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And The Word . . . Dwelt Among Us

The Kimyal people of Papua, Indonesia receive the Bible in their own language:

What a celebration. Do we even begin to know what precious truth God has entrusted to us? “To whom much is given, of him much shall be required.” We in the West are abundantly blessed. God forgive us for the misuse and waste we have perpetrated with the blessing He has given us.

And won’t heaven be grand as we all worship the Lamb together, from every nation and tribe?

St. David’s Day

The patron saint of Wales is Saint David, or Sant Dewi as the Welsh call him. He lived in the sixth century and became the Archbishop of Wales. He was particularly fond of bread, vegetables, and water, drinking nothing but water for most of his life. He is also associated with water because it is said that a spring of water came bubbling up where he walked at significant times and places during his life. I’m interested in Saint David partly because some of my ancestors came from Wales.
The Welsh celebrate Saint David’s Day with leeks (remember Fluellen in Shakespeare’s Henry V?) and daffodils, male voice choirs, and harp concerts. If you would like to celebrate this Welsh holiday with your children, the website below has coloring pages, craft projects, a recipe for leek soup, and more information on David’s life.
St. David’s Day Activities for Kids
St. David died in about 589, and his last words were recorded as:

“Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.”

‘Do the little things’ (‘Gwnewch y pethau bychain’) is today a very well-known phrase in Welsh. It reminds me of Elisabeth Elliot’s admonition to “do the next thing.” Either way it seems to me to be a good motto. Sometimes it’s all I can do– to do the next little thing that needs to be done, and sometimes it’s enough. Happy St. David’s Day!

Observing Lent

Easter is late this year, not until April 24th. And so the season of Lent begins in March. Shrove Tuesday is March 8, and Ash Wednesday is March 9. I want to do some special things with our family to observe both Lent and the fifty days after Easter which constitute the Easter feast that lasts from Easter until Pentecost Sunday, June 12.

The following ideas for Lent come from:
Lenten Links: Resources for a Post-Evangelical Lent.
One deep drawer: Observing Lent with our families
10 Lenten Traditions to Enrich Your Family’s Easter Celebration by Barbara Curtis
At a Hen’s Pace: An Anglican Family Lent.
Recommended Reading for Lent at Conversion Diary.

1. Make doughnuts or some other deep-fried treat on Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.
2. Learn a new song. a song that points to spring coming and new life sprouting.
3. Go for a walk every day. I once knew of a homeschooling family who put a pot of soup on to simmer for lunch and headed out for a walk each day, no matter what the weather.
4. Make a nature almanac recording what you see on your walks.
5. Learn a new prayer to say at meals.
6. Give up meat as a family. or sugar. Give the money to an organization like Heifer.
7. Change your seasonal table or altar. Add a bowl of water to be the waters of life, or a tray of sand to be the 40 years in the desert, our own long journey, our dustiness.
8. Sprout something. Grow something. Plant something.
9. Make bread. to go along with the soup.
10. Celebrate National Poetry Month (April) with a poem a day.
11. Wear purple, the traditional color of Lent, to keep you mindful.
12. Light candles at meals. Turn off the electric light. Enjoy the darkness.
13. Observe silence even for a few moments each day at the same time.
14. Memorize an Easter passage of Scripture as a family. Suggestions: one of the Psalms,
15. Celebrate Purim, March 20-21. Read the book of Esther aloud.
16. Celebrate Passover, April 19-25.
17. Post Bible verses, especially the words of Jesus, on the refrigerator, bathroom mirrors, wherever a busy family is sure to see them.
18. Bake your own pretzels. Pretzels originated as early Christian Lenten treats, designed in the form of arms crossed in prayer.
19. In Matthew 12:39-41, Jesus points to the story of Jonah as a sign of his own destiny. So this is a great time to review it with your children, discussing the issues of sin, obedience, and God’s mercy.
20. Read books together as a family or alone to lead you into Easter Resurrection celebration. Books for Lent to lead you into Resurrection.
21. Read the Church Fathers during Lent.
22. Practice confession, asking God to search our hearts and point out those things in our lives that need to change.
23. Fast on Fridays or fast from meat on Fridays.
24. Decide as a family on one thing that is distracting your family from following God fully, and take that one thing out of your family life at least for the duration of Lent.
25. Participate in World Vision’s Relentless Acts of Justice.
26. Pray and read the Bible daily.

