Merry Christmas! Advent Candle: Today we light the past 4 candles of Advent and then the white candle which represents Christ! Our Messiah, Jesus, Light of the World is finally here! If you like, leave your candles lit until the 4 purple (and/or pink) candles die out and only the Christ candle remains. (*Only do this if you'll be present while the candles melt down!) Bible Verses John 1:1-14 The Word Became Flesh In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Isn't it interesting that Jesus is called "the Word"? The words we use are so important--there are plenty of Bible passages that remind us of that! Words are powerful. Are there any words you can think of that have stayed with you ever since they were spoken? Jesus is the living Word, come to Earth in flesh and blood to dwell among us. What a humbling thought! He is the embodiment of all the Scriptures! In today's verses, we see again the Advent figure of John the Baptist. He is a wonderful example of how humbled and awestruck and full of worship we should be when we encounter God--as our Father, as our friend and counselor, and...as a baby come to live and die for us. John lived his life with the significance of the Word always in view. May we take his example to heart this Christmas and every day! Praise God for His wonderful Gift! Art We received a Christmas card with this beautiful painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau and I thought it was so pretty. (Thanks, Uncle Lee and Aunt Terry!) Bouguereau was a 19th century painter who was scorned by the Impressionists of the time who were moving away from the idealism seen in the classical paintings which had come before. He studied at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he fine tuned his talent for drawing. Many of his excellent drawings are more true-to-life than the paintings they eventually became; Bouguereau tended to idealize and remove physical flaws of any kind as he painted. In "L'Innocence", the painting at the left, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is shown in soft beauty and the classical flowing gown. Light highlights folds of fabric and brightens Mary's and Jesus' flawless skin. Even the lamb--the blatant symbolism adds to the idealism--seems sheared to perfection! The spotless lamb as well as the spotless dress of Mary are very intentional. So, while Millet and Pissaro were creating paintings of people "for the people", with realistic features...and other Impressionists were blurring the lines, so to speak, Bouguereau was clinging to the perfection he could create as the classical masters did before him. And, while the Impressionists faced a rocky future for the popularity of their work and the challenges of birthing a new era in painting, Bouguereau enjoyed financial success and a large following from collectors. His inspiration from classical Italian and late Renaissance work gave him a firm foundation in a time of explosive change. Christmas Carol or Hymn Away in a Manger This popular Christmas carol has a most confusing history! For many years, "Away in a Manger" was attributed to Martin Luther, causing it to be widely accepted in some circles and rejected by others! Some sources still claim that Luther is the composer (for example, in my research, Bob Jones University has a page on this carol and they give Luther the credit), however, it is now a common theory that James R. Murray found the untitled music. He printed the song with the title "Luther's Cradle Hymn" in his popular songbook, Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses and even stated that Martin Luther has written it AND had sung it to his children at bedtime! We will probably never know who the first true author of the music is. Other versions of "Away in a Manger" were published in the late 1800's and it was credited to several men. Once, "Away in a Manger" was published in a songbook--one of many--which gave credit to a man named Carl Mueller who most likely did not even exist! Many times, particularly in the years of World War I, any credit to the German Martin Luther were shunned and more stories about the song's origin popped up. What we do know is that the very first version was probably written by an American in the mid 1800's. Although it was popular to give Martin Luther credit and tell tales of German mothers singing the tune to their sleepy babies, the Germans had never heard of this song until it reached Europe after gaining fame in America! It is certainly possible that the song was handed down orally for several years before landing in James Murray's hands. Perhaps the person who passed it on to him told him the story of Martin Luther's "cradle hymn". We may never know the truth about the beginnings of this sweet Christmas song, but can be glad that even controversy caused it to be kept alive in hearts and homes around the world! Christmas Fun! Interactive Nativity Scene Click and drag characters to create your own simple Nativity scene. Ready-Made Christmas Scavenger Hunt If you have the time and motivation, here is a simple, Christian Christmas scavenger hunt with printable clue cards. Nativity Coloring Pages From Familylife.com Cute! Downloadable Advent Calendar From the film, "The Nativity" (2006). Each day has an image from the movie and a Bible verse. Online Nativity Story Simple, illustrated story of Jesus' birth. Click page by page--great for little ones. Interactive Reindeer Stories From Northpole.com (so there may be Santa references). Click around the animated picture to open up stories you can read along with or have read to you. Have a very Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Savior, everyone! Hope to see you all here at the Advent Calendar next year! God Bless -Leigh Ann at TeachingMOM.com Home | Contact teachingmom 3.0    ©2003-2005 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.