Day 24 Advent Candle: Light the first three candles and then the Angel Candle. Bible Verses Matthew 1:18-25 ...Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. Luke 1:57-80 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her. And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father. But his mother answered and said, "No indeed; but he shall be called John." And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name." And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished. And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this child turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him. Zacharias's Prophecy And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant-- As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old-- Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US; To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the way of peace." And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. (NASB) Article/Devotion 12 Voices of Christmas--Joseph A short audio presentation about Joseph. Book Suggestion I Spy Christmas: A Book of Picture Riddles by Jean Marzollo. All for the Newborn Baby by Phyllis Root. In a gentle lullaby that Mary sings to her newborn baby, Jesus, she sings of how all of nature shared in the miracle and joy of the Nativity. Lush, beautiful paintings make this a simple, but elegant Christmas picture book. Art The painting to the left is by the English artist Alfred Sisley. He was born in Paris to a successful English businessman and when he became a young man, Sisley studied commerce in London where he would follow in his father's footsteps. But Alfred changed his mind and in 1862, decided to become a painter and entered the School of Fine Arts in Paris. He also joined the Atelier Gleyre (studio of Charles Gleyre) where he met Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, contemporary Impressionist painters at the time. Sisley and his artist friends spent as much of their time outside the studio as in; Sisley was most interested in landscapes and casual village street scenes. A few years later, in 1866, Sisley submitted his work to the Salon in Paris and was accepted. He exhibitioned there in 1868 and 1870 as well. Like many of his Impressionist confidants, Alfred Sisley did not experience much financial success even though his work was shown in the great Salon. After the Franco-Prussian War, his family was left destitute and he spent many years in the countryside surrounding Paris. It was then that Sisley focused on many of his river landscapes, painting them in all the seasons along with other country scenes near to his home. He began exhibiting nearly every other year beginning in the 1870's but he never achieved much fame. Impressionists at the time were accepted (and sometimes simply tolerated) but many artists could scarcely make a living from their work. Alfred Sisley was most influenced by the French realist painter, Corot. He studied shortly with Charles Gleyre, a classical artist who was branching out into new technique and subject matter. And Sisley became friends with some of the most widely known Impressionists in the world. With all of this wonderful influence, Sisley developed a style completely his own, obviously Impressionist but charming and lyrical in the way he portrayed the countryside around him. His work is true to life, colorful and fresh, and shows the spontaneity with which he chose his open-air subjects. *Above left is "Snow at Louveciennes" and below is "Snowy Weather at Veneux-Nadon." Christmas Carol or Hymn The First Noel "The First Noel" is one of the oldest Christmas folk songs sung today. The author is unknown, but both France and England make claims to its origins. The older title used in Britain was "The First Nowell". This song was written as long ago as the 13th century! But what can be assumed about the composer is that he (or she) was common folk. Around the time that most researchers believe "The First Noel was written, there were very few Bibles in circulation and they were a possession of the middle and upper class. This could explain some of the incorrect Scriptural points of the song and why the language is not as finely tuned, so to speak, as the lyrics of a song by Wesley or other great hymn writers. For example, the author of "The First Noel" says that the shepherds follow the star to Bethlehem rather than the magi as told in the Bible. And using a certain term for "donkey" may not have been suitable for a more polished writer, even if it was a common word! The song was probably passed on by peasants and sung in households for the hundreds of years before it was published. Churches rarely allowed any "new" religious songs to be used along their old stand-bys. Finally, in 1833, an English lawyer who loved to collect French and English folk songs decided to publish "The First Noel" and his timing was perfect; the Church of England was beginning to allow new songs into their services. Because it was already well-loved among the people, "The First Noel" soon became a worldwide favorite. Christmas Fun! Printable Christmas Carol Booklet Here is a free printable collection of Christmas carol lyrics for your family to use. Rooftop Madness Help Santa drop packages down some chimneys and avoid letting him get blasted out of the sky! (Or, if you're a non-Santa household, delight in his sleigh mishaps. LOL) Home | Contact teachingmom 3.0    ©2003-2007 teachingmom.com All rights reserved. *Copies for personal home use permitted, however no part of the TeachingMOM Advent Calendar may be reproduced on the web or sold in any format. Permissions were personally granted, as necessary, for the use of images, articles, and book excerpts found within this portion of our website. Thank you.