Xmas4

15)MISTLETOE (heart)

The tradition of kissing underneath the mistletoe began with a Scandinavian goddess called Frigga, whose son Balder was shot with an arrow made of mistletoe. While Frigga's friends conjured up powers to save the boy, his mother cried tears that became the white berries on the mistletoe. Frigga's friends succeeded in saving Balder's life, and Frigga ordered that the mistletoe should never again be used to harm others. Instead, she made it a symbol of love by
kissing everyone who passed under it. And so, in Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered the plant of peace. If enemies met under it, they declared a truce for the day.

Until the introduction of the Christmas tree in the middle of the nineteenth century, the kissing bough was the primary piece of decorative greenery in the English Christmas. It was in the shape of a double hoop with streamers going up to a central point, like a maypole with two circle garlands. It was made up of evergreen boughs, holly, and ivy, and hung with apples, pears, ribbons, and ornaments, with lighted candles and a bunch of mistletoe hanging from the
center. As its name �kissing bough� implies, the woman who accidentally wandered under it had to pay the ancient penalty and allow herself to be kissed.

Bible: Ephesians 2: 11-22

Discuss: Before we become Christians, who are we enemies with? (God). Historically, what race of people did God make His covenant promise of peace with? (the Israelites) How did both the Israelites and the other people (the �Gentiles�) become reconciled to God (through the death of Christ on the cross).

Do: Read and discuss the following poem by Countee Cullen:

Under the Mistletoe

I did not know she�d take it so,
Or else I�d never dared:
Although the bliss was worth the blow,
I did not know she�d take it so.
She stood beneath the mistletoe
So long I thought she cared;
I did not know she�d take it so,
Or else I�d never dared.

Sing: Hark the Herald Angels Sing

16)DOVE (dove)

The dove has long been a symbol of peace, ever since the dove sent out by Noah after the flood returned to the ark bearing an olive branch in its beak. Also, the Spirit of God appeared in the form of a dove when Jesus was baptized, lighting upon Him and a voice from heaven saying �This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.�

Sometimes too we see in legends or carols about the birth of Jesus that there were doves present at the manger, often cooing the newborn baby to sleep.

Bible: Colossians 1:15-23

Discuss: Who is the greatest peacemaker of all time? (Jesus) Who did He bring together through His death? (all things and God) Are we now accused of our sins anymore? (no)

Sing: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

17) CANDY CANE (candy cane)

The shape symbolizes a shepherd's crook, remembering that Jesus was the good shepherd. Some say a choirmaster first created them and gave them to his choir as a way of keeping the children quiet!

There is another legend that has been told lately about an Indiana candymaker:

A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas candy cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus.

He began with a stock of pure white, hard candy. White was to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus. Hardness was to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used the three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

If you can find the ones that also have green in them, they represent eternal life.

Bible: Psalm 23:1-5

Discuss: There are many Bible verses that talk about Jesus as the shepherd and ourselves as the sheep. Can you think of some? (Isaiah 53:6--All we like sheep have gone astray; Psalm 100:3--Know that the Lord is God: It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Matthew 18:12--If a man has a hundred sheep and loses one....John 10--I am the good shepherd, I lay down my life for the sheep....

Do: Hang candy canes on the tree.

Sing: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

18) X-MAS (X)

Some people believe it is wrong to write Christmas this way, it being a way to take Christ out of Christmas. But this is not correct. It is part of the Chi-Rho cross, which is the ancient Christian symbol formed by the Greek letters X (Chi) and P (Rho). These are the first 2 letters of Christ's name in Greek. This use originated in the early Christian Church. It was frequently used as a holy symbol.

Bible: Luke 2:8-12 The word �Christ� in the Greek is the same as �Messiah� in the Hebrew. Both mean �The Annointed One.�

Discuss: Why would people want to take Christ out of Christmas? How can our family be sure to keep Christ in all the celebrations?

Sing: Angels We Have Heard on High

19) STAR (star)

Even though the mention of the wise men who followed the star to find the baby king is a small one, only mentioned in the book of Matthew chapter 2, the Christmas star is very special to our celebration of Christmas.

The stars that appear in the sky today are the same ones that were there two thousand years ago. Was there a nova at the time of Jesus' birth? The exact time of His birth is not known, but astronomers cannot place a new star appearance anywhere near the possible time. Could it have been a shooting star? Again, the astronomers say it was not likely. A meteor lasts only a few seconds or minutes at best, and the wise men followed the star for weeks looking for Jesus. We can rule out comets as well. They can be seen by the naked eye for a week or months, but the recorded comets around this time were not very impressive, and astrologically, they were considered to be bringers of bad news.

An astronomical event for the �magi from the east� (most likely court astrologers) might not have been something easily observable by non-scientific people. For example, Herod did not notice it. The magi were men whose pagan specialty it was to read meanings and messages from the stars and their patterns.

Some star gazers suggest that if we move the birth of Jesus to the springtime of 6 B.C., we can attribute the star to the time that the planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were close together in the heavens. They formed a triangle in the group of stars known as Pisces. According to some Jewish rabbis, these wise men knew of the triangle and knew that it had appeared before the birth of Moses. Perhaps they interpreted it as a sign of a great event in the land of the Jewish people.

Craig Chester, President of the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy offers an interesting explanation too: in 3 B.C. and 2 B.C. there was a series of close conjunctions involving Jupiter and the star Regulus. Jupiter was the planet that represented kingship, coronations, and the birth of kings (in Hebrew it was also known as Sedeq or �righteousness�, a term also used for the Messiah). Regulus, the star of kingship, is the brightest star in the constellation of Leo. Leo was the constellation of kings, and it was associated with the Lion of Judah. The royal planet approached the royal star in the royal constellation representing
Israel. Just a month earlier, Jupiter and Venus (known as the Mother planet) had almost
seemed to touch each other in another close conjunction. This was also located in the constellation of Leo. Then the Jupiter/Regulus conjunction was repeated twice more, and finally Jupiter and Venus, the two brightest objects in the sky, appeared to touch above the setting sun.
These conjunctions, only the highlights of an impressive series of planetary motions and conjuntions fraught with meanings, could easily have been seen as the announcement of the impending birth of a great king of Israel.

Still, many people prefer to believe that a special and brand new star did appear, and that it was simply a miracle. In some places of the world today, Christmas officially starts with the appearance of the first star of Christmas Eve. The Festival of the Star is held in Poland. Right after the Christmas Eve meal, the village priest acts as the "Star Man" and tests the children's knowledge of religion. In Alaska, boys and girls carry a star-shaped figure from house to house and they sing carols in hopes of receiving treats. In Hungary a star-shaped pattern is
carved in a half of an apple and is suppose to bring good luck.

In general, the Christmas star symbolizes high hopes and high ideals, raising our eyes upward to the hope and promise of Jesus.

Bible: Genesis 3:15 and Titus 3:3-8

Discuss: What was promised long ago to Adam and Eve? (the coming of one who would crush Satan, who would redeem them) Was this promise ever fulfilled? For years and years and years people have looked and hoped for the Messiah, who would save His people. This is the whole meaning of the Christmas celebration: we rejoice because that hope has now been fulfilled!

Do: Make cookies shaped like stars.

Sing: Lo, How a Rose