ReFocus

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!

Luke 2:11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This was first announced to the shepherds, who were the lower class citizens of that day . . . Jesus was born for all mankind, rich and poor.

Have a birthday party for Jesus, complete with cupcakes and candles and singing happy birthday to Him.  Our family does this sometime during the season when we can give Jesus full attention apart from the gift giving to each other.  The present for Jesus is always the first to go under the tree, wrapped in gold or silver paper.  It is filled with papers from previous years where we have all drawn on one side pictures of several things we are thankful for through the last year.  On the other side we have written the things we want to give Jesus in the coming year such as more time with Him or showing more compassion for others, etc.  We open the gift at the birthday party and read what each wrote the previous year,  make the sheet for the present year,  and then wrap it back up.  We end the evening with singing Christmas carols by candle light.

Thank you for celebrating the birth of Jesus each day this month with us through this blog. We wish you a very Happy Christmas Day!

According to a Gallup poll, the average American expects to spend approximately $763 on Christmas this year. Those earning at least $75,000 a year plan to spend more than $1,100. There’s always something new to buy, from iPods to Xboxes to MP3 players. What kind of TV do you want? . . . plasma or LCD? . . . flat screen or projection? Your cell phone can take pictures or play music . . . hey, it can even make phone calls!

In an earlier era, the general store stocked about a thousand different products. But today, the typical Wal-Mart superstore stocks 130,000 items. Not long after the Halloween candy is eaten, the sounds of Jingle Bell Rock start to invade department stores and the “happy holidays” greetings begin to be heard. The rush is on! The traffic increases. People spend the night at Toys ‘R Us just to have a chance at buying a Nintendo Wii.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

For a long time, we have incorporated an activity into our Christmas traditions, called ‘The Christmas Web’. Recently we visited the Antebellum Plantation at Stone Mountain and saw that this was done way back around the turn of the 19th century.

The idea is that the true message of Christmas has become lost in a ‘web of commercialism’. We tell our kids that it is their job to find the true meaning of Christmas. We put all of them in one bedroom with the door closed while we take 5 rolls of yarn (one for each child). We weave the rolls like a giant spider web all over the house into every room and out onto the patio. It is hard to even move when it is complete. At the end of the roll, we tie a small symbolic gift. The gift has been a small flashlight that symbolizes ‘turning the light on to dispel the darkness’ in our world, or a new cup that symbolizes ‘being the kind of vessel God can use’.

While the children follow their own web through the house, we talk about finding the true meaning of Christmas that is mysteriously hidden in all the hustle and bustle of the season. Mark 4:11 And Jesus said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables.” In Col. 1:26-27, Paul writes, “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is the real meaning of Christmas.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, MA. During WW II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel wrote for Frank Capra’s Signal Corps Unit and won Oscars for Hitler Lives and Design for Death. He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar. In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said that children were having trouble reading because their books were boring. This inspired “Dr. Seuss”, as he became known, to write The Cat in the Hat, using 220 words. In 1960 someone bet him that he couldn’t write an entire book using only fifty words and the result was Green Eggs and Ham.

Dr. Seuss completed How the Grinch Stole Christmas! in 1957. The Grinch, a bitter, cave-dwelling creature with a heart “two sizes too small,” lives on snowy Mount Crumpit, a steep, 3,000 foot high mountaijn just north of Whoville, home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos. His only companion is Max, his faithful dog. From his perch high atop Mount Crumpit, the Grinch can hear the noisy Christmas festivities that take place in Whoville. Envious of the Whos’ happiness, he makes plans to descend on the town and steal their Christmas presents and decorations and thus “prevent Christmas from coming”. However, he learns in the end that despite his success in taking all the Christmas things from the Whos, Christmas comes just the same. He then realizes that Christmas is more than just gifts and presents. His heart grows three sizes larger, he returns all the presents and trimmings, and is warmly welcomed into the community of the Whos.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

Christmas transcends gifts and trees and stockings and credit card purchases. A Christmas without presents or decorations is still Christmas, which is God’s awesome statement to the world that He loves us, and no one can take that away. Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is, for many, the quintessential American movie, and the perfect holiday film. “Of all the 80 films I’ve made, it’s my favorite,” Jimmy Stewart often said about the movie.

