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The Christmas Page

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It was the week before Christmas. Parking spaces were hard to come by. There were long lines, crowded stores, rude people, and grossly inflated prices. In one long checkout line, one man was heard to say, "They should kill the guy who started Christmas." One wise and godly woman in the line said, "They did! They hung Him on a cross." Therein lies the REAL Christmas story.

Christmas Cookies & Candies
Christmas Craft Projects
Christmas Decorations
Christmas Dinner
Christmas Quilts
Christmas Trees
History of Christmas
Left-Overs
Music
My Favorite Christmas Stories
Photo Gallery of Christmas's Past
Shopping
What Christmas Means to Me

What Christmas Means to Me

What does Christmas mean to me? I believe the first reaction I have is family. It means getting together with as many family members as possible for a good meal, presents and mostly just a good time! Family is the key. The meal and the presents, while pleasant, are not the most important thing. Just spending time with those we love. That's what is important.

Christmas to me means remembering Christ's birth and why he came to save us. This should be the most important thing that we think of during the holidays. But, we should be thinking about this ALL year long, not just at Christmas. So this is why it wasn't my first thought about Christmas.

Christmas is decorations inside and outside the house. It's the Christmas tree, whether it's bought from a lot in town, or chopped down after a snowy cold excursion into the woods! Christmas is turkey dinners and cookies and candies and all the joy of children on Christmas morning. It's the memories of Christmas's past and of Christmas's yet to come.

So what do I think of? I think of Mom's homemade root beer, chocolate chip & butterscotch cookies, rolling molasses crinkle cookie dough in sugar to bake, homemade pumpkin pies and apple pies. Cool crisp air, even snowy, the smell of the turkey dinner, of cookies and pies baking, of a fresh cut Christmas tree in the house, of wrapping paper and shopping excursions to the mall, of cranberry sauce and TV specials, and Christmas movies that we've watched every year together, of all of the family being together, of those who are no longer with us. It's photos of laughter and photos of others taking photos! Did I wear that same shirt again??? I cherish the Christmas's that are past. I love being a part of the current Christmas. I look forward to Christmas's of the future. That's what Christmas means to me.

My Favorite Christmas Stories

The First Ones:

Luke 2:1-20

¹And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. ⁴Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. ⁶So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

¹⁵So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Matthew 2:1-12

¹Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ²saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ⁶‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

⁹When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹²Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Second One:

The Tablecloth (True Story)

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church,it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc. and on Dec 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it.The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet.

"Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"

The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

Photo Gallery of Christmas's Past

1950's
1960's
1970's
1980's
1990's
2000's

Christmas Craft Projects

COMING SOON !!!

Christmas Decorations

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Christmas Quilts

COMING SOON !!!

Christmas Cookies & Candies

Kay's Cookie Page

Christmas Dinner

Over the years our Christmas Dinner has evolved. Originally, when first married, we brought back leftovers from my parents and in-laws dinner to warm up. When our children came along, I decided it would be nice to start having our own Christmas Dinner. I began easy and it has changed over the years. I will add some photos at a later date. Below is the menu I have used now for about 20 years.

Turkey, roasted
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Succatash (limas & corn)
Macaroni
Cranberry Sauce
Rolls
Gravy
Pumpkin Pie

I started with the Turkey's that have the little "pop-up" thingy, telling you when the turkey is done. Now I just follow the directions for the size of the turkey, and stick a meat thermometer in at the end of the time period to make sure the turkey is cooked all the way through. I made the classic mistakes the first few years, such as not realizing there were things stuffed inside the turkey. Leaving these sacks of "inards" inside while you roast the turkey will give it a slightly odd taste, but still edible. Not recommended.

For the stuffing, I (obviously) don't stuff the bird. I make the stuffing on the side. Depending on time, I either use the Stoeffer's Stovetop Turkey or Cornbread Stuffing, or I make my own. Homemade is very easy, take some leftover bread pieces, usually takes about a loaf to fill a casserole dish, pulling the bread slices into pieces and into a large mixing bowl. (Do enough that will slightly overflow the casserole dish, as it shrinks during baking.) On the stove (I use my electric skillet), I put a little bit of margarine or butter, some chopped up celery and onions, salt & pepper to taste, just simmered until soft. I dump this onto the bread pieces and hand mix together. Pack the bread/celery/onion/seasoning mixture into the casserole dish. Add some turkey juice from the roaster, enough to just wet the bread slightly. Add some milk to make slightly wetter. Bake at 325° until moisture has mostly soaked up and stuffing is slightly, lightly browning on top.

