Christmas Past Story

        It was Christmas 1980 and it is remembered by journal entries from Marta who hosted Christmas Eve celebrations at her home in Salt Lake City, Utah. She had been a widow for three years and this celebration was important to her, important enough to write an entry in her diary before the day and after the day.

Marta is marveling at her big family

Friday the 19th of Dezember

Götz and Sigrid picked me up for a doctor's appointment. I feel a lot better now. I bought some stamps in their post office in Rosepark. Yesterday I decorated the Christmas tree and cleaned up a little bit. And my backerie is done, too. I bought some fruit in Smit's store. So most everything is in the house.

Ingo with son Jason and James in the foreground.

Now I would like to know when Ingo and his family will come. We have for a week long just fog and smog outside, just terrible.

So today is the 28 of Dezember. Christmas is over. 

Goetz and Sigrid with Peter's girls

All of my four children, with spouses, were here on Christmas Eve, and nine grandchildren and Hännchen. The dinner on the table was nice. The children were in the basement for a while and then we started the program. 

Karin singing with Kathy playing

Andrew with Gaby 6 months pregnant 

Ingo and Karin sang that nice Lullaby song and then Ingo sang "Oh Holy Night". Gaby and Kathy gave that Lullaby song again. And then we all sang together Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht. Then was the opening of the presents.

Ingo and Jason with Tante Hunni looking on

We have still read the Christmas Story in Luke in English and German. Mark and Peter did it. The children could not wait anymore.

Oma made dresses and shirts

The girls had a lot of fun in their new dresses I made. I think they like when they look all alike.

Last minute adjustment on Oma's
 work.

The first that went home was Peter's family.

Cousins Maria and Jason 

Then Götz and Sigrid. Ingo and his family went to Idaho before midnight with all their stuff and cat.

Cousins Joanne and Genevieve

Gaby and family stayed the night before going back to Provo on Christmas.

So all in all it was a nice Christmas time.

James in Oma's pajamas

I am the same age now as my mother was then. I can't help but admire her. She sewed, baked, decorated, cleaned and cooked. She was the heart of our Christmas. Remembering past Christmas stories is part of a calm Christmas.

 

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Mindful Giving

                                                                                               Presence

  Everyone is buying presents

Ordering, combing the store shelves,

  But perhaps missing the essence

Of what makes us love the elves.

  The elves are busy in the workshop,

They are in the presence of the giver.

   And their Christmas making doesn’t stop 

Until everyone has something to deliver.

   The giver doesn’t always bring stuff

Sometimes he brings his very presence.

   To many this is better than fluff

  Because we learn of his divine patience.

                                                                                          

 I find gifting difficult. In saying this it may reveal my selfish nature. I want to find the perfect gift but most often I end up giving something I'd like to have. Each season I try to find the way around my ineptness. Two years ago I experimented with a new idea. I took two visiting grandchildren to a quaint country store in my town. I told them that I wanted to support this local seller so they could take their time and find something that they loved. A budget was set and off we went. The store sold a variety of clothing, household gifts, specialty foods, and art supplies. I watched as they looked in every nook and corner. My grandson took a liking to a ceramic, painted pear with a detachable lid which had the stem of the pear. He fantasized about what he would put into the pear, first jam and then maybe his pencil collection. I was surprised. This was something I would never buy for him myself but he was sure about his choice. My granddaughter looked at everything but kept returning to some pink leather gloves with the softest fur around the top. Again, I wouldn't have made that choice because I didn't think she liked pink. 

What did I learn from this experience? We went together and we were in each other's presence. I watched them deliberate and make a choice. I was inspired by their choice because it revealed something about them. 

This year my husband retires. As of 2026 we will really live on a fixed budget. I worry about giving at Christmas. Again, I'm drawn to having an experience together instead of buying things. We could make unique foods together or read some excerpts from favorite books. I plan, I hope that love is the gift everyone sees. 

The Calm Christmas book lists three giving guideposts:

Is it mindful?

Is it meaningful?

Is it memorable?

I think our presence is the most meaningful gift.

