We start the day after Thanksgiving decorating for Christmas. By the end of National Shopping Day we turn on the lights for the house. By the end of Thanksgiving Sunday, we start decorating the artificial evergreen trees.
As Christmas approaches we count down the weeks with reverence and ceremony.
Christmas would not be Christmas without at least one Christmas pageant.
A special time; when even characters in a TV Special can touch our hearts.
This one is from "Rudolf." He is the king of the misfit toys. He flies around the world, searching for that toy that nobody loves and brings them to the Island of Misfit Toys.
It happened one Christmas Eve. This is how my favorite toy ended up in my bedroom.
Many Christmas songs have their own special story.
This one mystified me for a long time, then an American tourist returned from England with this story. I found this same story in book Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins published in 2001 by Zondervan which was a year after I'd been told the story.
The poor and desolate still managing to find the Christmas spirit is one of my favorite stories. In America we like to change the words to familiar songs to give them a new fresh meaning.
This one is about an American soldier.
"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him."Matthew 1-3
Even during Christmas there have always been moments of uncertainty.
While we put away our seasonal decorations, others start their celebration.
Christmas is about sharing. The webring below, link together some wonderful Christmas web sites.
Christmas traditions very widely in the United States.
Childhood memories of Christmas Eve during the Great Depression in the Bronx by Jerry Vilhotti.
Christmas Traditions in France and Canada. Family celebrations, Religious ceremonies, Communal festivities, Middle Ages and Origins.
Christmas: A Multicultural Festival Christmas at Australia's Culture Network presents the celebrations and customs from the land down under.
Christmas Prayers and Customs The Christmas tree, feast, manger, and poinsettia.
This gift was given to me by the ring master of Christmas Wonderland Webring. Click on the picture to visit her site.