FFW Christmas 2006 Newsletter

Flair For Writing Christmas 2006
Editor: Megan Rose Princess Megan Rose 10 Years
{Assistant Editor: Angel Angel

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Happy Holidays, Everyone. How are you? We are getting snow in Indiana and Angel is getting snow, too in Illinois. I have my Christmas shopping done and the tree is up and decorated. Are you ready for Christmas? This newsletter is about Christmas and we will be writing about Bethelem, Christmas Cards, a Cherry Tree{Not the one George cut down!} and how to advice Holly has some great writing prompts for Christmas and we will be sharing these, too. I just met Holly Holly Abidi and she is very nice and has some great writing ideas for Christmas. Grab a glass of eggnog and we will get started here. All the info in this section is from: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTMAS BY TANYA GULEVICH. A Great book to read and find helpful info about Christmas.

Bethelem

Gospel and Christmas writings state that Jesus was born in Bethelem which is in Isarel and is five miles south of Jerusalem. The town's name means "house of bread."

King David was born in Bethelem. Jesus was a descendant of David according to gospel accounts. Jesus was born in a cave that local people used to shelter animals. This cave lies underneath the church that was built years later over Jesus' birth place. The Nativity is recogonized by all as Jesus' birthplace. The first four books of the new Testament in the Bible tells the story of Jesus' birth.

On December 25, Roman Catholic priests celebrate Midnight Mass in St. Catherine's Roman Catholic Church which lies inside the ground of the Church of the Nativity.

Jesus was born in a manager and was surrounded by animals who probably loved the baby on site. The wise men and three Kings came to visit. I always wondered where the kings were from. It would have been nice to witness this special night.
As we write this, remember Jesus is the reason for the season.

Cherry Tree

This is the first account of a miracle performed by Jesus. After Jesus' birth, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were traveling in the desert and they rested underneath a palm tree. Mary wanted some dates from a near by tree that Joseph couldn't reach. He scolded Mary for this because Joseph was more worried about getting water. Baby Jesus spoke to the tree and ordered the tree to bend down and the tree did so Mary and Joseph could get the dates from the tree. Jesus commanded the underground spring to give water for them and the ground did.

This tale in time when retold over and over became a cherry tree instaed of a tree filled with dates. There is also a Christmas Carol called: "The Cherry Tree Carol". I have never heard it but it one could probably find this on the internet.

Christmas Cards

The first Christmas card was designed by Englishman J.C. Horsley in 1843. The card has three pictures on it. The one picture is of a family drinking wine. One woman on the card gives a drink to a small child and this really caused a stir. Another picture on the card shows a well dressed woman draping a cloak around a poor woman and her child. The other picture shows food was being given to the poor.

The Victorian Christmas cards were embellished with:paper lace, real lace, dried grass, flowers, silk, velvet, tinsel, crewel work and small sachets of scented powders. Other cards included: holly, mistletoe, ivy, robins, wrens, winter landscapes and Christmas feasts and parties.

Christmas cards are something we look forward to every year. It is always nice to know that someone thinks of us no matter how bad life has been the past year, Christmas cards seem to brighten our days and Christmas. Send a Christmas Card, send a gift of love. Christmas cards have all kind of neat designs, from Jesus' birth, Santa Claus, snow, animals, houses, trees and all kind of beautiful symbols that represent Christmas, winter and the good things in life.



The Christmas Tree is the center of holiday celebrations. It is where you display ornaments that you love and maybe some remind you of friends and relatives that you love. The Christmas Tree is where the presents are all wrapped and kept. On Christmas Day, the biggest treat of all is unwrapping gifts.

On the tree, you can hang dated ornaments of a baby's birth, wedding date or other special event. Well loved Teddy Bears under the tree bring back special memories of holidays. Maybe a hand made a quilt is under the tree to remind you of a special event that can be used a tree skirt. A house doesn't seem like Christmas without a tree. We hope you will have a Christmas Tree in your house.

Scrapbooking Christmas

I am a Creative Scrapbook Designer. This is what the instructor told me after I completed 10 hours of scrapbooking classes. I love to scrapbook.

Take a lot of pictures of Christmas events as well as taking pictures of Chrisrtmas Day. Think beyond photographs. Get the entire family involved by letting everyone create his or her own personal pictures.

Choose an album that can be added to year after year. I have one that holds three Christmases in it. Buy one with pockets that can hold special cards or invitations.

Make a wreath of gift tags that come off the Christmas packages.

Use ribbons from gifts as embellishments in decorating. To those of you who scrapbook, buy embellishments of candy canes brads, blue, gold and silver snowflake brads, red and green colored brads, stickers of Santa Claus, snowmen, peguins, polar bears and you can even buy paper for scrapbooking with snowflakes and everything to do with Christmas and winter. Punches are nice, too. You can buy punches of Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas Trees, snowflakes, gingerbreadmen, Christmas houses and everything to do with Christmas. If you don't do detailed scrapbooking, you can cut out pictures of Christmas items from magazines and catalogues to use in your scrapbooking. Remember, a Christmas Scrapbook captures fond memories of Christmas and you may want to get the Christmas scrapbooks out every year to show your family and friends as you make new Christmas memories. A scrapbook is the best way to remember Christmas and keep the memories.

The Christmas Tree and scrapbooking ideas were taken from HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS BY: HALLMARK. I also threw in my own ideas.

Here are Holly's Christmas Prompts:

ID: 1048698   (Rated: E) Ten Christmas Freewriting Ideas  Fun Christmas spirit for writers. by Holly Abidi

ID: 1048706   (Rated: E) Ten Christmas Writing Prompts  Some Christmas inspiration, prompts to get you writing. by Holly Abidi

ID: 1048699   (Rated: E) Ten Fun Christmas Writing Exercises  Christmas writing exercises for some fun and inspiration. by Holly Abidi

Thanks, Holly. These are inspiring!

I have a Christmas Folder I hope that you like to take the time to read. I love Christmas! Thanks!

ID: 1179981   (Rated: E) Christmas Treasures  Everything here is about Christmas. Enjoy! by Princess Megan Rose 10 Years

Angel and I hope that you have enjoyed this Christmas Newsletter. We don't know if there will be a second newsletter or not but if we do, we will send it out. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! You can always e-mail us. Hugs: Megan and Angel

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