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Three Symbols Of My Christmas Heritage

                           My Christmas Story of Faith grew out of my Christmas Story of Heritage

Christmas Sense

  Sappy, sticky, evergreen boughs,

A soapy smell, mingled with earth.

  Cinnamon, ginger, better somehow

When vanilla allows them birth.

  Smoky, sizzling heat from candles

Tucked into pockets of green pine,

   While Messiah music from Handel’s

Genius, lights spirit stars, as a sign,

  He is coming. I smell it, hear it,

Touch it, as I knead the dough,

  All the planing helps me commit

To receiving Him, quiet and slow.

My mother introduced three symbols of Christmas to me which still resonant for me today. The Christmas story from the Holy Bible,  the advent celebrations and wreath, and the making of Pefferkuchen, along with other baked treats.

The old German script in my mother's bible was almost impossible to read because I didn't have much training in the style. But, I loved hearing my brother read the opening lines of Luke 2.

Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit, daß ein Gebot von dem Kaiser Augustus ausging, daß alle Welt geschätzt würde.

Each Sunday before Christmas we would read from the New Testament and sometimes from the prophet Isaiah. These scriptural passages brought the anticipation for the Coming of Jesus and became a spiritual foundation for my Christmas celebration.

The advent wreath was a creative craft for my mother. Each year she gathered boughs, pinecones, and ribbons to intertwine through a wire base. Then she would wire on four new candles, one for every Sunday. 

And lastly, she gathered the long list of ingredients to make Pefferkuchen, sometimes called Lebkuchen. 

The fragrance of anise, cardamon, cinnamon, and allspice filled the kitchen. Sometimes my father would carve figures and animals out of the dough. They were prized by me when it came time to eat them. My mother stored them in the cool basement so they were made at the end of November. 

These are the ingredients of my Christmas heritage story. I improvise with these basics and make new activities each year. I like to change things now and then but my heart calls for these three symbols.

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The Story Of Abundance

Too Much

  Shall we buy a string of lights?

    Oh, no, let’s buy six.

  Shall we get some candles?

    Oh, yes, let’s get five.

  Shall we bake a pie?

     Oh, no, let’s bake four.

   Shall we get a Christmas tree

     Oh, yes, let’s buy three.

   Shall we roast a turkey?

     Oh, no, let’s do prime rib, too.

  Shall we celebrate this day together?

     Just one day? Let’s do the whole week.

The Story of Abundance is a problematic story, in my opinion. Yes, the decorating of shop windows is festive and fun. I especially enjoy driving through my tiny town at 6:00 am, when no one is there except the lights. The Bookshop has a window with a easy chair and little table piled with new books. Warm light from an antique lamp shines on the scene. The Pharmacy windows are a blaze with twinkle lights, highlighting fancy plates and decorative linens.

    But, the expectation of giving more and more leads to a franticness inside of me and a desperate feeling of inadequacy. My house is not festive enough, just look at that street of lights. My tree is not big enough, just look how our neighbor decorates. My gifts are too practical, just look how my relative creates magic for everyone.

Abundance is a positive word. It means we have more than enough and actually I live in abundance year round. Is there something of which I need more? More satiety, more outward caring, and more time with Jesus. He gives abundantly and entreats us to take His yoke upon us. That has never sounded attractive. Aren't we all part of the yoke with which He carries our weaknesses, our rebellions, our lack? Seems too much.

But yet, He says His burden is light? How can that be?

The answer seems to be LOVE.

Jesus has an abundance of love.

His love makes burdens LIGHT.

Shall we spread some love like Jesus this year?

Yes, let's give more.

"The key is to work out which elements of the story (of abundance) bring you genuine joy and them, then let go of the rest, rather than get sucked into the materialistic whirlwind."

Beth Kempton, Calm Christmas

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The Story Of Magic

Christmas Magic

   My Papa surprised me one year

With a play house for my doll.

   The gift was hand-made and dear,

And came with one open wall.

  He made a rustic bed and chair, 

A dresser with tiny drawers,

  And to the attic, a small stair-

Led up to the outdoors.

   Magic is found in surprise,

And not in causation.

   It allows possibility to arise

Into our imagination.

