Christmas Newsletter 2004 Issue 1

Flair For Writing Christmas 2004 Issue One
Editor: Megan Rose Princess Megan Rose 10 Years
Assistant Editor: Angel Angel
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Hi Everyone! Merry Christmas! Angel and Megan here. How are you? Do you have your tree up? How about decorations for Christmas? I will get my tree up this weekend. I have my decorations up. Angel is working on her Christmas decorations. This is her first Christmas in her new house in Illinois. She is so happy about that.

This is the second year of me {along with Angel's help the past 18 months} doing a newsletter. Thanks to all of you who have our newsletter come to your mail box once a month. You are the best and have been so supportive. A million hugs to all of you and to others who read the newsletters and review them. Angel and I hope we will always do good on the newsletters. Thanks to everyone who contributes items. Blessings to all of you.

We have a lot of info about Christmas for the Christmas newsletter. I have the Christmas Encyclopedia By Tanya Gulevich that I use to write about Christmas. It is informative and has so many wonderful Christmas items. You thought Angel and I made it up! Just kidding. I love writing about Christmas. Okay. Let's get started.

Advent Calendar
Advent calendars help children and adults count the days between the beginning of Advent and Christmas. The one page calendars help curb the impatience of children who long for the arrival of Christmas. Some writers believe it was invented in Germany at the turn of the twentieth century.

Advent calendars offer a playful method for checking off the days. A Christmas scene with the number one through twenty-five incorporated into the design decorates the surface of the calendar. Perforations around the numbers allow children and adults to fold back or remove a number each day, revealing the tiny images printed on the bottom below. These images depict a Christmas or Advent theme.

Some calendars attach chocolates or other sweets behind the folded dates on the calendars. Once, I got miniature Christmas ornaments behind the paper doors.Advent calendars are sold world wide and are now available on the web sites.

Advent candles and wreaths are also adopted customs of the season. In Christian terms, the flame of the Advent candle represents the coming of Jesus. {John8:12}Placing a lighted candle on the windowsill is a simple advent custom. In Europe, the flickering candle of the advent season offers a light of hospitality. Lighting advent candles are a tradition at Church services at Christmas time. Advent wreaths have four candles and one is lit for each Sunday of the Christmas month {December, of course.}On the last Sunday, all four candles burn in unison. The candles may also be lit with or without a wreath.

Christmas Lads
In Iceland, thirteen leprachaun-like creatures known as the Jolasveinar or Christmas lads visit homes during the Christmas season. Legend has it, they are the sons of a giant female troll named Gryla. A different lad comes to the house everyday starting on the thirteenth day before Christmas. One boy leaves on Christmas day and one leaves everyday until all the lads are gone.

They are bad little boys. They steal sausages, candles and grain which is used for most of the foods cooked in the households. One may leave a room neat and then dirty it up. After Christmas, they tried to steal the naughty children who live in the house. Legends have changed in Iceland over the years. The lads now look like Santa Claus instead of trolls and leprachauns. They bring gifts, songs and stories to the household children. They are also believed to be elves like the ones in Scandinavia.

The Christmas Rose
This five pedal rose blooms around Christmas time and is known as the Christmas Rose, Winter Rose and Snow Rose. In England, the Christmas Rose was cultivated for sale during the Christmas season. In Germany, the rose is honored as a Christmas symbol even though the practice has faded in England.

The Legend of Madelon
This folktale explains the origin of the Christmas rose and its association with the Christmas season. On a winter's night long ago, a poor Shepherd girl named Madelon, saw a strange procession approaching ther field where she watched over her sheep. It was the Magi on their way to to Bethlehem.{Does this make you think of the famous song: DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? A beautuful song!} Madelon was in awe at the rich gifts the Wise Men bought with them for the blessed Christ child and started to cry. She couldn't even bring the child a flower. An angel heard her crying and appeared to her and asked her why she was crying.When Madelon told her why, the angel told her to follow the path to
Bethlehem. Beautiful white roses could be found all over a field! Madelon gathered an armful of the beautiful white roses and followed the Magi. When she got to the stable, Mary bade her to enter and offer her gift. As the fingers of Baby Jesus touched the petals, they took on the pink glow we see today in the Christmas Rose. I love this story!

Another story tells of the Wise Men arriving at a woman's home inviting her to go with them on a journey. She told them she was busy cleaning house and didn't have time for their foolishness. The Wise Men left and the woman regretted her decision not to go when she found out she could have seen the newborn King, Baby Jesus. She was too busy. A pity. Angel and I would have hated to miss out on that event.

Angel and I hope you have enjoyed these stories of Christmas long ago. Here is a contribution from a good author and dear friend of mine. Glen, a former member, He has this to add.
The Christmas Tree originated in Germany during the 16th century. It was common for the Germanic People to decorate fir trees, both inside and out, with roses, apples, and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, was the first to to light a Christmas Tree with candles. While coming home, one dark winter's evening near Christmas, he was struck with the beauty of the starlight shining through the branches of a small fir tree outside his home. He duplicated the starlight by using candles attached to his indoor Christmas Tree. The Christmas Tree was not used widely in Britain until the early 19th century. It was bought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820's.

Thanks, Doc! A beautiful contribution!

Angel has written a cute, adorable story. A heart warming item about Santa!

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Some Christmas items by me. My writer's block left!

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ID: 914130   (Rated: E) Honoring Christmas  A poem honoring Christmas. by Princess Megan Rose 10 Years

ID: 913918   (Rated: E) Cassie and Kitty's Christmas  Cassie, a crippled girl and a homeless kitten hope for a Christmas Miracle. by Princess Megan Rose 10 Years

Our next newsletter will be in two weeks. It will be about Christmas again. I just love this time of year! Angel does, too. If you have any contributions, comments or any stories about Christmas and would like to share, e-mail us. We would love to hear from you. Until next time, Love: Megan and Angel

All beautiful sig done by Angel!
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