100 Valentine Celebration Ideas

1. Three Valentine Bible Verse Craft Ideas at Heart of Wisdom.

2. Ruby Valentine Saves the Day by Laurie Friedman. Recommended at Hope Is the Word.

3. Check out the finalists announcement at the Cybils blog. Winners of the Cybils Awards for Children’s and Young Adult Literature are announced every year of Valentine’s Day.

4. Poem: To My Dear and Loving Husband by Anne Bradstreet, 1678.

5. Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani. Recommended at Books in the City.

6. Valentine’s Day read aloud books at Hope Is the Word.

7. How To Write a Love Letter and Salvage Valentine’s Day (for guys) by Joe Carter.

Happy Valentine's Day!photo © 2006 Jackie | more info (via: Wylio)
8. Make a strawberry cake.

9. Ideas from All for Love by Tasha Tudor (a lovely book, by the way).

10. Love Links, Lists, and Quotes.

11. Real Romance for Grown-up Women. Choose a book that speaks to the romantic who’s outgrown chicklit and Harlequin.

12. The Valentine Edition by Robin Shope. Recommended at Wendi’s Book Corner.

13. Red Hot Catholic (Christian) Love. A good read for engaged, dating, or married couples.

14. Love-ly (free) computer desktop wallpaper for February.

15. Free Custom Valentine Maker at invys.com

16. Anatomy of a Marriage: Novels about Romance in Marriage.

17-26. More recommended novels about love and marriage:
The Love Letters by Madeleine L’Engle.
Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
Random Harvest by James Hilton
Green Mansions by WH Hudson. ““Our souls were near together, like two raindrops side by side, drawing irresistibly nearer, ever nearer; for now they had touched and were not two, but one inseparable drop, crystallised beyond change, not to be disintegrated by time, nor shattered by death’s blow, nor resolved by any alchemy.”
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Yes. Heathcliff and Cathy were actually the worst of lovers –capricious, unfaithful while remaining bonded to one another, but let’s not quibble. “I am Heathcliff!” says Cathy, and what better description of the marriage of two souls is there in literature?
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Jane and Mr. Rochester are as radically faithful and loving in their own way as Cathy and Heathcliff imagine themselves to be. And they actually get together before they die, surely an advantage for lovers.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy are the epitome of lovers in tension that finally leads to consummation.
Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers. Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane are such a hesitant, battle-scarred pair of lovers that thye almost don’t get together at all, but that’s what makes the series of romance-within-a mystery novels that culminates in Gaudy Night so very romantic. They’ve used the same formula in TV series ever since, but Sayers is much better than any Remington Steele (Laura and Remington) or Cheers (Sam and Diane). And Ms. Sayers was even able to write a credibly interesting epilogue novel in Busman’s Honeymoon, which is better than the TV writers can do most of the time.
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. Who says love is only for the young? Father Tim and Cynthia make it through thick and thin and through five or six books, still in love, still throwing quotations at one another. They’re great lovers in the best sense of the word.

27. My Love Song Playlist (very retro–70’s)
The Twelfth of Never by Donnie Osmond.
Cherish by David Cassidy and the Partridge Family.
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack
Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As ev’ry fairy tale comes real
I’ve looked at love that way

I’ve looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It’s love’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know love at all. ~Joni Mitchell

I Honestly Love You by Olivia Newton John.
Evergreen by Barbra Streisand.
Can’t Help Falling in Love With You by Elvis Presley.
Laughter in the Rain by Neil Sedaka.
L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole.

28-34. Recommended Movies for Valentine’s Day
Marty. “Ernest Borgnine (Oscar for Best Actor) stars as a 35 year old Italian butcher who’s still not married in spite of the fact that all his younger brothers and sisters have already tied the knot.”
It Happened One Night. Clark Gable is a reporter in this romantic comedy about a run-away rich girl.
Much Ado About Nothing. Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson. The reparte between Benedick and Beatrice is so memorable that you may find yourself quoting Shakespeare in spite of yourself.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I really loved the fact that Ian knew that he was not just marrying a girl but also her family.
The Princess Bride. Romance at its finest and funniest. “That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying ‘As you wish’, what he meant was, ‘I love you.’ And even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back.”
You’ve Got Mail. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are a great pair.
Romeo and Juliet. The Franco Zefferelli version.

