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.”]
Matters of Interpretation 