Mashed potatoes. Again, time dependent, I use the instant potatoes or cook my own and mash them with an electric hand mixer. Homemade are always the best, but time doesn't always allow this, so instant work well. (Homemade, just add the potatoes to a bowl, add some margarine and a little milk, blend with the mixer until the lumps are gone). I use the Carnation Evaporated (fat free) milk for the instant ones. Regular 2% milk for the homemade.

Sweet potatoes, again, homemade are the best. Scrub them, cut the ends off and boil them. Once cooled enough to handle, they are very easy to peel. Then I slice them and fry the slices until just slightly browned. Lay the slices in a glass dish, I dribble on maple syrup and sprinkle with brown sugar. Put them in the oven at about 325° for about 10 minutes then turn them over for another 10-15 minutes. You can also use the canned Yams or Sweet Potatoes. Basically, doing the same thing, skipping the first step of boiling and peeling.

Succatash is self-explanatory. I use frozen vegetables, starting with the limas, bringing them to a boil for about 10 minutes. I add a little margarine, salt & milk then after it comes back to a boil, I add corn and boil again for another 10-15 minutes.

For the macaroni, you could use a pre-packaged, but I prefer boiling noodles, draining and putting half of them in a casserole dish. I then layer Velveeta Cheese, then add the rest of the noodles and another layer of Velveeta. Add just a tiny amount of milk and nuke for 1- 2 minutes at a time, stirring each time. This will boil over in your microwave so be careful and watch your times closely. Continue until all the milk has been absorbed and the cheese is totally melted.

For years I tried to make the homemade turkey gravy. Gravy is just not my thing. So I just buy the canned turkey gravy and heat it on the stove. Works just great and tastes better than I can make. If you want to do the homemade, just take some of the juice from the roaster, add some water, heat on the stove until boiling. In a separate bowl, about a cup of water and same of flour to get a thick liquid mix, pour into the juices on the stove, stirring constantly. Add about a teaspoon of Gravey Quik, salt & pepper to taste. If there are lumps, use a strainer. Like I said, canned is easier.

Cranberry sauce, for the turkey dinner, I prefer the jellied type, sold in cans at your local grocery store. Some people use the canned whole cranberries, which is also good.

Rolls I usually buy the premade ones that you just stick in the oven for a few minutes, instructions are on the packages. I have made the homemade, years ago. They always taste the best, but there are various options you can try also. In the freezer part of your grocery store, you can buy the kind that is bread dough, already mixed, you thaw it and let it rise, then bake. These are usually very good too. Some years, I just made biscuits with Bisquick, or the biscuits in the pressurized cans in the refrigerated part of your grocery store. Whatever works the best.

I almost always make pumpkin pies for our Christmas Dinner. Years ago, when we had our own orchard, I also made apple pies. They were the best. Apples that we grew, I canned (see my canning page) and then used for pies. I also grew my own pumpkins and processed the pumpkin, freezing it and using it for homemade pumpkin pies. Now I use the canned pumpkin for my pies which is also very good. Recipe is on the can. There are a couple kinds of canned pumpkin that you can buy. One is a can of the plain pumpkin, which when mixed with some other ingredients from your kitchen will make two pies. The other one is a can of pumpkin that already has the seasonings mixed in, so all you have to do is add eggs and evaporated milk. This type, one can means one pie. Both types are good. I top the pie with Cool Whip.

Now as far as timing goes, I bake my pies either the day before or in the morning before I start the turkey. Likewise, you can have the homemade stuffing covered in the frig but don't add the liguids until you are ready to bake it. Macaroni noodles can be boiled ahead of time and layered with the velveeta, just add the milk when you are ready to nuke it. Sweet potatoes can also be done ahead of time, add your syrup and brown sugar just before baking.

I usually take the turkey out of the oven to cool for abit. This is the time, while the oven is still very hot, to put in your pans of sweet potatoes and stuffing to bake. Last thing to bake is the rolls. You have a panicky last 10 minutes when you're doing the rolls, gravy, mashed potatoes and nuking and stirring the macaroni, so that everything gets on the table hot. One other hint, set your table early, completely, setting out the serving dishes that will be used for all the food courses also.