Valentines Day Cardsphoto © 2008 Howie Luvzus | more info (via: Wylio)
35. A love gift from Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup. Shhhh. Don’t tell. I’m going to make one of these for my sweetie for Valentine’s Day.

36. Valentine’s coloring pages from Elizabeth O. Dulemba.

37. John Donne poetry wallpaper for Valentine’s Day, or anytime, really.

38. Valentine’s Day song: Give It Time by Andy Gullahorn

39. Valentine’s Day Unit Study helps for homeschoolers and teachers.

40. 39 Chocolate Treats at Family Fun. I think maybe Chocolate Mint Brownies or Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

41. V is for Valentine: Valentine’s Day Lapbook.

42. Favorite Valentine’s Day crafts at Kaboose.

43. Frugal Valentine crafts, recipes, and traditions from The Common Room.

44. Folding Paper Hearts and Valentines.

45. Leah’s favorite Valentine’s Day picture books for kids at The Friendly Book Nook.

46. Homemade Valentine’s Day cards: vintage and modern, lots of links at Brimful Curiosities.

47. Valentine’s Day poems for children and teens.

48. Valentine Printables.

49. How to Say “I Love You” in many languages.

50. Memorize The Love Chapter: I Corinthians 13.

51. Create in Me a Clean Heart devotional Bible study and verses to memorize: Motivational Devotional for the disorganized.

52. Heartlight: ecards, devotional Bible studies, graphics, wallpaper, and other resources.

52. Make a valentine mailbox. Or a Because Box.

53. If you didn’t manage to send out Christmas cards or a Christmas letter, or even if you did, use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to communicate with family and friends by sending out a Valentine card and family letter.

54. Another movie: classic weepy, Love Story.

55. History of Valentine’s Day:

56. Make cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

57. Online Valentine’s Day games.

58. More Valentine craft ideas.

59. Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Recommended by Ruth at There Is No Such Thing as a God-forsaken Town.

60. Make a list of fifty famous couples (Romeo and Juliet, Adam and Eve, Isaac and Rebekah, Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler). Put each name on a separate slip of paper or card and see how many your kids can match together.

61. Make silhouettes of your children for valentines. Or make a silhouette valentine garland. Use pink and red links for the chain.

62. Host a Valentine’s Day tea. Another plan for a Valentine’s Day tea.

63. Have a Valentine’s Day Poetry Party. Everyone brings a poem to share with the group.

64. Eat red: lasagne or spaghetti, fruit slushie

65. Have a “Golden Girls Valentine’s Day Party” for the over sixty ladies in your church, your family, or your neighborhood. From The Common Room.

66. 1968 movie: The Love Bug with Dean Jones, Michele Lee, and Buddy Hackett. Herbie the Volkswagon Beetle with a mind of its own inspires love wherever he goes.

67. American Film Institute’s Top 100 Greatest Love Stories.

68. Spelling Love with Candy Hearts.

69. Write a love letter to someone you love. Or paint/draw a picture for your loved one.

70. Valentine’s Day short stories for children.

71. How to make a paper bouquet for your valentine:

72. Jan Brett Valentine selections.

73. Give out valentines to all your friends and neighbors with these verses printed on them: “Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.” I John 4:7-8

74. You can download and listen to the Adventures in Odyssey episode, Standing Up for What’s Right: The Story of St. Valentine, here for $1.99.

75. Make a mix CD of favorite love songs for someone you love.

76. Give someone you love a massage for Valentine’s Day.

77. Invite your friends to share their love and courtship stories, either in writing or in person. Here are a few love stories that Joe McKeever, a retired pastor in New Orleans, solicited and received via Facebook.

78. Read about the saint in St. Valentine’s Day.

79. Easy Valentine’s Day from Kendra at Preschoolers and Peace.

80. Make some heart-shaped cookies.

81. Geek Valentine’s Day gifts, since I’m proudly married to handsome geek, Engineer Husband.

82. Printable coupons for things like a “free hug” or “breakfast in bed” to give to your loved ones.

83. Write a poem and give it to your valentine. “Roses are red . . . ”

84. OK, men, if you’re thinking that you should ask her to marry you, you should, and Valentine’s Day is a good day to ask. Ten Ideas for a Romantic Proposal. More Marriage Proposal Ideas.

Vintage Valentine's Day Postcardphoto © 2008 Dave | more info (via: Wylio)
85. Go walking on the beach, if you have one nearby. Very romantic.

86. Tell everyone you love that you love them Say it out loud. Call them on the phone. Just do it.

87. The Love Letters by Madeleine L’Engle. Semicolon review here.

88. Carney’s House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace. Semicolon review here.

89. Is Marriage Outmoded? I say NO!

90. Read some Jane Austen, anything by Jane Austen.

91. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe.

92. Ogden Nash’s definition of marriage.

93. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Semicolon thoughts here.

94. Do something really hard for the sake of your beloved.

95. Christy by Catherine Marshall. The TV series was OK, but the book is better.

96. Amnesia: a Love Story.

97. Best Lovers’ Books.

98. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon VanAuken.

99. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers.

100. Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!

Houston-Area Book Bloggers Spring Meet-Up

Attention Houston area book bloggers! It’s time to come out of hibernation! Jennifer Donovan who blogs at 5 Minutes for Books and at Snapshot and Sherry Early of Semicolon, are planning a Houston area book bloggers get-together, meet-up, brunch and spring awakening for all Houston area book bloggers.

You’re invited to Jen’s new house in northwest Houston at 10:30 AM on Saturday, March 5th. Bring a brunch-type dish to share and a friendly face and lots of bookish attitude. You’re also welcome to bring ARC’s or review copies of books that you’ve finished and that you would like to pass on to someone else. Email Jen at (5minutesforbooksATgmail.com) for a street address and directions. Please feel free to pass this invitation on to other Houston-area book bloggers or to post the invitation on your blog. We’re going to have a Houston Readers and Bloggers Meet the Springtime gathering so that we can meet and get to know each other and celebrate books and blogging together. We hope you’ll be able to come.

If you’re hoping to come on March 5th or if you can’t make it this time but would be interested in future gatherings, please fill out the form below so that we can get an idea of where people live and who’s blogging books in Houston.

Virtual Advent 2010

I didn’t know when I signed up to post for the Book Bloggers’ Virtual Advent Tour that my Christmas this year would be so mixed. Maybe mixed-up is a better word. I am enjoying the traditional holiday celebrations, and at the same time they move me to tears, sad tears for things that have been lost this year. I am singing the music, and yet I’m tired of the froth of jingling bells and pa-rumpumpum. I have been delighting in the literature of Christmas (see sidebar), and yet literature has lost some of its magic for me this year. I’m having one of those Christmases.

Maybe you are, too. It’s hard to summon up a celebratory spirit when things are not quite right in your family or in your world. If you’re not experiencing it now, you remember that Christmas when Mom was in the hospital or when your son didn’t choose to come home or when the money ran out in November, long before Christmas, or when you just didn’t feel like celebrating. At least not all day long for the entire month of December.

If you’re there or if you know someone who might be, this stop on the Advent Tour is for you. And the tradition I’m spotlighting is a simple one. It doesn’t require any money or holiday spirit or food or new clothes. You just need to sit still and . . . Remember. Take a pen in hand (or a computer keyboard) and remember what it is that makes Christmas special for you, what it is you’re supposed to be celebrating. I remember a lot of reasons to celebrate, even in the midst of some heart-crushing pain. And as I write, I am remembering everything in my life that makes Christmas worth celebrating:

I have a husband who loves me and cares for our family and works hard and loves Jesus.

I have a beautiful home, and my husband has a good job.

I have running water and electricity and even unnecessary toys and gadgets like a computer and internet connection to fill my life with goodness.

My mom is now living with us, and she gives lots of good wisdom to me and to her grandchildren.

My eight children are all physically healthy and growing, and they will all be here for Christmas.

Not only that, but my children are all going to school, either at home or at college. They all have opportunities to learn and to grow mentally in the coming year.

And those same children love me and love each other and want to celebrate Christmas as a family.

My sweet sister and her family are coming for a visit in just a few days.

All of my Christmas shopping is done, and I had money to get some gifts for people that they wanted and some things that they needed. And we’ll still be able to pay our bills in January.

I can read with eyes that work (with glasses), and I can listen to music and to audiobooks with ears that work fairly well.

