Christmas Symbols
by Julie Slagle / ga11262007
 

My Mom gave me one of those really cute advent boxes a few years ago. It's made out of beautiful wood and every day you open a little door and pull out something. My mom didn't have any suggestions what to do with it, but said she knew I'd come up with something. So it took me a few YEARS to decide what to do with it. Anyhow, I decided I wanted to use it to help get my family to really focus on the real meaning of Christmas, through telling the Christmas story, and tying every Christmas symbol I could think of back into the real meaning of Christmas.  Some of these are a real stretch--particularly towards the end, but it's been a fun thing for us.

So every day, someone opens a door and pulls out a scroll with a few scriptures on it. This becomes our family scripture reading in the month of December. They also pull out a tiny ornament that ties into the theme which they hang on a mini tree we got from the dollar store (some days there is something other than an ornament, or nothing but the scroll). Most days there is an activity that goes along with it too--often just singing a carol. Mostly they are the things we do in December anyhow, but now it becomes a part of our advent/Christmas devotional. I change the days around too, so whatever day we happen to go look at Christmas lights, we do the scriptures that go along with that.  (You don't need advent box to do this!)

To simplify things, here's the code I'll use below:

O = Ornament
S = Scripture
T = Theme for that day
A = Activity

DAY 1:
O: Christmas Tree
S: John 3:16; Moroni 7:22-23
T: Represents eternal life, evergreen needles point heavenward
A: Sing "O Christmas Tree"

DAY 2:
O: Mary
S: Luke 1:26-38
T: Gabriel visits Mary
A:

DAY 3:
O: Joseph
S: Matt. 1:18-23
T: Joseph's dream
A: Sing "Silent Night"

DAY 4:
O: Instead of an ornament, they find the chocolate gold coins
S: Luke 2:1-5; Micah 5:2
T: Caesar's tax/Bethlehem
A: Sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

DAY 5:
O: Baby Jesus
S: Luke 2:6-7; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7
T: Birth of Jesus
A: Sing "Away in a Manger"

DAY 6:
O: Instead of an ornament, they find a cocoa packet
S: Luke 2:6-7 (again!); Matt. 25:31-40
T: "no room in the inn" vs. "I was thirsty--and ye gave me drink"
A: Drink cocoa and let kids choose a family to serve on "red bow day" below....

DAY 7:
O: Angel
S: Luke 2:8-14
T: "Good tidings of great joy"
A: Sing the Angel songs--"The First Noel," "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Far, Far Away," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing..."

DAY 8:
O: Shepherd
S: Luke 2:15-20
T: "Let us now go to Bethlehem"
A: Sing "O Come All Ye Faithful"

DAY 9:
O: Bells
S: Psalms 66:1-2
T: "Make a joyful noise"
A: Sing "Joy to the World" (Or "I Heard the Bells")

DAY 10:
O: Candle
S: Luke 2:25-38; John 8:12
T: Simeon and Anna ("a light to lighten")
A:
Sing Christmas carols by candlelight tonight

DAY 11:
O: Star
S: Helaman 14:1-6
T: "A new star arise"--a Heavenly promise to ALL of God's children
A: Drive around to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood

DAY 12:
O: Wisemen
S: Matt. 2:1-12
T: Seeking Jesus
A: Sing "We 3 Kings"

DAY 13:
O: Oxen
S: Abraham 4:24-25; Isaiah 1:3
T: Savior as Creator "Ox knows his master"--do we?
A: Bundle up good and go on a walk together to appreciate His other creations!

DAY 14:
O: (Today they just find the scroll in the box), but it's EGGNOG day!
S: D&C 38: 17-20
T: God's blessings to His people--"land flowing with MILK and honey"
A: Drink eggnog and take turns expressing a blessing you're grateful for

DAY 15:
O: Gingerbread men
S: John 6:28-35
T: "Bread of Life"
A: Make Gingerbread men/house

DAY 16:
O: Red bows
S: Isaiah 61:1-3
T: "BIND UP the brokenhearted"/ tied in bonds of brotherhood....
A: Put red bows on tree, and n top of a treat that you deliver to someone who needs to be loved

DAY 17:
O: Candy Canes
S: Ezek. 34:11-16, 31
T: Jesus will seek out His flock
A: Give away a Book of Mormon/Church video to a nonmember family today!

DAY 18:
O: Stocking
S: Luke 10: 38-42
T: Do we "sit at His FEET" or are we busy with parties?
A: Discuss how we can think of Jesus and serve Him

DAY 19:
O: Donkey (that carried Mary)
S: Matt. 21:1-9
T: Triumphal Entry
A: Sing "He Sent His Son"

DAY 20:
O: Holly/Mistletoe
S: Mosiah 3: 5-11
T: Red berries/ green thorns-- "blood cometh from every pore"/crown of thorns
A: Hang mistletoe above the door

DAY 21:
O: Snowman/ icicles
S: Isaiah 1:18; Revelations 3:5
T: Forgiveness ("white as snow")
A: Sing "Let it Snow!" or make snowman/snow angels, cut out snowflakes....

DAY 22:
O: Poinsettia
S: D&C 49:22-28; D&C 133:46-51
T: Second Coming ("blossom as the rose," "red apparel")
A: Go buy a poinsettia and display in a prominent place

DAY 23:
O: Pannetone (or fruit cake)--pannetone is an Italian cake that my husband fell in love with on his mission. It's way better than fruit cake and lots of places sell it now at Christmas time. Again, we don't put this in the box. ;)
S: D&C 135:3
T: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSEPH SMITH!!
A: Yes, we actually sing happy birthday to him and eat his birthday (fruit) cake

DAY 24:
O: Santa/Gifts
S: James 1:17-27
T: "Every good gift from above"
A: Think of a meaningful gift to give to Jesus this year