Left-Overs

What can you do with all the left-overs from your turkey dinner? I usually save several plate fulls of a full turkey meal. They keep in the frig for a couple days, in the freezer for a couple weeks.

Turkey Pot Pie

Another thing that I do is turkey pot pie. Take a couple of the premade pie crusts, lay one in a large casserole dish. On the stove, peel and cut up into small pieces a couple of potatoes. Boil for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes can be pierced with a fork. Add some turkey, cut in very small pieces. Add about a cup or so of frozen peas. You can also add a half cup of cut up carrots. (if you add carrots, you should add them at the early stage with the potatoes, so that they have time to cook, if they are raw carrots. If they are frozen or pre-cooked, just add them with the peas.) Bring to a boil for about 10-15 minutes. Mix about a half cup of water with a half cup of flour, for thickening. Pour this into the pan with the potatoes, turkey, peas & carrots, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken quickly. Turn off the stove and add about a teaspoon of Gravey Quik, salt & pepper to taste. Stir thorougly, then dump the mixture onto the pie crust in the casserole dish. Layer the 2nd piece of pie crust on top, seal the edges by pressing the two crusts together, just like you would on a regular pie. With a knife, cut some small "v's" in the upper crust for ventilation. Bake at 350° for about 15-20 minutes, until the crust is a very light golden brown.

Turkey Gravy

Another thing I make is a breakfast turkey gravy. I cut up small pieces of turkey into an electric skillet, add water until the skillet is about half full. Salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a light boil. Again, using a one to one ratio of water and flour mixed for thickening, pour into skillet, stirring constantly. A half teaspoon of gravy quik will add a little flavoring. You can put this over regular bread, toast, biscuits etc.

Turkey Salad

The other favorite with my family is just good old fashioned turkey salad. I cut up the leftover turkey into a large bowl. I add diced celery. Add mayonaise, a little mustard, and a little sugar. If you are sugar intolerant, diabetic or just don't want the calories, you can add artificial sweetener or sweet relish, or just omit it altogether. Serve on lettuce or bread or both.

Well, there it is, the secret of my Christmas Dinners. This is a downhome country style family turkey dinner. If you want fancy and proper, see Martha Stewart. She has the most fancy ideas, beautiful decorations and all the proper utensils and food courses, recipes etc. I highly recommend her! But I'm just a country girl and this is our BIG deal!! I also use this same menu for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Mistakes

Well, I told you about leaving the neck and innards inside the bird when you roast it. I've done that. Another mistake that I have made more than once is with the turkey pot pie. I forget to add the turkey. Still tastes good, but better with the turkey! Another one that I have done is dumped cinnamon into my pot pie instead of pepper. Nothing you can do about this one. Dump the pan and start over. Too much pepper? Yep, that's happened to me several times. Add margarine to the pan of pot pie mix, it will dilute the pepper taste. Too much salt? Another one I've done. Try sugar or margarine, just a little bit will lessen the salty taste.

I once tried making a pumpkin pie in my microwave. Took longer than the oven and got kinda rubbery, if you know what I mean. Toss it and start over. My best advice is have extra stuff or substitutes on hand for those inevidible mistakes that will happen. You could even run a "mock" dinner a week or two ahead of time, if time and money allows. Me, no, I just charge forward and deal with the mistakes. Haven't sent my bunch to the hospital yet with food poisoning..... During the holiday season one year, we decided to roast some chestnuts. ALWAYS make sure you cut the ends off the nuts before putting them in the oven. It sounded like shots going off in the oven as they exploded. And mess? One of the worst I've ever had to clean up. However, it was pretty exciting there for a few minutes.

Music

I'm always partial to country and bluegrass music. Southern Country Gospel is probably at the top of my favorites list. For Christmas music, I love the traditional Christmas Carols and songs of the season. I also love many of the country renditions of the songs. But by far, one of my very favorite Christmas music is "Mannheim Steamroller". I have all of their Christmas albums. They have a slightly different beat on many of the traditional songs, all totally instrumental and many done in the time period type of instruments. Excellent!

