Sheala Vast-Binder's Blog, page 7

Epiphany: the Traditional End of the Christmas Season

I was listening to the radio the day before Christmas, and the announcer stated that he didn’t feel like it was Christmas and he wondered why he felt that way. He thought maybe it was because the weather was warm or because the stores start setting out Christmas decor so early. (If you don’t live in the U.S., you should know that some stores start decorating for Christmas in October! Talk about overkill.)

I have to say that I feel this angst every year at Christmas time. About the time everyone else stops celebrating Christmas (typically, Christmas Day), I feel like starting! I once felt guilty about this tendency because it made me feel like a non-Christmas person, and being blase about Christmas just isn’t allowed!

Flickr, Keith Williamson

However, a few years ago I learned that the song “12 Days of Christmas” is actually about the period between Christmas Day and Epiphany, January 6. During the Advent season leading up to Christmas, people prepared their hearts for Jesus’ coming through fasting and prayer. Only after this season of preparation did they begin celebrating the birth of the Christ child and the Second Advent of Jesus. This means that, historically, the celebratory aspect of the holiday began after Christmas Day!

Now, I somehow doubt that my sharing this piece of historical knowledge will change the way Christmas is currently celebrated in the U.S. I’m afraid “that horse is already out of the barn,” as my grandma would have said. However, it’s freeing to know that my tendency to slowly build toward Christmas Day and then let the celebration continue past December 25 is not just a strange personal quirk! (I have enough of those without adding this one to the list.)

These days, if my Christmas tree does not go up on Thanksgiving weekend and come down on Christmas Day, all is well! If the days before Christmas are more reflective and less frenzied, all is well! If I start singing Christmas carols later than most, all is well! I now know that I’m joining with the host of believers who have gone before me, and my current western liturgical brothers and sisters, by celebrating Christmas until the Wise Men come (Epiphany).

Now I just need to learn how to bake a “King’s Cake!” I’m sure that my family won’t complain about adding that tradition to the end of our Christmas season. (Click HERE to see some awesome photos of 2014 Epiphany celebrations from around the world!)

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Advent, Even When Sickness Hits

Flickr, Quinn Dombrowski

Advent…right in the middle of flu season (at least here in the U.S.). My son had the flu last week, and I’ve had it most of this week. It’s yucky stuff, I can tell you! (And, before you ask, NO, we didn’t get flu shots (sigh) and, YES, I know that “received” is misspelled in the picture.)

Anyway, ever notice how hard it is to celebrate when you’re sick? It doesn’t really matter what the special occasion is; sickness makes it hard to rejoice. People wish you a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hannukah” or _______________ (you fill in the blank) and all you want to say is “Bah, humbug!”

Sickness also makes it difficult to write intelligible blogs about Advent (lol)! I promised you a few weeks back that I’d tell you how and why Christians celebrate Advent, and all my brain can think at this moment is that it has something to do with candles, calendars, and Jesus.

Thankfully, I did my homework before the flu struck my house so I do have sources available! (I’m really glad that I’m not a heavy-duty procrastinator.) So, although I can’t wax eloquent about Advent right now (I’m lucky that I can type), I can at least point you to a few really interesting blogs! Happy Advent, and be well!

How long have Christians celebrated Advent?

What do the Advent candles mean?

When did people begin using Advent calendars? (and an interesting tidbit about caroling)

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What Is the Story of Hanukkah?

Flickr, Scazon

Christmas is far from being the only amazing holiday that occurs at this time of year! While Christians are celebrating Advent and Christmas, our Jewish friends are preparing for Hanukkah (or Chanukah), an 8-day festival of lights that begins on December 16 at sundown this year.

I love the story of Hanukkah! Rather than telling it myself (and probably messing up the story), I’ve included the History channel’s video instead. However, the part of Hanukkah that captures my imagination is the Story of the Miracle.

According to tradition, after the Maccabees recaptured the Jewish temple from the Greeks, they needed to purify the temple by burning holy oil for 8 days. However, they only had enough oil for one day. After they lit the menorah, God performed a miracle by causing the oil to last all 8 days! To this day, Jews celebrate Hanukkah by lighting candles of the menorah until all 8 candles are lit at the end of the holiday.

Hanukkah reminds us that God is a God of miracles. When our resources fall short, God is able to do what we cannot do. God brings light to our darkness and victory in the face of overwhelming odds. These are lessons that all of us, Jewish and non-Jewish, can embrace during the wonderful holiday of Hanukkah.

 

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Advent 101: What Is Advent?

For all of us Advent novices, it’s helpful to know that Advent marks the start of the Christian year; basically, it is the Church’s New Year’s Day! It starts four weeks before Christmas, around November 30 or the nearest Sunday to it.

Flickr, @Bev Norton

The term “Advent” comes from the Latin word for ‘arrival.’ As early as the 6th century of the Christian era, Christians fasted and meditated throughout Advent in preparation for Christmas. Many took this fast just as seriously as they did the Lenten fast at Easter.

