Archives: Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? #16Worshipful Rituals |
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Christmas Hai Ku
a three line poem of 5, 7, 5 syllables
Virginia Wright (89 years old), Groveland, MA
Give some of yourself,
A favor or spend some time
Visit or errandA chore or phone call
A note with cartoons inside
Thank those who serve youJoke gifts and verses
ome-baked or handcrafted ones
No thought of the costRecycled paper
Ribbons beautify, enhance
They show that you careBring light to darkness
Hope through music and stories
Spread love and respect
Are You Ready for Christmas?
by Mary Koch
A carol for Advent sung to the tune "Allein Gott in der Höh'" (All Glory Be to God on High) or another tune with 87.87.887 meter, such as "Mit Freuden zart" (Sing Praise to God, Who Reigns Above), "Aus tiefer Not" (Out of the Depths), "Nun freut euch" (Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice).
Ready or not! The time is near.
The Christmas deadline's almost here.
We shop, we charge, right to the max.
No task will fall between the cracks.
We gasp, we worry, and we fret,
But with all that will we forget?
Get ready* for Christmas in our hearts.
We can't escape the Christmas maze.
The frenzy heightens with passing days.
Sweet Christmas carols fill each mall.
Transfixed, we try to buy it all.
With expectations much too great,
Will we persist 'til it's too late?
Get ready* for Christmas in our hearts.
Dear Jesus, as we strive to make
The perfect Christmas, we forsake
The very message that you taught,
The peace and simple love you brought.
So let us pause each busy day.
Release our stress, we humbly pray.
Get ready* for Christmas in our hearts.
When we can live in unity,
When we can love with purity,
When we can give and not receive,
When we can speak and not deceive,
When we can care without the fuss,
When we see Christ in all of us,
We're ready* for Christmas in our hearts.
* "Ready" is sung as one syllable.
© 2001 Mary Koch
Rituals of Light
Meg Cox
The holidays at this time of year have light as their central theme. Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Advent all feature the daily lighting of candles. Winter solstice on December 21st is connected most directly of all to the pure celebration of light.
Focusing on light, instead of presents and trees and cards and parties, what do we mean that the face of a child (or even a grownup) "lights up"? That is a look that can never be faked. That face is not what you see when someone responds to a gift with a mechanical "thank-you." No, a face that lights up expresses pure, potent, spontaneous joy, the sort of joy this season is really about.
But I feel like there should be even more "light" in our holiday season. Where is the light that comes from within and not outside? If "Jesus is the light of the world," if light is the symbol of good and peace and justice and all the things that matter most, then could we maybe celebrate this time of year by finding a way to share our own light with the world? If what is best about each of us could be thought of us our personal light, maybe we should take a minute and think about what our gifts are, and how and where we can shine them.
I've started considering what to teach the kids in my Sunday school class in mid-December. We were going to follow the curriculum sitting in our classroom in the church basement studying the "meaning" of Christmas. But I asked myself: what would it mean to let these children shine their light? What if the lesson weren't in books, but out in the world? What if we three teachers arranged to take our small class of second-, third- and fourth-graders to visit a nursing home or rehab hospital, to pass out candy canes and let the children read their favorite Christmas stories aloud to the elderly or sick?
I'm talking to some facilities near our church about this pre-Christmas visit. I can't wait to see the children light up some faces - including their own.
I can also see applying this insight at home, and creating a new family ritual. It occurs to me that an awful lot of New Year's resolutions are about quitting bad habits, which isn't the most positive way to start a new year.
What if we all sat around a table and each of us lit a candle? We could vow to add in the coming year to the forces of light in the world and fight the forces of darkness. We could end with one or two specific promises of ways in which we'll shine our individual lights, use our specific talents to make a better world, not just a slimmer waistline.
At this complicated time of year, let us revel in the simplest truths. Let us search for the light, all kinds of genuine light, and shine our own.
From Meg Cox's Ritual Newsletter (December 2002). MegMaxC@aol.com
Read Meg's The Book of New Family Rituals
Family Advent Ritual: Making and Sharing Our Own Candles
At a craft shop, purchase flat sheets of beeswax in various colors to make rolled candles. This is so simple that even small children can make perfectly serviceable candles in an hour.
I look forward each year to making candles for our own Advent Wreath, and
to give to friends and relatives as a pre-Advent gift. This is a good beginning
to the time of waiting and preparation. I feel a special spiritual connection
when I light these candles, knowing that others are lighting candles I have
made for them.
Peace and blessings, Rachel Kopel, San Diego, CA
This page last updated 20 October 2012
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