At the end of 1945, Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart had both just returned from World War II — and both returned sobered, with a darker view of humanity. Searching for a project to re-establish himself in Hollywood, Capra formed his own production company and optioned a property entitled “The Greatest Gift”: a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern, originally written on a Christmas card. This went through multiple rewrites before it became It’s a Wonderful Life.

Just like George Bailey began his life, Capra began the project with the highest of hopes. He had every expectation that the film would be a popular success, and perhaps even sweep the Oscars. But disappointment began the day of its release as generally favorable reviews were not enough to encourage more than mediocre box office returns. And of its five Oscar nominations, it won none, losing the “Big Three” — best picture, actor and director — to William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives, a film which seemed to capture the spirit of post-war America more closely with its realism than Capra had managed with his fantasy. Capra was crushed.

Yet over the years people continued writing to him about the movie, emphasizing how much it had touched them. Capra wrote in his biography, “I woke up one Christmas morning, and the whole world was watching It’s A Wonderful Life.” Just as George Bailey’s local community came to his rescue when they discovered he was in trouble, so did the community of America rally around Life, elevating Capra’s forgotten classic to its current status as part of our Christmas ritual.

Frustrated in aspirations to have more, to do more, and to be somebody, George Bailey is a mirror of Americans, as we all strive to better our lot. However, even living the most idealist American dream life can somehow leave us unsatisfied. Over half a century later, George Bailey has become a legendary character in 20th century American culture. Through our identification with him and his trials, we can see a reflection of our own wonderful, horrible lives — and maybe gain some insight into the true American values.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

When you watch the movie, realize that only Jesus can make it a wonderful life. John 10:10 I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Also, just as the movie showed how George Bailey touched so many lives, you were placed here by a sovereign God to touch lives that only you can touch. Always keep in mind that others are observing and being affected by your life. Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Hebrews 13:2 Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

Whatever our age, we all see Christmas as the time for writing letters to “Santa”, enumerating the things we have been wanting all year. Over the years, Santa has gotten more letters requesting the Red Ryder BB gun and the Easy Bake Oven than any other toys.

The Red Ryder BB Gun is a BB gun made by Daisy Outdoor Products and introduced in 1938, named for the comic strip cowboy character Red Ryder. The BB gun is still in production despite the fact that the comic strip was cancelled in 1963. The Red Ryder BB Gun is a lever-action, spring piston air gun with a smoothbore barrel, adjustable iron sights, and a gravity feed magazine with a 650 BB capacity. The Red Ryder BB gun was featured in the popular 1980′s film A Christmas Story, where the main character is desperate to get one, but is constantly thwarted with the warning “You’ll shoot your eye out”. The movie’s fictional BB gun, described as the “Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle BB gun with a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time,” does not correspond to any actual production model.

America’s first working toy oven, was turquoise and had a carrying handle and fake stove top. It was invented by designers at Kenner Products (now a division of Hasbro). In its first year, 1963, over 500,000 lucky kids talked their parents into spending $15.95. By its fifth birthday, the EASY-BAKE Oven was a household name. In 1965, Hasbro introduced the Kid Dinners for the oven which were mini TV-dinner-like trays partitioned into three sections to hold beef and macaroni, peas and carrots. In 1968, General Mills created very cool miniature boxed versions of its Betty Crocker products for the EASY-BAKE Oven. The oven is still in production almost 50 years later.

Now it is 2009 and the hot items are the XBOX 360, Wii, the ipod, and the iphone. No matter what the item, we all have something we desire.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

When you make your wish lists, just remember that all these things will never bring you complete fulfillment. But there is One who is the Desire of all people, whether they know it or not, who will bring fulfillment. Haggai 2:7 (NKJV) ‘…and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. The Christ Child is the “Desire of All Nations”!