Albums I would recommend:

Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas
Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas Live
Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas Extradinaire
Alan Jackson - Honky Tonk Christmas
Emmylou Harris - Light of the Stable
Charlotte Church - Dream a Dream
Isaacs - Christmas Spirit
Kenny Rogers - The Gift
Oak Ridge Boys - Christmas with the Oak Ridge Boys
Statler Brothers - Christmas Wishes
Linda Ronstadt - Merry Little Christmas
Joe Diffie - Mr. Christmas
Patty Loveless - Bluegrass & White Snow

There are many more, of course, both traditional and other genre. Someday I hope to collect more of them!!!

Christmas Trees

The year 1841 was a significant year in the Christmas celebration in England. Prince Albert, the German husband of British Queen Victoria, brought the first Christmas tree in England to the royal castle of Windsor. And just a year later, America too was to discover the Christmas tree. In 1842, Dr. Charles Frederick Minnegerode, professor of Greek at the College of William and Mary, brought the first Christmas tree to Williamsburg, Virginia, America.

The green tree has significant importance almost all over the world. In Britain, for the pagans, the Yule log fire and the greenery used to decorate the homes were believed to bring back its warmth at the time of the solstice. Moreover, in Europe, Romans used green twigs for good luck talismans.

Below are the thumbnails of the Christmas Trees we have had over the years.

COMING SOON !!!

Shopping

COMING SOON !!!

History of Christmas

Places like Rome, Europe, Scandinavia and many others have celebrated the peak winter days with a grand feast and a lot of gaiety even before the birth of Christ. It was regarded as the perfect time for the celebrations as the period had a good supply of meat and wine, musts for the feast. The winter celebrations revolved around the hope of the coming spring, after the long harsh winters.

While Christianity was still in its infancy, Easter used to be the main holiday for the Christian community in most parts of the world. It was only in the fourth century, that the churches decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus and observe the same as a holiday. Surprisingly enough, the bible has no mention of the actual birth date of Jesus Christ. According to some evidences in the bible, Jesus is supposed to have been born in spring, though this fact remains dogged with controversies.

According to the historical records available, Christmas was first celebrated on January 6 according to the old Julian calendar. The day was also observed as an official Roman holiday starting from A.D. 534. The practice was continued until when due to some disputes or other reasons, the celebration of the day was switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1743. This resulted in a change of date for Christmas celebrations, which fell on December 25. It is said that Pope Julius I chose December 25 to be the date to celebrate Christmas. According to the popular belief, the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival or the Feast of the Nativity.

The celebration of the day gradually spread all across the world, where the followers of the Christian community lived. This custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia.

In the early seventeenth century, a wave of religious reform threatened to change the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. In 1645 Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England and vowed to rid England of decadence. They cancelled the celebrations of Christmas as a step to achieve their goal. But, Charles II was restored to the throne and this resulted in the return of the popular holiday.

Christmas had a late arrival in America, and was even faced with some hostilities. In the years 1659 to 1681 the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. The Christmas spirit was fined. As an immediate result of the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favour and celebrating Christmas was among them. Though some places like the Jamestown settlement did celebrate Christmas with all the related gaiety, they remained an exception.

But with the beginning of the nineteenth century, the need for a festival to have some commemorative time, made the Americans embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday. Christmas was declared as a national holiday for celebration on June 26, 1870. And that was not all; Americans even re-invented the Christmas celebration and transformed it from a mere carnival into a family-oriented day of feast, fun and frolic.

Within hundred years, the Americans built a tradition in the Christmas celebration that was all of their own including, decorating trees, sending Christmas or holiday cards and presenting gifts. The festival also fulfilled the cultural needs of a growing nation. With the passage of time, Christmas celebration became a part of life for the Christians all over the world.

There is some or the other history to everything related to the celebrations. Santa Claus, an important part of the celebrations, has an interesting story behind him. The custom of Santa Claus signifies the life of Saint Nicholas, who was renowned for his munificence to the poor. He was a Roman Catholic bishop, who lived during the 4th-century in Asia Minor.

As the story goes, Saint Nicholas once helped a man's daughter with her dowry by anonymously dropping a bag of gold down the chimney. After helping the man's second and third daughters in similar manner, he was caught in the act. In recognition of his generosity, the practice of dropping gifts down the chimney was established. With the passing of time, St. Nicholas became Santa Claus. An important figure for the Christians, who is expected to bring gifts to all and even drop it through the Chimney.

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