Tag: Christmas
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Merry Christmas!
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and […]
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First Sunday of Christmas
Sometimes what happens at church is that I have to face uncomfortable facts about myself and seriously consider what needs to change. A lot of people were out of town or sick this morning, and the weather was dismal and rainy, which probably did not help boost attendance, either; the choir had to make do […]
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Christmas Eve – Lessons and Carols
Even if the distinctly non-liturgical church of my childhood had had anything like “Lessons and Carols,” which it didn’t, our family always had a party at our house on Christmas Eve, so we wouldn’t have been there.[*] I had to grow up and move here and become a Presbyterian to learn that there is something […]
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First Sunday after Christmas
Every infant I have ever known has been demanding. Incessantly, relentlessly demanding. Hold me. Feed me. Carry me. Change me. Put me in the car seat. Remember me. Think about me. Here I am. It’s a good thing they are so lovable, so awe-inspiring even, when we get the chance to notice it. Because when […]
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First Sunday after Christmas
[A liturgical note: Technically, when Christmas Eve is on a Sunday, and Christmas is on a Monday, we end up with no Sundays for Christmas. Technically, today is Epiphany, or rather, the Sunday before Epiphany, which is January 6. “January 7 through January 13, inclusive” is set aside for Baptism of the Lord. Then we […]
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Rare Ingredients
I grated orange zest the other day. Grating orange zest made me notice that baking has something in common with magic. Orange zest is not a particularly rare ingredient, at least not in the 21st century United States. Thank you, Florida and California! I noticed this as I pondered what to do with the extra […]
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Cultural Symbolism, or Baking at Christmas
I have done some baking this Christmas, for the first time in at least a decade. I’m not entirely sure why I stopped baking at Christmas; it was probably some combination of busy-ness and overwhelm and the idea that we don’t need all that sugar around anyway and resistance and avoidance and the “complex system […]
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Seasons’ Greetings
Since my father died, I have tried to re-establish the practice of sending Christmas cards. It was a response to shame, as my personal initiatives often are. My dad sent Christmas cards, I realized when I cleaned out the house, to just about everyone he had ever known, and just about everyone Mom had ever […]
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A Serious Question
Is Santa Claus a religious figure? Why, or why not? If a religious figure, what is the religion? [“It depends,” really – on what we mean by “religion.”]
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Surprise – It’s Tradition
Teaching plus rehearsing for the concert coming up on Saturday and Sunday is leaving precious little time for anything else, including remembering to stock up on ibruprofen and immune system support before leaving the house, which explains why I was standing in the checkout line at Walgreens on Frankfort Avenue before rehearsal with a bottle […]
Matters of Interpretation 