However, Advent is more than just a preparatory season for Christmas Day:

 “Christ is knocking. It’s still not Christmas, but it’s also still not the great last Advent, the last coming of Christ. Through all the Advents of our life that we celebrate runs the longing for the last Advent, when the word will be: ‘See, I am making all things new’ (Rev. 21:5)” (God Is in the Manger, pg 2).

When we celebrate Advent, we also anticipate Christ’s Second Advent (or ‘arrival’). Indeed, we can celebrate Jesus’ first coming at Christmas because we believe He is coming again. Without Jesus’ second coming, Christmas would just be another memorial holiday. Instead, each Advent and Christmas let us celebrate the past while offering hope for the future!

Deitrich Bonhoeffer understand the importance of both. In case you don’t recognize his name, Bonhoeffer was a German pastor during WWII who stood up against Nazism. He died in prison just 10 days before the Germans surrendered. Although he longed for another Advent season with his family, friends, and fiancée, he trusted even more in the One who had promised a Second Advent and the renewal of all things.

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Why Do Christians Celebrate Advent?

Flickr, @John Morgan

Although Advent is an extremely old Christian tradition, it is a relatively new addition to the evangelical calendar. In fact, I didn’t learn about Advent until I was an adult, and I attended church throughout my teen years! However, these days it’s quite common for American churches of all different denominations to have advent wreaths, and many families use Advent calendars to countdown until Christmas.

Despite this increased popularity, I don’t think that many of us understand Advent. We light our candles and open our calendar windows without ever asking, “What is Advent, where did it come from, and how is it connected to Christmas?” In other words, we never ask, “Why in the world am I celebrating Advent!?”

Since I’m an explorer by nature, I’m going to seek these answers during the next few weeks. Would you like to join my Advent journey? Email your Advent questions to 1worldmanyquestions@gmail.com, and I’ll try to answer your questions while I seek my own. Let the exploration begin!

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2014 Advent Blogs to Share

pixabay.com

Here are some of my favorite Advent blogs for 2014. Do you have any that you’d like to see added? Email me!

3-D Lessons for Life
Oh Amanda (She’s written an Advent book for kids too!)
Journeys in Grace 
Renee Ann Smith
Christmas in Different Lands  (A blog series from multiculturalkidblogs.com; Awesome!)

 

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Have Americans Always Celebrated Thanksgiving?

(Hint: Not really.)

The first Thanksgiving, although not called that at the time, was a 3-day harvest festival celebrated by the original English colonists in 1621. After enduring a horrific sea voyage, brutal winter, and multiple deadly diseases, the remaining colonists were undoubtedly thankful that they had survived at all! Indeed, they wouldn’t have survived a second year if the Wampanoag Indians, whom they invited to the festivities, hadn’t taught them how to grow corn, extract maple syrup, and, basically, survive in this “new world.” Sadly, the peaceful co-existence between the colonists and Native Americans only lasted one generation (which is a long story for another day).

Over time, various states held thanksgiving festivities and a few of the early presidents, including George Washington, proclaimed national thanksgivings. However, the national holiday we know as Thanksgiving didn’t exist until 200 years after the original one. And it probably wouldn’t have come into existence if it hadn’t been for a very determined woman who campaigned 36 years to make it happen!

In 1827 Sarah Josepha Hale, a well-known magazine editor, began petitioning politicians and writing articles to encourage the addition of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. In 1863, during the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln finally declared two Thanksgivings, one in August as a memorial to the Gettysburg Battle and one in November as a general giving of thanks.

Nevertheless, until 1941 the President of the U.S. would determine the day to be honored as Thanksgiving each year. Customarily, the fourth Thursday of November was chosen, in keeping with Lincoln’s original November celebration. However, in 1939 F.D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week to encourage more holiday shopping (obviously, shopping and Thanksgiving were already closely linked). The American public had a fit over the change! Two years later, Congress passed a bill setting the fourth Thursday of November as the official day of American Thanksgiving.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving evolves around food, family and friends, football…and shopping! Although the foods and activities have greatly changed (watch the video below to see what I didn’t mention), Thanksgiving is still a time to give God thanks for all of our blessings and to enjoy the people that are dear to us. For those reasons, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite American holidays!

 

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A Thanksgiving Book Giveaway

Thanksgiving is a time when Americans celebrate friends, family, and all of the great gifts that God has given us. Although shopping is gradually taking over this holiday (aka, Black Friday), the holiday originally focused on SHARING, not shopping.

In honor of this original Thanksgiving focus, I want to share my book, “10 Things You Need to Know” with you. I hope you enjoy it!

If you would like to receive an EMAIL with the promo code, please register HERE. Otherwise, I’ll send the code out through the various social media channels before Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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