The three most beautiful symbols Blogmas#10

 A little longer but informative post today. 

Three of the most beautiful symbols of the Christmas season and their meaning

Advent and Christmas are particularly rich in symbols. Here is a brief look at the origins, history and meaning of three of the most beautiful symbols of Christmas.

 The Christmas tree

"On the illuminated spruce hung golden apples, walnuts, carobs and many other good things. Under the tree were hats, caps, brimmed hats, and even shoes and clothes." (Bl. Anton Martin Slomšek)

The Christmas tree is the most visible and common symbol of Christmas. Unfortunately, the trade has appropriated it as a symbol of the "feast", completely ignoring the central role that our Lord plays in it. It is right to see the Christmas tree as a Catholic symbol.

History: In ancient beliefs, evergreen trees symbolised fertility, and their decoration guaranteed a good harvest and warded off evil forces. The worship of trees and their decoration in winter was also a well-known custom among Germanic peoples.

Christian origin: According to tradition, St Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, cut down the pagan sacred oak tree worshipped by the Germans and in its place grew a spruce tree, symbol of the Holy Trinity, which he decorated with apples (sins) and candles (Christ - the Light of the World).

Spread: This custom of decorating trees, which first appeared in German-speaking countries, spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and to other parts of the world in the early 19th century, becoming a distinctive feature of Christmas.

Today: Christmas trees are decorated with Christmas ornaments (instead of apples) and lights (instead of candles) to represent the joy and light that Jesus brought into the world with his birth.

Each family may have its own custom. Some families have the custom of having the youngest child place a star on top of the tree. Sometimes they decorate the tree while praying the joyful part of the Rosary. Sometimes they ask the parish priest to bless the nativity scene and the tree. Elsewhere they have special prayers for each ornament they place on the tree.

 Advent chaplet

Another symbol that comes from ancient Europe, and which is becoming increasingly popular, is the Advent wreath. It helps us to prepare more intensively for Christmas four weeks before Christmas. Each Sunday, when we light one more candle, we can have a short family service to highlight particular aspects of the Advent season.

Origins: The first Christian missionaries to Europe used pagan traditions to Christianise people. One of these was the lighting of a candle in winter, which was part of the cult of the Sun God.

Christian origins: The first Advent wreath was made by an evangelical pastor, Johann Wichem, in 1838 in a home for poor children in Hamburg, Germany. He placed 24 candles on a large wooden rim, four of which were larger candles for the four Sundays of Advent. He gradually lit the candles. A few years later, the wooden perimeter was decorated with evergreen boughs.

Spread: This custom eventually spread throughout Germany and by the end of the century had been domesticated everywhere in the world, but the Advent wreath has undergone a change: there are only four candles for the four Sundays of Advent.

Today: every Sunday of Advent, we light one of the four candles on the Advent wreath. The closer we get to the celebration of Christmas, the darker it gets, and the brighter the light of the world (the symbol of Christ) becomes. The Advent wreath represents the struggle against darkness and sin; a struggle that is full of hope in Christ's redemption.

Nativity

The nativity scene is also an important symbol of Christmas. Christians put them up in homes and churches in the run-up to Christmas, and they usually stand until the Feast of the Three Kings, or Candlemas. The nativity scene features the figures of the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They are often accompanied by figures of the visitors mentioned in the Bible: shepherds, angels, the three kings, and animals such as oxen, donkeys, sheep, etc. The Slovenian nativity scene had a place of honour in the corner behind the table, above the cross, in the so-called "Bogko's corner".

History: The first nativity scene is traditionally attributed to St Francis of Assisi, who, on his return from the Holy Land in Assisi in 1223, staged the Nativity of the Lord with people and animals. This custom became very popular, and over time the living people and animals were replaced by figurines.

The first nativity scenes: The art of nativity scene making developed in Naples, Italy, where the first nativity scenes were made from clay figures at the end of the 15th century.

Spread: Charles III spread the custom of making nativity scenes throughout Spain and Italy, from where the tradition spread to Bavaria and Bohemia, and from the 18th century became a custom in almost all churches.

Today: Today, the erection of a nativity scene is an indispensable custom in the celebration of Christmas. They are placed in homes on Christmas Eve, where they remain until the end of the Christmas season. Nativity scenes come in different materials and sizes (including live ones) and represent different scenes of the birth of the Child Jesus.

Pope Francis and the Nativity Scene (1:29 min)

And let's not forget that the nativity scene is more prayed over than looked at. We often see this saying by the medieval mystic Angelus Silesius: "Even if the child in Bethlehem were born a thousand times, if he is not in my heart, all is lost."

Reflection on the Nativity:

"Sir, nothing has changed. Everything is as it was when you came among us!?"

Is everything really the same? I ask myself and you: is there any room for hope? Is it really worth going to Bethlehem? I answer my heart, which is waiting for light in the darkness of my heart: Yes!  Bethlehem has changed the world ... it has changed the desert of self-conceit ... and only in the newborn Saviour is there a redeeming ever-new hope!

What is different from last year's feast? Have I come closer to the mystery of faith or have I moved away from it? Who is Jesus for me?

The best way to approach these questions is to look back to the beginning. It happened on a night called holy. On that night a bright light shone and an angel of God announced to the shepherds the birth of the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.

Shepherds, wise men from the East and others came to honour the child, the newborn King. Three suspicious persons also approached the manger. There had never been such people at the crib before. The first was clothed in rags, the second had chains on his hands, and the third had shaved hair and a restless, searching look. They stood in front of the crib, staring at the child in silence ...

Then the first one stepped closer and said to the child, "You have come into a world of trouble, of annoyance, of doubt ... Therefore we bring you what we have in common with you." He took the rags, laid them by the crib and knelt down, saying, "Here, take my rags. You will need them when your clothes are taken away, when you are naked and abandoned. Remember me then."

The other put one of his chains to the child's hand, "Take my bonds. They are too heavy for me. You will wear them when you grow up. They will tie you up and take you away, bound. Remember me then."

The third bent deeply to the child: "Take my doubts and my abandonment by God. They weigh too heavily on me. When the time comes, take them before God with a loud cry."

Frightened, Mary protected the child with her hands, and Joseph, stunned, grabbed the rags and chain to remove them. But, they would not be removed. The child's eyes looked calmly at the men. Finally, they stood up and said, "Now we have found a place where we can lay down our burdens. The child will help us to carry our sufferings, burdens and pains throughout our lives. We are no longer alone and abandoned. Thank You for Your Love. Reveal and bring to us what we do not have, so that we may have even more in common with You.

Allow Jesus to speak to you, to give everything to Him and to follow Him. 

"Christmas is every time when:

... you smile at your neighbour and offer your hand.

... you remain in silence to listen to another.

... you don't accept the notion that puts the poor on the margins of society.

... you hope with the desperate in material and spiritual poverty.

... you humbly acknowledge your own limitations and shortcomings.

... you allow God to be born again, to be offered to others."

(Blessed Mother Teresa)

I didn't write this myself I had a little help so yes it is not my style. But I did my best anyway. 

So today's post is over I am enjoying it.  But since this is a blogmas we will read again tomorrow! So don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter so you'll have posts in your gmail inbox every day of blogmas!