Tuesday, the 10th day of Advent
Advent Reading
Advent Reading
Isaiah 9:6-7 tells us that Mighty God, Everlasting Father will be born as a boy-child in the line of David.
John 1:1-3, and 14 tell us that the Word was God and the Word became flesh. Luke 3:23-38 gives His lineage.
Jesse Tree
"Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other.
Genesis 37:19 is an easy verse to memorize that quickly recalls the story of Joseph.
For today's ornament, draw a tunic/coat and let children decorate it to resemble a 'coat of many colors'. To make an ornament, find colorful fabric to cut and fold into the shape of a coat.
To Explore
Christmas Ornaments
The earliest known Christmas ornaments came from Scandinavia and they came in the form of stars, angels, etc. fashioned out of straw. The first known ornaments placed on evergreen trees were fruit, as the trees were used on the feast day of Adam and Eve. They were known as Paradise trees and represented both a tree of sin and a tree of life. Eventually, decorations included fruits and nuts and then other foods such as berries and cookies. Paper ornaments developed and became quite intricate. Ornaments were not created commercially until the 1800's. Glass ornaments orginated in Lauscha, Germany. F.W. Woolworth imported these ornaments into the U.S. in the 1890's. Dresden, Germany gained notoriety for their embossed paper ornaments.
Pickle Ornaments began as a fun game that rewarded the most observant child. Whichever child finds the pickle ornament first gets a special gift from St. Nick. Though the majority of pickle ornaments come from Lauscha, it isn't a common German tradition and no one seems to know for sure how the tradition began.
Christmas Around the World
There are so many wonderful traditions that come from Germany, they really deserve another day to explore.
To read more about Christmas in Germany, visit:
To wish a Merry Christmas in German, shout "Frohe Weihnacht!"
Hands On (cooking, coloring, creating)
String cranberries and/or popcorn!
Slice oranges thinly, dehydrate them (or bake low and slow on parchment,) and string with cinnamon sticks for a nice homemade ornament.
Paint stray puzzle pieces green and glue them into a wreath shape. Dot on some red paint for holly berries. Tie your puzzle wreath up with a ribbon to hang from the tree.
My family's favorite homemade decorations yet are the paper star ornaments that we purchased last year from Hobby Lobby for about $.50 apiece. We all sat down at the table together with a stack of magazines and cut out our favorite pictures and designs to mod-podge onto our stars. Everyone ended up with ornaments that reflected our personalities. For example, my youngest covered hers in ladybugs, one son covered his in pictures of candy, and my computer-tech husband covered his in pictures of computer parts from his computer magazines. I used Gooseberry Patch catalogs to cut out old Christmas card drawings. True keepsakes!
My family's favorite homemade decorations yet are the paper star ornaments that we purchased last year from Hobby Lobby for about $.50 apiece. We all sat down at the table together with a stack of magazines and cut out our favorite pictures and designs to mod-podge onto our stars. Everyone ended up with ornaments that reflected our personalities. For example, my youngest covered hers in ladybugs, one son covered his in pictures of candy, and my computer-tech husband covered his in pictures of computer parts from his computer magazines. I used Gooseberry Patch catalogs to cut out old Christmas card drawings. True keepsakes!
Music
Books
A beautiful children's story by Frank Peretti, though set in July and not Christmas
Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make
Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments
Games
Movies
Today's movie suggestion has nothing to do with Germany nor Ornaments, but it is still my family's favorite - Elf!
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"Man lives by affirmation even more than by bread." - Victor Hugo