Christmas

Tag

Is a Veneer Sometimes the Best Choice?

The idea of “fake it til you make it” and other forms of positive thinking or “manifesting” is not to be found in the bible, yet, even Christians fall back upon such practices–and especially at the holidays. I have no answers, I suppose. I am about to contribute to the vast number of social media expressions and images that will flood our newsfeed between now and the New Year, too. As we behold all of these things, many of us...

Guest Writing: A Christmas Memory, by Lucy S. Moise

I think I was about seventeen years old. Christmas Eve had finally come. The choir at our church had worked very hard on our Christmas music and I felt like I was ready. When the Midnight Mass Service was over, I felt extra good about myself. I had been in the church choir for several years already, but this time I felt more grown up. I felt like I had contributed my voice to bless others, and felt like I...

Fa La La La La and Other Sacred Mayhem

I sometimes find myself thinking about what is sacred and what is profane. Whether it is someone’s tears that might be considered as sacred or something else that might be considered in some way as profane…I like to think about sacred spaces between people and small, sacred acts. Christmas is the celebration of the sacred. The word sacred typically means something along these lines, to many people:“Sacred is a word that pertains to things godly to differentiate them from things...

Positioning the Nativity

I remember the year that we bought a beautiful and somewhat large-figured nativity set for Christmas. I had unpacked and set it up on a piece of furniture in the dining room and I suppose without thinking through how to position the animals and humans around the manger, I had them placed some of them – probably all but Mary and Joseph – facing outward from Baby Jesus, toward the viewer. One day I noticed these were all turned around...