candy-making window shop, it would be worth a field trip for a tour. If you're wanting to go all out, follow this recipe to make your own homemade candy canes. A good discussion would be the pros and cons of candy made by hand versus candy made by machines.
Now that you know how candy canes are made, what can you do with them? What else can you learn?
There is this lovely book you could read, or you could memorize this poem:
Another great short story to read together is "The Candy Cane Queen" by Janice A. Sperry.
Put two candy canes together to make a heart. You could glue these on cardboard, write a note, and deliver to people you love or want to cheer up.
A fun craft is to make candy cane reindeer.
And if, along the way, interest is piqued to learn more about any particulars, follow the interest! Maybe someone wants to know how many kinds of mints there are and experiment with growing mint or baking with mint. Perhaps someone wants to learn more about making other types of candy. Maybe automation/machinery will become a point of fascination. Embrace the curiosity and learn all you can!
May I suggest one last lesson to finish with? Learn the economics of supply and demand. Price candy canes of different brands at different stores before Christmas. Just keeping a list is sufficient. You can add graphs if you'd like. After Christmas, check the stores to see how many candy canes are left and what they cost. Compare the after Christmas price with the before Christmas price and discuss why candy canes went from being, say, $1.00/box to $0.10/box. This lesson will teach not only the basic principle of supply and demand but will also show brand and store differences.
Christmas is so special and wonderful that I hate to clog up my December with anything that isn’t “Christmas-y.” But taking a whole month’s vacation from schooling doesn’t seem very responsible. So every year I find a way to incorporate a new kind of Christmas unit into our December studies.
One year we learned all about Tchaikovsky and ballet while reading and watching every version of The Nutcracker we could get our hands on. One year we focused on all of the various symbols of Christmas and what they stand for, finding scriptures and songs to go with each one. Another year we learned the stories behind all of our beloved Christmas carols. One of my favorite Decembers was the year we traveled the world.
Traveling the world at Christmas isn’t as daunting as it sounds. You don’t even have to leave home! The Internet and your public library are chock full of information on beliefs and traditions of various nations. There are many sweet storybooks that can take you to Christmas in other places. And you don’t have to go far to find coloring books with wonderful illustrations.
If you’ll look into the community events in your area, you’re bound to find Christmas happenings with International flair. There are often large ethnic groups that host their own festivities, inviting the public. We attended a Christmas lighting ceremony in a Bavarian village tucked in the mountains of Washington. The local Scandinavian community held a Christmas event with music, crafts, food and a bazaar. One of the area’s Children’s Museums highlighted a different nation’s winter celebration each week from mid-November through January. Between neighbors, friends and ward members, you will also surely find someone who has lived in another country and can tell you all about Christmas there. After I had told a Norwegian friend of my December intentions, she invited us over for an afternoon of Christmas in Norway that was enchanting.
One of the most interesting parts of our unit was the food. The day after Thanksgiving I went to an imports store and bought all sorts of goodies from around the world. There were Christmas specialties (and sales!) but also the everyday kind of food from other cultures as well. I made sure to have Swiss and Belgian chocolate, Turkish delight, Moroccan couscous, French pastries, English marmalade and more. One of the days we had a full-blown English tea party (with herbal tea, of course) complete with scones and Christmas Crackers. Each night we’d eat the foods I’d bought or learned to prepare from the various nations. This was a great way to involve Dad! He got into it so much that at that Bavarian village he went all out and bought sausages and kraut and desserts! (If you knew my husband, you’d know what a big deal that was!)
I also tried to have an ornament representing each of the various nations and Christmas traditions that we learned about. As we finished learning about a particular culture we’d hang the ornament on the tree. Some of these I bought at the imports store. Some of them we made. But even today it’s a fond reminder of the things we learned that December.
You can’t have Christmas without music, and it was festive and fun to listen to the songs of Christmas from around the world. From the popular “Feliz Navidad” to the stirring melodies of the carols of the Celts, we broadened our horizons and tastes. And in the spirit of foreign language we learned to say “Merry Christmas” – or whatever each nation’s traditional Christmas greeting – in the various native tongues.
What I treasure most about the Christmas we traveled the world is the sweet spirit that accompanies knowing that so much of the world believes in Christ. Learning about the ways they revere Him and seeing the special symbolism in the celebrations of other cultures made me feel closer to my Savior, and to all of my brothers and sisters throughout the world.
The following is an article I wrote for The Sentinel two years ago. I hope it helps get your Christmas Advent off to a good start. I'm looking for the peace I felt when I wrote it.
Advent is simply defined as “the period leading up to Christmas in the Christian church’s year.”[i] It is a time of preparation and anticipation. This Advent season I have marveled at the enormous peace I have felt inside myself. It’s odd; national and world events and turmoil, personal tasks and to-do lists, recklessly giddy children, and even reason seem to defy the possibility of any inner peace. Yet, it’s been my companion these days, so prevalent it’s tangible. I’ve decided it is Advent itself, with the lights, music, and hearts turned toward Christ that is stilling my soul. As I prepare and anticipate the beloved celebration of His first coming, I’m keenly aware that we are also in the Advent of His Second Coming, but it somehow provides a sustaining serenity.
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” has forever been a song I’ve loved to hear, even before I really knew what it was about. I’ve always at least understood the longing in it. I’ve wondered about the people living the thousands of years before Christ’s birth, being taught that the Savior, Emmanuel, would one day come to deliver them from sin and death. How did they look forward to that? Now, knowing that He was here, that He came as foretold, but living in these current times that were also foretold, I understand that longing and the hope and expectancy.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Probably the oldest carol still sung today, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is also probably the only true Advent carol. All other Christmas carols detail the actual event of Christ’s birth, or express the joy and rejoicing of what the event means for us. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is the only one singing of the anticipation, of prophecy and waiting for fulfillment. Originating as one of the “Great Antiphons,” it was written by a monk or priest before 800 A.D. and sung in Latin during Advent vespers, one verse per day being sung or chanted during the last seven days before Christmas. (To get a taste of what that was like then, watch this video of Mannheim Steamroller’s “Veni, Veni” put to pictures of Catholic cathedrals and monasteries.)
About a thousand years later a remarkable man by the name of John Mason Neale translated the chant into English. Neale was a brilliant Anglican priest who could speak and write more than twenty languages, yet his intelligence and insight was feared because he was a free thinker. He was sent away to the coast of Africa where it was thought he could do no harm to the church. So instead of having a pastorate in London as planned, but instead of giving up on what he perceived as his calling, he made a radical move and established the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, an orphanage, a school for girls, and a house of refuge for prostitutes. (He is also the English translator of “Good Christian Men, Rejoice” and the author of “Good King Wenceslas.”) His translation of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” was a great gift to the people of the Dark Ages, most of who could not read nor have access to the Bible, because it was a rare example of how the Old and New Testaments came together in the birth and life of Jesus.[ii] (See Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:22-23)
Because of Advent, Christmas is a season, not just a day. I’m thankful for that because I need all the peace and focus on Christ I can get. I’ve always tried to use this time to teach my children even more of Christ and how to emulate Him, and there are many ways to do that. However, this year I decided to let the children teach us. I determined three things to ponder this Advent season and posed these questions to some homeschooled children. Here are the questions and answers.
In Matthew 16:15 Jesus asks Peter, “Whom say ye that I am?” How would you answer that question? Who is Jesus to you?
Eliza L., 6, North Logan, Utah: “My King. My Savior.”
Emily A., 8, Paradise, Utah: “I would tell Him He’s Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Jonny G., 7, Providence, Utah: “The Lord of the whole world. My Lord.”
Matthew G., 13, Providence, Utah: “The person I look up to.”
McKenna B., 9, Petersboro, Utah: “He is a loving, compassionate person who brings me a lot of comfort, especially at night.”
Brent L., 10, North Logan, Utah: “The living God and the Savior of all men.”
Tabitha M., 9, of Logan, Utah: “Jesus to me is the person who made it so that we could come to earth and be together with our families forever, so we could love one another, and He set the example for us.”
