Something for fathers and mothers to think about- Christmas has a darker side, and without an appreciation of this we won’t be able to grasp the joy of Christmas morning.
Wilfred McClay has written on the need to keep Satan in Christmas. It’s a short read; I hope you take a moment to consider it.
Advent is the time to set the stage. In our home it’s been difficult to adequately convey the sense of darkness and cold that a world without Christ must experience. We’re too comfortable, well fed and warm.
Wilfred McClay has written on the need to keep Satan in Christmas. It’s a short read; I hope you take a moment to consider it.
Advent is the time to set the stage. In our home it’s been difficult to adequately convey the sense of darkness and cold that a world without Christ must experience. We’re too comfortable, well fed and warm.
Dante envisioned the deepest level of hell as frozen. Intuitively that feels right. Perhaps those of us who live with winter cold can grasp a small part of what our ancestors must have felt looking out on months of barren, frozen, lightless days. It’s no accident that Christmas falls in winter. Explaining to our children the appropriateness of that timing is part of our Advent calling.
The symbols are ready at hand, if we grasp the presence of the wolf and dragon that’s always implied. Candles, light, and warmth aren’t treasured on a tropical sun-drenched beach.
Every match struck and every bundling against winter’s chill gives opportunity to point out Satan’s role in Christmas. The single most helpful ritual we’ve discovered to point out the before and after of Christmas is a liturgy created by Douglas Jones.
This has become one of our favorite traditions. I want to invite you to play along with us. Be forewarned: neighbors glancing through the window will imagine strange occultic ceremonies. We sit without chairs in a circle. We bang on the floor with “bones." We taste sand and touch tongue to vinegar…which is to say, the kids love it.
It’s hard to keep a straight face. There’s not much point in trying. Have a good time in reminding your children what “long lay the world in sin and error pining” means. We live on this side of Christmas, after all.
When the time comes, I’ll post some pictures. If anyone else plays, I’d love to see yours, too.
The symbols are ready at hand, if we grasp the presence of the wolf and dragon that’s always implied. Candles, light, and warmth aren’t treasured on a tropical sun-drenched beach.
Every match struck and every bundling against winter’s chill gives opportunity to point out Satan’s role in Christmas. The single most helpful ritual we’ve discovered to point out the before and after of Christmas is a liturgy created by Douglas Jones.
This has become one of our favorite traditions. I want to invite you to play along with us. Be forewarned: neighbors glancing through the window will imagine strange occultic ceremonies. We sit without chairs in a circle. We bang on the floor with “bones." We taste sand and touch tongue to vinegar…which is to say, the kids love it.
It’s hard to keep a straight face. There’s not much point in trying. Have a good time in reminding your children what “long lay the world in sin and error pining” means. We live on this side of Christmas, after all.
When the time comes, I’ll post some pictures. If anyone else plays, I’d love to see yours, too.
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