Public Service Sector Christmas Décor

On the Second Day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

So, the next one is made.... Paper collage with some markers

 

 

 

 

Maria here. As y'all know, I work for a cantonal police corps, and every year, the caretakers of the command building, where our offices are, set up a beautiful festive decoration, with the Holy Family, in the main entry area on the ground floor. So everybody who works there, and everybody who comes in with questions, problems, and complaints, and whatever else the police have to deal with, sees it. Every year the setup is different. Last year the caretaker couple used an old apothecary's bureau, with lots of small drawers and hidden shelves.
This year thy used branches and driftwood.

The four Advent candles are always part of the composition. And they're lit properly, one more each Sunday.

The red decorations are made of felt - As are the figures that make up the Holy Family and the shepherds.

This décor will stay up until the 12 Days of Christmas are over. Then the caretakers put it away, and plan a new setup for next year.

The First Day of Christmas

On the first Day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
A partridge in a pear tree.

(Actually my True Love gave me an inspiring collection of art books.)

I made this last year with Michelle, with intents to make the rest later...

Christmas Day

We had no particular schedule today so no rush and no stress. We started with lighting the tree again, and our Christmas Day service, which includes German carols, and readings on the theme of Immanuel, God with us.

Sigmund needed to check on the construction site, so all the rest of us tended to other things. Then we gathered in the living room with the tree lit again and music - from the sound system that Florian installed for Mom while she was away yesterday; nice surprise! - and opened gifts. We had two guests, Thomas' friend from across the road (he lost his mother this year and we sort of adopt him), and Florian's friend from Serbia. Our elf distributes the gifts. Before she started, she read a Christmas short story she wrote this morning. (I hope she will share it with you.)

A most deluxe hand-made leather-bound Serbian Bible in a carved wood case from her brothers for her Bible collection

A lovely lamb's wool scarf for Mom, who wants to go see the store in Serbia from where it came.

A hand carved wood Creche made from a single round branch, hinged and painted. From a mission project group.

Then it was evening and time for supper: This year we did what most Swiss traditionally do, have Fondue Chinoise (meat fondue with a vegetable broth). This is eaten with pickled vegetables, a variety of sauces, and whatever else we pulled out and put on the table. Our Serbian guest brought some specialties, including a scrumptious pepper .....mmmm.....not really a sauce, and not really a cream, but something like a spread. Wonderful anyway.
I forgot to get other pictures of the meal...

This is a long leisurely dinner, with conversation, discussion of the meaning of Maria's story, and at the  end, after cookies and chocolate (yes, fast day tomorrow), we had Thom lead us in a quiz of fifty questions about Christmas, from a paper we get. Some were easy to answer - when is the Orthodox Christmas, Myra of St Nikolaus fame is in what country today, what is myrrh, what was Joseph's profession, etc, - but do you know which traditional name goes with the African Wise Man (Caspar Melchior or Balthasar?), how old is a two meter tall Christmas tree, what is Glögg, to what does "Christmette" refer,  what is the Russian Christmas man called, why are the Christmas Islands called that, and in what Canton is a community called Weinacht?  (Answer: Outer Appenzell)

Tomorrow most of us are going to Singrüeni, so Maria will write the post here, D.v.and I hope so will others.

Merry Christmas and Eleven more.

'Twas Glorious

Little Bird Festivities

Twas time: the family gathered for dinner. With Mom having been called away in the afternoon, Stefan and Maria made a beautiful and tasty "platter dinner."
Some persons had other preferences, like Bratwurst, again, which he got. But at least he was happy, so it is all right.

Puff pastry and salami baskets for the scrumptious fillings: onion-y avocado, or caramelized onion and bacon, or seasoned sour cream with accoutrements

Cocktail sandwiches with various meats or shrimp

Fruit punch with pomegranate seeds

Then we gathered in the living room for the lighting of the candles and piano music before the service.

Candles lit for the first time - Christmas Eve

Jesse Tree awaiting adornment. The angel and shepherd are ones we have used for many years - I made them for a service one year. The Nativity figures are a handcarved gift set from many years ago.

"Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" - The Christmas Eve Service

The result of all the Advent figure posts here is the service based on them, which our family used this evening, with the pictures and lots of singing.

We needed more room on our tree....

Here is the Link to the SERVICE: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5dw1wuq3pmvv4ye/Christmas%20Eve%202015.odt?dl=0 
It is a printable version.

I noticed that the opening song text and music are not included - say so if you want to see them, and I'll e-mail it. It is called "Blood Red, Hope Green." Maria wrote the words and Stefan composed the music, as a gift to their mother. Mama is happy.

After the service we traditionally open stocking gifts and enjoy cookies. This year Thomas made cookies with Oma. They were good! And we had a Christmas-y ice cream cake - just because.

In Mom's stocking - heartwarming

Also

So Mom doesn't run out of picture taking opportunities when she misplaces one of her cameras.

For Mom from her darling daughter. Nice and artsy, wouldn't you agree? I love them.

On to tomorrow -
Merry Christmas!

Jesus Our Immanuel, Christmas Eve

Jesus, The Reason for the Season, and the Tree

The Jesse Tree was made to show the parental lines to Jesus, our Incarnate Savior, God in the flesh among us. The tree points us to the top, the apex, the reason for all that went before. Tonight we will celebrate this wondrous event God orchestrated for us. Can't you hear: "Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God... and He shall reign for ever and ever... HALLELUJAH!"

Verses for today:
The Bible

Advent Calendars

The last window in the Advent calendar had the reason for the season:

O Come, all ye faithful, let us adore Him.

The Storybook showed trust in God's providence.