                                       

   One of the five stories of Christmas is the story of magic. My definition of magic is "wonderful,; exciting; as in "what a magical moment", from the Oxford Languages Dictionary. Maybe you believe in Santa Claus, in tiny elves who make gifts, and in reindeer who fly all around the world delivering presents, or maybe you believe in a benevolent monk who surprises others with oranges and gingerbread at Christmas. Whatever magic resides in your past or even in your present it does bring warm memories and feelings of grand possibility. Here are some magic moments which I love remembering.

    Magic Others Created For Me

       One Christmas my grandmother made matching aprons for me and my doll Gretel. We both had pockets and inside she placed an embroidered hanky. Gretel's was adorably tiny.

       My daughter-in-law gave my son and I a gift of attending a  baking class together where we learned to make incredible pies. Being with him and doing the measuring, mixing, and rolling was so fun and I learned how inventive he was when he decorated the pie top.

       When my children were still little two huge packages appeared on our door on Christmas Eve. We were still new to the community and really had no idea who left the boxes. The magic was that the gifts matched the age and interests of each family member. It was uncanny. Who knew us that well?

     My husband secretly purchased a piece of art that I fell in love with during a gallery tour. It was painted by Donna Romero. He hung it on the wall on Christmas Eve and I was the last to notice. She told me later how he came back to purchase the painting and arranged to pick it up Christmas Eve Day.

  Magic I Created For Others

     I made a scavenger hunt for visiting family by taking pictures of little things downtown and then giving two groups the laminated thumbnail pictures and telling them there were prizes for the group that found them all. They had to text me a picture when they located the item.

     My daughter and I took two granddaughters to The Nutcracker Ballet in the city. The Pacific Northwest Ballet was decorated incredibly in the lobby and in the theater. Each granddaughter received a wooden Nutcracker from the gift store.

Magic That Just Happened

    The toy robot I purchased twenty years earlier still worked at Christmas and entertained my grandchildren for hours.

     The Christmas lights across the street lit up a pattern in my living room which sparkled and shined.

      

   My examples demonstrate that magic isn't made solely with money or surprises. Christmas magic is stored all year round and it finds outlets during the season when we allow possibilities to surface. It happens when we are paying attention to others instead of ourselves. Magic happens when we are turned outward.

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A New Love Affair With Watercolor

    I started my art journey with acrylic paint, then I got braver and used oil paint, and finally in the last year I have seriously tried watercolor. I paint at least once a week and sometimes my attempts are not so pleasant but occasionally I surprise myself. I love it. That's how I feel about the work below. 

                                        

                                       The season of Fall brings so many colors into focus. Blue and orange along side each are my favorite complimentary colors. I have an online watercolor teacher, Sarah Cray, who does the composition and often even provides the outlines which I can then trace onto watercolor paper. Is that cheating? Maybe someday I will have the skill to draw my own composition. 

   As Winter approaches I want to play around with some snow scenes even though we rarely have    snow here.

Gathering For A Calm Christmas

 In order to have a calm Christmas some ingredients must be gathered together.

Yesterday I ordered 25 new candles for my Emanuel Wreath, dusted off the Cable and Cotton lights, and searched for my favorite advent guide. It seems early but day to day life often gets in the way of gathering supplies. If I have everything ready then I'm not tempted to re-purchase supples that I can't find in the last moment. Of the Five Stories of Christmas the Faith Story is most important to me. Each year I add another layer of experience to the many sacred Christmas memories of the past. 

In my memories, my mother gathered Christmas together early. She bustled about in November buying a little of the spices, nuts, and chocolate for the coming weeks. She always made the Advent wreath herself which meant gathering boughs and pinecones, ribbons and candles. So much of Christmas is preparation, sacred and secret. 

Before

Before Mary set out for Bethlehem

What preparations did she make?

Did she ponder making Him a diadem?

A crown, to honor his namesake?

Did she make the swaddling clothes,

Of borrow them from a cousin?

What details did she choose not to disclose?

Were they a few or maybe a dozen?

I gather the objects that bring the story

Into my time and into my space,

Light, scents, reminders of his glory,

Things that testify of His grace.

"What we need is a way to marry what matters to us with what matters to those we love, and let go of the rest."

Beth Kempton, A Calm Christmas

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