I have friends who drop everything to help me and listen to my woes anytime, anywhere.

I have a church where salvation through Jesus Christ is preached and where people love and care for one another.

I have had the opportunity and the resources to give to another family in need this Christmas.

But most of all, “I thank God for his gift that words cannot describe.” Even when my family and my life are broken before Him, I remember that He gave himself as a living sacrifice for my sin and my brokenness. And through Christmas and the gift of God in His son, I was healed, I am being healed, and all manner of things will be well.

Deuteronomy 8:7-18
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Christmas is about remembering. Christmas traditions are about remembering. Take some time today to remember who you are, where your family and friends are, and most of all who God is. He is a God who provides, as demonstrated in His provision for the redemption of our shattered world through the most unlikely of sources, a baby boy born in a crowded little town called Bethlehem about 2000 years ago who grew up to be the Saviour of this bittersweet world.

Remember. Merry Christmas!

This post is part of the 2010 Virtual Advent Tour – a fifth year tradition in the book blogging community which allows book bloggers around the world to share their holiday traditions with one another. Visit the 2010 Virtual Advent Tour site for other book blogger’s holiday traditions.

On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas, Harvey House, Raton, New Mexico, 1887

In the Middle Grade Fiction Cybils nominee, When Molly Was a Harvey Girl by Frances M. Wood, a train is stuck in Raton Pass in ten foot snow drifts, and the staff at Harvey House in Raton provides refuge and comfort for the stranded passengers.

“I have sandwiches,” Molly told Annis. Gaston was sending out more substantial food. The townspeople ate too, as much as the passengers. Still, Gaston provided. “Pineapple,” Molly announced. This was a special treat, holiday fare. “Roast beef and crab salad.” The buffet was turning into Christmas dinner. Molly was now bringing out platters of ham, turkey, asparagus, pickled onions, salted almonds, roasted buttered yams, winter squash, applesauce.

“We need more coffee,” said Sissy. “I’ll fetch it, Molly.”

So many people, and yet the Harvey House provided. Colleen and Jeanette swirled through the crowd, carrying plates to the injured. Miss Lambert sent Molly back to the kitchen yet again. “The babies need milk,” Molly shouted above Gaston’s din. Susana grabbed her shawl and was gone.

Sometime during that long, long evening, a tree appeared in the dining room. Coal miners and railroaders and even some passengers carved trinkets for hanging. . . . What next? Molly wondered.

What next was Gaston. For hours he had been performing miracles. Now he left the kitchen as if on parade, wearing a clean hat and apron. The baker, breakfast cook, and two assistant day cooks walked ever-so-carefully behind him., carrying a huge tray. The tray bore a cake large enough for a wedding, but decorated for Christmas with garlands of bright red icing over white. The only way to achieve such red was by mixing in dried cocks’ combs. “He must have used them all,” Molly breathed.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about 13 year old Molly’s adventures as a Harvey Girl waitress in Raton, New Mexico. Because Molly and her older sister Colleeen are orphans with no money left after the expenses of their father’s long illness, Molly pretends to be eighteen so that both girls can get jobs at Harvey House, a chain of restaurants along the railroad line from Topeka, Kansas to San Bernardino, California. Colleen and Molly travel from their home in Illinois to wild western New Mexico where Molly learns to work hard, and where she grows up among the railroaders and business people of the Wild West.

Good story.

Today’s Gifts:
A song: Hark the Herald Angels Sing

A booklist: Historical Fiction for Young Ladies, Part 1
Historical Fiction for Young Ladies, Part 2

A birthday: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, b.1918.

A poem: A Child of the Snows by Gilbert Chesterton

There is heard a hymn when the panes are dim,
And never before or again,
When the nights are strong with a darkness long,
And the dark is alive with rain.

Never we know but in sleet and in snow,
The place where the great fires are,
That the midst of the earth is a raging mirth
And the heart of the earth a star.

And at night we win to the ancient inn
Where the child in the frost is furled,
We follow the feet where all souls meet
At the inn at the end of the world.