A little orphan girl was cast out into the world with a only a piece of bread from a kind soul and the clothes on her back, but she stepped out, "trusting in the dear God." She gave away everything she had, including all her clothes, to others worse off than herself. Then she was showered from heaven in gold and lived happily ever after after.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BLESSED CHRISTMAS EVE

Maria sent these pictures of her chalet decor in the mountains

I hope you all will take pictures in your busy-ness and share your celebrations, even if it takes you awhile to get to it.

Merry Christmas!

Ready or not, here it comes!

Christmas, I mean. 

(Pam here)

This month flew by! How did that happen? I wasn't even as busy as I've been in the past. I was more relaxed, less stressed, and then time disappeared. Now! It's time to go crazy around here. I've got twenty four hours to be ready for a houseful of people and gifts and food and off to church (twice) if the predicted snow doesn't keep everyone home.

My favorite little Christmas vignette- a craftsman made lamp that I inherited when my father passed away (I remember him getting it when I was a little girl. It used to have a tiny red light bulb in the fire place that we could turn on. Can't find one to fit now.) The tiny vase on the mantle came from Italy last year.

We have a good sized Christmas village that my boys arrange every year. The bride and groom are very appropriate as this season I am mixing my holiday preparations with wedding preparations for our daughter's nuptials next month.

Sarah has talked about the special food gifts they receive from business clients. We get a few also. For many years we have received a hand smoked turkey from a local farmer neighbor. He raises pigs and cattle and owned the slaughterhouse until this year when he retired. He is also our 4-H leader and the man we call on when we have an issue with a farm animal. He is having some health issues now but still manages to deliver his smoked turkeys on Christmas Eve (a day early this year). My boys helped him butcher the turkeys a couple weeks ago. I made sure he left today with a box of cookies to take home.

This was a sweet surprise- a Christmas greeting from one of the bridal couples I had this year. The groom was from South Africa.

Here's our Christmas tree. Our boys got a $5 permit from the forest service and hiked through the woods to get it. Appropriately, it was the day of our first snowfall. It had to be pruned quite a bit to fit into our small living room.

These special ornaments represent the dogs we have had in the family over the years.

A special family tradition are these personalized ornaments from Bronners in Frankenmuth, MI. When our first baby was born, her paternal grandparents gifted her with the first one and continued the gifts with every child we had. Now we give them for our grandchildren. I sent one this year for Levi David, born last March.

We still hang this complete set of wooden nativity figure ornaments that I painted (double-sided) when I was about ten years old. The set was a Christmas gift from an aunt.

There are many hand made ornaments including this stitched one that was a gift from another aunt about thirty years ago. 

Among the old ornaments is this one, sent to us from Sarah! when Seth was born in 1989!

More of the food gifts among business people....I am a producer. Last weekend I was very busy with the cookie box project. My husband's business gives these cookie boxes every year to its biggest clients.

Chocolate dipped pecan shortbreads, coconut chocolate pinwheels, pecan tassies, turtle brownies and fruit and nut chewies (with dates, cranberries, coconut and walnuts). Lots of nuts this time!

The business colors are red, black and white.

I'm doing more baking today, this time for us: a pound cake that will be made into trifle tomorrow, a double chocolate cheesecake (with chopped Swiss chocolate mixed in) for those who don't want to eat trifle (yes, they exist), a sweet, fruited Christmas wreath is in process as a gift for my husband's business partner, and more bread and sweet roll dough. I have a few last gifts to wrap also. Tomorrow, more cooking and baking and cleaning before heading out for church and the children's Christmas Eve program.

Merry Christmas to all! Blessings on your celebrations.

Mary and Merry

Mary

The final figure for the Jesse Tree's family of Jesus is Mary, His mother. Like so many people of Jesus' family, Mary is a remarkable person, and exemplary.While she did fuss a bit over her Child not staying close in a crowd, and taking His time with helping at a wedding, and having to get through masses of people to see Him, none of this was sin per se; she was just doing what mothers do. More importantly, she was humble and accepting of God's will. She did not dispute or question in unbelief when extraordinary things were brought to her. She did not ask for special treatment when she knew she had been given special favor. She rode the donkey and made the journey and gave birth in the less-than-ideal place where she found herself. She accepted her Son as her Savior and carried the mother's pain of his life and death. She did not honor herself, but we honor her for her example to us, as the "handmaid of the LORD."

Verses for today:
Isaiah 7: 4
Matthew 1: 18 - 23
Luke 1: 26 -39, 46 - 56; 2: 5 - 7; 19, 33 - 35, 48, 51
John 2: 1 - 5

Advent Calendars

Behind one window was this picture of the Wise Men already on their journey to seek the King. No hesitation for them - first things first.

 

The storybook for today was this:

Hans had finished his apprenticeship and collected his pay to go home. Pay was a chunk of gold, which was heavy, so he traded it for a horse, then each for something worth less, until he only had a large rock, which fell in a well, so he considered himself well- rid of it, and went happily home empty- handed. If one doesn't know he is a fool and is content with what he gets, then he can be happy. I think this shouldn't mean that if one does not consider himself a fool that he can be discontent.

 

 

 

Merry

The Advent preparation time is finished today, the Day is at hand, and Festivities begin tomorrow. The travelers are returned. The service is written. The feasts await.

At the front door.

Front door garland

Christmas tree in the morning sun

A lovely hand-made card for us, arrived today. Thank you, Michelle and Tony!

What we all need - and can have -

Stocking Garland in the kitchen

Dining room wreath, from over two decades ago - it has traveled far.

A business gift - the two-legged mice have been nibbling on the goodies

Another business gift, made with a liqueur creme and caramel and a meringue-y layer and pastry and almonds and deliciousness

Greetings to all and thanks for sharing the road to this day.