A Christmas Selection Box 2024
One of the standard features of Christmas in Ireland is the chocolate selection box. It’s a great tradition—who wouldn’t like a box filled with a variety of different chocolates to enjoy over the holidays? I can’t give you chocolate today, but I’ve made it a tradition to collect and share a variety of Christmas treats every December from around the internet. Enjoy!
First up, a beautiful Christmas song called Thorn and Thistle from Irish artists We Are Messengers and Keith and Kristyn Getty:Next, a brief look at some of the traditional ways people have celebrated Christmas in Ireland, including Wren Boys, Mummers, and Little Women’s Christmas:How Christmas was celebrated in years gone by
Third, speaking of traditions, it’s common to hear that Christmas is really just a ripped-off and repurposed pagan holiday. This article explores the historicity of that claim:Is Christmas a pagan tradition?
Fourth, here’s a quote from Saint Augustine on what it meant for Jesus Christ to become a human:“Man’s maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.”
If you’d like to think more about what Saint Augustine said, here’s an excerpt from J.I. Packer’s excellent book “Knowing God” on why the mystery of the incarnation makes sense of the rest of Jesus’ life, his miracles, and his resurrection:Finally, here’s a flashback to a Christmas post I wrote a couple of years ago about why hope is greater than optimism:
