December 1, 2007
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On the First Day of December
I’m at my mom’s house. This weekend is the annual Curwensville United Methodist Church’s Christmas pageant, The Search for Peace. It’s really more of a dramatized cantata done mostly in the dark with lights on whomever is being dramatized. No one speaks except the narrator and the voice of the Bible. Of course, there is much singing. TGD is playing the blind beggar again, and Hunter is making his debut as one of the behind-the-scenes trumpeters. I like to close my eyes in the darkness and let the familiar words and songs wash over me. I actually get chills during Oh, Holy Night when the angel Gabriel flings back the curtain to reveal the manger scene and the unseen choir belts out “FALL on your knees!”
So, how about you? Have you done much for Christmas yet? I don’t even have a candy cane unwrapped, let alone a decoration up. I have maybe 25% of my shopping done. Oh, well. I’m not going to fret. As they say in Grinch:
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
It came without packages, boxes or bags!
. . .
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
What traditions or preparations say, “It’s Christmas!” to you?
Comments (18)
It’s been a fun weekend with you in C’ville, as always! And I hope I am the first comment to this post – that’s always a goal of mine!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Getting a chocolate advert calendar
I have 0% of my shopping done….so, you are ahead of the game!
The dramatized cantata sounds wonderful! Of course, till we had enough voices for a choir, there would be no one left to do the dramatizing! lol
I think you put the comment about Dara on Katia’s site because she made mention of Drew & Dara being with them for their Thanksgiving celebration. They were with us on Thanksgiving, but with Drew’s family to celebrate on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Drew’s dad is Katia’s cousin. Does that explain things a little???
I have about 1/2 my decorating done, but no shopping done as of yet (unless 2 coloring books count!). I grew up listening to Fred Waring & the Pennsylvanians when we would decorate. My fav is The Sounds of Christmas. I taped the album onto a cassette, so I listen to it every year to decorate except for last year, because my tape disappeared. I think it was sabotage by my children! I taped it again over Thanksgiving at my parents’ place.
We have the big Christmas program for our church next weekend. We haven’t done much besides that.
Your church program sounds wonderful! I have a tape of old Christmas carols we used to listen to when I was a kid.
I have 3/5 of my shopping done. All I need are presents for my Mom and Dad.
Hmmm…Christmas traditions…getting and decorating the tree is always fun. We decorate the tree in the evening when our Dad is home (its always easier untangling the lights when he does it–I just sit back and watch!
); we listen to Christmas music, and then drink hot cocoa or eggnog.
Then the next fun part used to be wrapping all the presents while listening to Christmas music. I used to wrap almost all my presents on the same day, but now that I’m sharing a room with my sister, and there’s a lot less floor space on “my” side of the room, it’s not as easy (I have to wrap her present while she’s not in the room, I have to wrap other presents when I think no one will be coming in to see her, on coming in with her, etc.).
Then of course, there’s the waking up really early on Christmas morning (5:00 or so) and watching a movie with my siblings before we open presents. (We always open them after our parents get up, usually around 6:30.) We’ve been doing that for as far back as I can remember–Way back when my eldest brother, who is now 25, was at least 17 or 18. This year our movie will be Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
No, I’m not a writer. As for my “other” loves, I love music.
I am currantly learning to teach piano. It’s a lot different than I thought. Not sure if it is easier of harder, just different.
-Katie
P.S. I’m her little sis.
I have 0% of my shopping done, but I know what I’m getting everyone, and will do it mostly next week.
As for decorations–no, nothing yet. We’re pretty spare with the decs, anyway, and the tree doesn’t go up until oldest son comes home (Dec 14th this year), because it’s a tradition for the three guys to get the tree while I stay home and make something yummy.
Christmas music will probably make its debut in the family room next week, too. Oh, and “goody” making shall begin soon, too
.
thanks for subscribing, although you’ll soon realize i post rather infrequently! the thoughts are in my head, but rarely make it to the computer. i find it interesting to follow threads through xanga and see who is on whose sites, and who i might know. i feel like i know you a bit from reading your comments on bobsfanclub, flutemom38, and maybe a few other places.
we have no christmas decorations up yet, and i don’t do much. tradition says our (artificial) tree goes up two weeks before christmas and comes down one week after. i hate taking it down on new year’s day, but so far that’s the way it goes. i don’t do much of the decorating for it either. the girls all work on it. the oldest is married now and the second is looking for an apt that would be closer to her job, so who knows what will happen between now and christmas.
the church christmas pageant sounds wonderful. our concert at church this year is mostly instrumental, since we have a wonderful group of piano players. we’re bringing in a second grand piano and doing some four hands/two piano numbers. i have a bit of flute things to do for accompaniment parts. two more weeks until then!
Nice new template!! I am working on making a Christmasy one for myself, too.
I love the Advent season. The first Advent mass is when everything really begins for me. We always do the Advent wreath together as a family, too.
We got our tree two days ago. It’s one of the earliest times we’ve gotten it!!
Happy December.
I don’t even think about Christmas until after we remember Pearl Harbor. It’ll be about a week.
My favorite Christmas tradition is your brother watching Christmas Story and laughing so hard that he cries. As far as Shopping goes, I done with my children. Brad and I are buying each other half of a backup generator. I have little done for the 15th/16th Christmas celebrations. Dad will probably be finishing your mom’s gift the morning of the 15th. I know where I get my procrastinating from!
RY? – the tiger just got the hyena….I think it’s basic plot that has me engrossed now…how is ever going to make it?! Gotta go read!
Love your Christmasy look!
The dance logo was a little small (and when it’s ever actually printed, sine it’ll be on a white background, you won’t see the white square around the oval) to see clearly; but the background is a pair of pointe shoes (toe shoes
), and over top of it is a dancer raising her arms in praise – an effort to reflect the fact that our dance is a ministry as well as a ballet school. That was the general idea, at least. 
The church thing sounds wonderful! My own favorite version of O Holy Night is either sung by a woman at our church, who can be incredibly powerful with her voice, or Celtic Woman, because they go up super high and it just sounds so lovely and clear and pure.
What activity really makes it seem like Christmas? Probably our own church’s Christmas concert, which is really incredible!
Adventure, then beautiful women. I find that you have to be in a certain mood to appreciate female beauty, whereas adventure never loses currency.
Umm….all the ones I haven’t done yet! I still have my Thanksgiving decorations up. Since we finally have a bit of fall color here in south Texas, I think it’s very appropriate!
What a lovely tradition for your family to participate in the pageant on the first of December every year.
What says Christmas to me. When I was little, it was getting the box in the mail from Granny. The packages were wrapped, of course and couldn’t be opened until Christmas, but she always included cookies. She made frosted soft chocolate one and gingerbread men and lebkuchen. I didn’t like the lebkuchen very much so we would have it in February, when it was even more leb. It softened enough to bite in hot tea. When the Christmas decorations went up in the downtown area was a special memory. Later, it was the appearance of eggnog on the shelves at the grocery store.