Near the end of the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, we hear the jingling of a small silver bell? Jimmy Stewart’s small daughter says “Look, Daddy, teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.” This is just a myth, but the ringing of bells has been significant for several reasons since ancient times. Orthodox churches always had bells to call the faithful to public worship. Town criers would walk about ringing bells in order to communicate the news to the town. Single bells (usually of gold or silver) called “crotals” were mounted on Knight’s warhorses in Medieval times for show and as a symbol of wealth. Horse bells came to be viewed as a source of good luck and as protection from evil and disease. Many people believed that such bells would attract wealth or other good fortune. Their practical use was as a warning to pedestrians and other drivers on narrow roadways.

The merry tune of “Jingle Bells” is perhaps the most recognizable of all Christmas music. Often it is the first holiday song learned by children. Though by strict definition not a Christmas carol, it is one of the top twenty-five songs in the history of recorded music. Written by James Pierpoint sometime during the late 1840s or early 1850s, “Jingle Bells” was publicly performed for a Thanksgiving program at the Savannah, Georgia Unitarian Universalist Church in 1857 where Pierpoint was the organist. His merry little tune proved so popular that it was requested for the Christmas program at the church a month later. From there, its fame grew.
When the bells are rung, a message is sent out for all to hear…either a good message or a message of warning. The message can be of a town meeting or of a church service beginning. The message can be the bell of a ship that is in distress.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

When you sing “Jingle Bells”, remember that you are that bell that broadcasts a message. It is a message of hope and good tidings. But it is a warning of disaster if the message of Jesus is rejected. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

The Christmas season is not just sights and sounds. What is Christmas without the smells and tastes of Christmas cookies, Christmas ham, egg nog, wassail, candy, and other good things coming out of the kitchen during this season?

The history of Christmas Cookies began with the people of the Persian Empire of the 7th century AD. The actual word ‘cookie’ comes from the Dutch word Koeptje [koekje], meaning small cake. Cookies spread all over Europe by 1500. Gingerbread was probably the first cake/cookie to be traditionally related with Christmas. The people of Sweden preferred Papparkakor (spicy ginger and black-pepper delights), while the Norwegians took to the liking of Krumkake (thin lemon and cardamom-scented wafers).

Wassail is a hot, spiced punch often associated with winter celebrations of northern Europe, such as Christmas, New Year’s and Twelfth Night. The term itself is a contraction of the Old English toast wæs þu hæl, meaning “be in good health”. A popular Christmas song mentions wassailing, which is groups of people either bearing wassail or begging for it, going from house to house singing and reveling. This is believed to be a custom of helping the poor without placing them in the category of, as a version of the song notes, “daily beggars”. It is also a way of preserving a perishable crop – apples, by turning them into something that can be preserved – cider, which is traditionally a central ingredient for Wassail. Today sugar, ale, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon are placed in a bowl, heated, and topped with slices of toast.

Yule Ham is a traditional dish in Scandinavian and English celebrations. The tradition is often suggested to have began as a tribute to Freyr, a major German god associated with boars and fertility. The boar’s head with apple in mouth was carried into the banquet hall as a sacrifice with the intent of imploring Freyer to show favor in the new year.

Our family enjoys a Christmas smoked ham (without the head). The recipe is simple: Trim the fat from a smoked ham. Wrap it in tinfoil and cook all night on Christmas Eve at 325 degrees. Next morning as you awake to a delicious smell, mix 3/4 can of coke, pineapple juice from a large can of pineapple, and one box of brown sugar. Pour over the ham and cook for one more hour. During the hour, baste often with the juice and sugar as deep into the meat as you can. Yummm!

Many believe that eggnog is a tradition that was brought to America from Europe. This is partially true. Eggnog is related to various milk and wine punches that had been concocted long ago in the “Old World”. However, in America a new twist was put on the theme. Rum was used in the place of wine. In Colonial America, rum was commonly called “grog”, so the name eggnog is likely derived from the very descriptive term for this drink, “egg-and-grog”, which became egg’n'grog and soon eggnog. Other experts say that the “nog” of eggnog comes from the word “noggin” which was a small, wooden, carved mug. It was used to serve drinks at table in taverns (while drinks beside the fire were served in tankards). The true story might be a mixture of the two and eggnog was originally called “egg and grog in a noggin”. This was a term that required shortening if ever there was one.