Ptolemy T., 17, Nibley, Utah: “He is the Light of the World. The true and living God. Our older brother. The most caring person in the world.”
Rachel H., 6, North Logan, Utah: “He is the Savior. If He came down right now, I could tell it was Him by the holes in His hands and feet.”
Psadi T., 8, Nibley, Utah: “He is loving and kind.”
Matthew B., 15, Redmond, Washington: “A brother who cares for me and will do whatever it takes for me to return to our Father in Heaven.”
Sam A., 11, Paradise, Utah: “The King. The person who gave life to everyone. Someone who didn’t sin and someone I’d want to be around.”
Christopher B., 14, Redmond, Washington: “The one sent by God to guide His children and help them along the way.”
Ptallan T., 10, of Nibley, Utah: “My Savior. He’s my hero!”
Cordelia L., 2, North Logan, Utah: “Baby.”
How can you come to know Jesus and be more like Him?
Joshua G., 10, Providence, Utah: “Read the Book of Mormon.”
McKenna B.: “’I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus’ is my favorite song. When I serve others I become like Jesus.”
Brent L.: “Follow His commandments.”
Christopher B.: “Read the scriptures and act on it.”
Adria M., 11, Logan Utah: “[By] singing Primary songs, reading the scriptures, and going to church.”
Eliza L.,: “By loving one another. And try to do things very nice to people.”
Psadi T.: “Follow His teachings.”
Sam A.: “I can take a deep breath every time I get angry. I can learn about Him and get a good education.”
Ptolian T., 15, Nibley, Utah: “Learn about Him and act like He did.”
Matthew G.,: “Pray.”
Ptolemy T.: “Care for other people. Love others no matter what they do or say. Choose to always do what’s right.”
Tabitha M.: “We can go to church and help and love one another.”
Rachel H.: “By listening, by reading the scriptures, by loving one another and not hurting others. And get married in the temple.”
Evelyn L., 4, North Logan, Utah: “Like loving one another and like cleaning up.”
Jonny G.: “Follow His example.”
What are you looking forward to most about Jesus Christ’s Second Coming?
Ptobias T., 12, Nibley, Utah: “I am looking forward to finally meeting Him in person.”
Julia F., 8, Nibley, Utah: “…when He comes again, lions are going to be friends with lambs. That He can tell me things, that He was resurrected and stuff.”
Emily A., 8, Paradise, Utah: “I’m looking forward to seeing if I was good enough to go to the Celestial Kingdom with my family. I want my family there, too.”
Brent L.: “That there will be peace on the entire earth.”
Madison B., 7, of Petersboro, Utah: “I want to be resurrected and twinkled.”
Eliza L.: “Seeing Him and knowing how He feels. And what His voice would be like.”
Matthew B.: “The ability to look upon the face of our Redeemer and for the resurrection of the dead.”
Ptallan T.: “Looking at Him and to let Him know I like Him, and seeing my dog, Shire, and bunny, Oreo.”
McKenna B.: “So we can build the New Jerusalem. I want Him to be our leader...”
Jessica B., 12, Redmond, Washington: “I’m looking forward to a world at peace and to never have fighting, and I also want to see Him.”
Ben A., 9, Paradise, Utah: “I want to meet Him and see all my ancestors.”
Jonny G.: “Everybody on the whole earth will be good and obey the law.”
Evelyn L.: “Jesus. Loving. Because Jesus wants to come here because He loves us.”
Ptolemy T.: “Being able to finally see Christ face to face and to get a hug from Him.”
Emmanuel, or Immanuel, means "God with Us." How fitting that the name describes what people hoped for centuries ago, and what we look for now. In this Advent season, as you anticipate the celebration of Emmanuel, gather your children to study the prophecies and fulfillments and to draw near to Him; contemplate who He is, ponder what He did and does, and consider His return. Keep in mind John Neale, who though persecuted for his goodness even from within his own church, never gave up on the stirrings within. Remember that “there is peace in righteous doing” and do it.[iii]
Finally, a perfect addition to Advent is this perfect rendition and depiction of God with us.