The gods lie dead where the leaves lie red,
For the flame of the sun is flown,
The gods lie cold where the leaves lie gold,
And a Child comes forth alone.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, England, c. 1930

The Borrowers Avenged by Mary Norton:

“Oh,” cried Arriety. “I know all about Christmas. My mother’s always talking about it. And the feasts they always had. When she was a girl, there were a lot more borrowers in the house, and that was the time–Christmas time–when she first began to notice my father. The feasts! There were things called raisins and crystal fruit and plum puddings and turkey and something called game pie . . . And the wine they left in glasses! My father used to get it out with a fountain-pen filler. He’d be up a fold in the tablecloth almost before the last human bean had left the room. And my mother began to see what a wonderful borrower he might turn out to be. He bought her a little ring out of something called a cracker, and she wore it as a crown . . . ” She fell silent a moment, remembering that ring. Where was it now? she wondered. She had worn it often herself.

Today’s Gifts:
A song: Joy to the World by Isaac Watts.

A booklist: 100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2010 at Fuse #8

Birthdays: Actor/director Kenneth Branaugh, b.1960, Emily Dickinson, b.1830, Geroge MacDonald, b.1824, Rumer Godden, b.1907, Mary Norton, b.1903.

A poem: Twas just this time, last year, I died by Emily Dickinson.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, Ratzeburg, Germany, 1799

Poet Samuel Coleridge wrote:

“There is a Christmas custom here which pleased and interested me. The children make little presents to their parents, and to each other; and the parents to the children. For three or four months before Christmas the girls are all busy, and the boys save up their pocket-money, to make or purchase these presents. What the present is to be is cautiously kept secret, and the girls have a world of contrivances to conceal it—such as working when they are out on visits, and the others are not with them; getting up in the morning before day-light, and the like. Then, on the evening before Christmas Day, one of the parlours is lighted up by the children, into which the parents must not go. A great yew bough is fastened on the table at a little distance from the wall, a multitude of tapers are fastened in the bough, but so as not to catch it till they are nearly burnt out, and coloured paper hangs and flutters from the twigs. Under this bough the children lay out in great order the presents they mean for their parents, still concealing in their pockets what they intend for each other. Then the parents are introduced, and each presents his little gift, and then bring out the rest one by one from their pockets, and resent them with kisses and embraces. When I witnessed this scene there were eight or nine children, and the eldest daughter and the mother wept aloud for joy and tenderness; and the tears ran down the face of the father, and he clasped all his children so tight to his breast, it seemed as if he did it to stifle the sob that was rising within him. I was very much affected.”

Today’s Gifts:
A song: On December 8, 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired on CBS.

A booklist: Top 10 Poetry Books for Christmas (books about writing and reading poetry) at Seedlings in Stone

A birthday: John Milton, poet, b.1608.
Joel Chandler Harris, folklorist, b.1848

A poem: Hymn on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity by John Milton.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, Claremont, England, 1836

From Princess Victoria’s journal, Claremont, December 24, 1836:

“Very soon after dinner Mamma sent for us into the gallery, where all the things were arranged on different tables. From my dear Mamma I received a beautiful massive gold buckle in the shape of two serpents; a lovely little delicate gold chain with turquoise clasp; a lovely coloured sketch of dearest Aunt Louise by Partridge copied from the picture he brought and so like her; 3 bautiful drawings my Munn, one lovely seaview by Peser and one cattle piece by Cooper (all coloured), 3 prints, a book called Finden’s Tableau, Heath’s Picturesque Annual, Ireland; both these are very pretty; Friendship’s Offering and the English Annual for 1837, the Holy Land illustrated beautifully, two handkerchiefs, a very pretty black satin apron trimmed with red velvet, and two almanacks. From dear Uncle Leopold, a beautiful turquoise ring,; from the Queen a fine piece of Indian gold tissue, and from Sir J. Conroy a print. I gave my dear Lehzen a green morocco jewel case, and the Picturesque Annual; Mamma gave her a shawl, a pair of turquoise earrings, an annual, and handkerchief. I then took Mamma to the Library where my humble table was arranged; I gave her a bracelt made of my hair, and the Keepsake , and Oriental Annual. I stayed up til eleven!”

Victoria was seventeen years old when she wrote this entry in her journal. The next year, 1837, when she was eighteen years old, she became Queen Victoria, Sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Today’s Gifts:
A song: Be Still My Soul, music by Jean Sibelius.

A booklist: Popular and well known authors choose their favorite books of 2010.

A birthday: Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, b.1865.

A poem: Jest ‘Fore Christmas by Eugene Field.