Christmas Cheer!

Boughs of pine, apple cider, noels, and the ballads of Christmas... Some are perfect as pumpkin pie. Others are... uh... how shall we put it?

Candy canes! We all know the candy cane story! A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas. He made a pure white candy to remind everyone of the pure virgin birth. He used hard candy to represent Christ, the Solid Rock. He formed the candy into a "J" for "Jesus", and when you turn it upside down, you can see the staff of the great Shepherd (Jesus!) who will lead all those home who are lost and dying. Lastly, he stained the pure white candy with stripes of red to remind us of the stripes Christ was born to receive for us. His blood that stained the cross washed us white as snow.

"Merry Christmas!"

When I say this, something goes through me that makes me soooooooooooo happy, even if I don't get a reply. I don't know exactly when Jesus was born, but I know He brought hope to the world and merriness of heart to me.

Presents!!!

OK, that is actually a pagan tradition, but there is (almost) nothing more exciting than waking up to boxes of love wrapped in pretty paper all for ME!!! (Don't worry, I'm not as greedy as I sound! lol) Anticipation even after peeking through the wrapping (ahem, I stopped that habit last year). Giving... joy after opening a pair of socks!!! hey, I'm really not that hard to please. Give me socks (cute ones), gift cards, just a regular card..... a diamond ring... yep, I'll be thankful for you thinking of me! But, I'm not gonna use your gag or white elephant gift, so wait for next Christmas when I give it away to your three-year-old. ☺

"You Can Be a Santa Too!"

This song scares me. I don't even think I've listened to it the whole way through. One line says "Santa lives inside of you!". Whoe, that's scary. And speaking of Santa.....

Did you know if you scramble the words a little, you can spell "Satan" instead of "Santa"!? You may wonder why I am so against the big, jolly guy who brings you goodies and loves you so much. One statement sums it all up: it's a lie. A big, fat, mean lie. My loving parents (whom I love so much) told me the lovely Santa story, only to confess their half-truth to me when I was about 4 (yeah, I know, there's no such thing as half-truth). What they told me was that Santa was in fact this good 'ol Saint Nick guy who really did deliver presents to those in need. But then - the killer - my loving Mom told me he died. If you decide to lie to your kids about Christmas, don't make it worse by telling your child someday that Santa died. I was changed for life (not really). Actually, it's all very funny now. If my man (see future references) tells our kids about Santa, I'm keeping my mouth shut tight. "Mommy, is Santa comin' tonight!?" they'll ask. "Let your Daddy answer that." I'll say.

Christmas is probably my favorite holiday... well, the 4th of July is close. And Thanksgiving, since I'm sooooooooooooooooo thankful for everything God gives to me... and takes away. Christmas cheer is not dead and it's so worth it.

So, there's my thoughts on Christmas. Some things about Christmas, I laugh over and ignore. Some things, I cry over every year (remembering the deceased Saint Nick - lol). I found myself singing so joyfully this year all 12 days of Christmas (still goin')! ☺ It's truly the most wonderful time of the year.