For our family, we enjoy “Christmas punch”. You take one half gallon of lime sherbert and you put it in a punch bowl with a 2 liter of ginger ale. Let the sherbert melt just a little. It is wonderful.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

As you eat the Christmas cookies, remember the time that Jesus gave bread to his disciples as recorded in Mark 14:22, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat: this is my body.” Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life…He will sustain us.

As you eat your Christmas ham, remember that Jesus was the once and for all sacrifice. Hebrews 7:27 He does not need to offer sacrifices every day like the other high priests. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he sacrificed himself on the cross.

As you drink the eggnog, wassail, or the punch, remember that it is Jesus who will spice up the atmosphere and He is the only source of joy. Remember the verse in Luke 2:10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”

The earliest ornaments, in the early 1800’s, were food: apples, onions, pears, nuts, candies, and fruits. These, along with the evergreen trees themselves, represented the certainty that life would return in the Spring.

As the idea of decorated Christmas trees spread, various countries added their own variations. The Germans, for instance, began hanging other types of food on their trees, such as, gingerbread or other hard cookies, baked in the shape of fruits, stars, hearts, angels, and bells. Americans would string long strands of cranberries or popcorn to circle their trees. In the UK, creative ornaments of lace, paper or other materials showed the variety of interests and talents of their makers.

Until the latter part of the nineteenth century, trees were decorated with the creations of the loving hands of family and friends. In Lauscha, Germany, an area long know for its glass blowing, began to make ornaments that were sold strictly as Christmas ornaments. Initially replicating fruits, nuts and other food items, they soon branched out and began to manufacture hearts, stars and other shapes that had been created out of cookies.

Until the late 1930′s ornaments in America were imported from Europe. The Corning Company of Corning of New York determined a way to make American glass ornaments. These ornaments were lacquered by machine on the outside and were silvered on the inside so they would remain “shiny bright” for longer periods. (An interesting side note: There is a legend that says if you placed a reflective ornament on your tree any evil spirits trying to enter your home would see their reflections and withdraw, terrified of what they saw.)

By 1940 Corning was making about 300,000 ornaments a day, compared with the perhaps 600 for a skilled German glassblower companies. Today, it has became harder and harder to actually see the tree beneath all the ornaments.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

Keep in mind as you hang your ornaments, that the first ornaments were hung on the tree as a symbol of the certainty that new life would return in the Spring. Think on the certain fact that Christ was born, died, and came back to life to give us new life in Him. 1 Peter 1:3-4 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! God has given us a new birth because of his great mercy. We have been born into a new life that has a confidence which is alive because Jesus Christ has come back to life. We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance that can’t be destroyed or corrupted and can’t fade away. That inheritance is kept in heaven for you.

Christmas cards connect us to family and friends. Cards remind us that someone cares and, more importantly, has taken the time to remember us.

Christmas cards originated in England over 150 years ago. In 1843 Sir Henry Cole, the founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, had so many Christmas greetings to send that handwriting them was impossible. Yet he wanted to make his friends aware of the need to help the destitute on that holiday. His answer was to commission John Calcott Horsley to paint a card showing the feeding and clothing of the poor. A center panel displayed a happy family embracing one another, sipping wine and enjoying the festivities, and the words “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You was printed on that first card. Although he had the best intentions, the card drew criticism for showing a child enjoying a sip of wine and Sir Henry was considered to be”fostering the moral corruption of children.” ” Legend says Sir Henry didn’t send any cards the following year, but the custom became popular anyway.

From this first-known Christmas card a flourishing card industry has evolved. That early card was hand-colored and lithographed on stiff cardboard, then delivered by hand, a far cry from today’s mass production and almost instant delivery of internet e-cards.

Still, the overriding purpose and custom of exchanging Christmas cards grows out of that very human need to connect. Christmas is that special time of year that makes us feel that we are all a part of the same family and being part of the same family we owe each other some measure of good. Christmas cards are one way we convey this to others and make them feel special?

How do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

As Christians, we are all part of Jesus’ family. The world should know us by our love. Jesus came to show us how to love one another, care for one another, and encourage one another, not just at Christmas but all year through. John 17:11 (Msg) For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world; they’ll continue in the world while I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life that you conferred as a gift through me, So they can be one heart and mind as we are one heart and mind.

Yule is a Winter Solstice festival that has been celebrated in Northern Europe since ancient times. In pre-Christian times, Germans celebrated Yule from late December to early January. During the process of Christianization, Yule was placed on December 25, in order to correspond with the Christian celebration. Thus, the terms “Yule” and “Christmas” are often used interchangeably especially in Christmas carols. Many of the symbols associated with Christmas are derived from this traditional pagan Yule celebration. The burning of the Yule log, the decorating of Christmas trees, the eating of ham, the hanging of boughs, holly, mistletoe, etc. are all historically practices associated with Yule.

Burning a Yule log is probably the oldest Christmas tradition. In Scandinavia, Yule ran from several weeks before the winter solstice to a couple weeks after, which was the darkest time of year. There was quite a bit of ritual tied to the Yule log as it marked the sun’s rebirth from its southern reaches. As the big log was brought into a home or large hall, songs were sung, stories told, and children danced. Personal mistakes were said to be burned in the flame so everyone’s new year would start with a clean slate. The log was never allowed to burn completely; a bit was kept in the house to start next year’s log. The log was said to predict bad luck; if the fire went out during the night, tragedy would strike the home in the coming year. The log also brought good luck; any pieces that were kept, protected a house. Ashes of the log would be placed in wells to keep the water good or placed at the roots of fruit trees and vines to help them bear a good harvest.

In the fourth century AD, when Pope Julius I decided to celebrate Christmas around the Winter Solstice, the Yule log tradition continued, but the fire came to represent the light of the Savior instead of the light of the sun. The burning of the Yule log marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations. In Appalachia, as long as the log burned, you could celebrate, therefore a very large log was chosen and soaked in a stream to ensure a nice long celebration. In the early nineteenth century, American slaves didn’t have to work as long as the Yule log burned, so they would choose the biggest, greenest log they could find. If they did have to work while it burned, their master had to pay them for the work.

In England the log was supposed to burn for the twelve days of Christmas, from Christmas eve on December 24th to Epiphany on January 6th. Some English Yule logs were large enough that a team of horses were required to drag it to the castle or manor. Some English preferred a log from an ash tree. In the Slavic and other countries oak was the wood of choice. Almost everywhere, the fire was started with that bit of the last year’s log, to symbolize continuity and the eternal light of heaven.

In some parts of France, a special carol was sung when the log was brought into the home. The carol prayed for health and fertility of mothers, nanny-goats, ewes, and an abundant harvest. The French were probably the first to eat their Yule logs. They started out burning them like everyone else, but when big open fireplaces began to disappear in France, they moved the tradition to the table by making a cake roll that looked like a Yule log, called a “Buche de Noel”.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

The Yule log was to take away the mistakes of the last year. We know that Jesus came to take away our mistakes. Romans 3:22 We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.

The Yule log was not allowed to burn up completely. Be reminded from this that Jesus Christ is eternal. Rev. 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One.”

The Yule log represented the light of the sun during the dark winter: Remember that Jesus is our light in a dark world. John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

What we are trying to do with these 25 Days of Christmas newsletters is to help you enjoy the traditional practices of Christmas and give them Spiritual meaning for your family. We have always tried to do this with our children as we didn’t want to be so different from the world that the world wouldn’t want what we have.

An old English historical writing contains a letter from Pope Gregory to Saint Mellitus, who was then on his way to England to conduct missionary work among the pagan Anglo-Saxons. Pope Gregory suggested that converting heathens would go easier if they were allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditional pagan practices and traditions, while reinterpreting those traditions spiritually towards the Christian God instead of to their pagan “devils”: “to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God”.

Today we as Christians should hear what Pope Gregory said, and rather than condemn the dark practices of the world, we should try to live the “Light”. Remember Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world.