Advent Verses
Isaiah 53:12 tells us that in His death, he would be numbered with the trangressors.Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
We know from the gospels, specifically Matthew 27:38 that He was crucified alongside two thieves.
Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
Jesse Tree
My family combines two days of Jesse Tree again with this portion. Today is traditionally the anointing of David and tomorrow discusses his kingship. We use the verse 2 Samuel 22:51, which says "He gives His king great victories; He shows unfailing kindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever," which references both aspects of this step in our journey to Christ.
An appropriate ornament would be a drawing of a king's crown or scepter, or David's Star. If you are doing 3-dimensional ornaments, you could do a paper crown, or borrow a playmobil toy crown.
To Explore
Snowmen! We already discussed snow, but snowmen are a topic all their own. Though typically made of snow (hence the name,) they show up in decorations and desserts made of a wild assortment of objects. For lots of snowman history and trivia, be sure to visit History of the Snowman.
Building these friendly looking characters seems to be a skill even the youngest family member can tackle, but for those so inclined, here is a tutorial on building the perfect snowman
Bethel, Maine boasts the world's tallest snowman.
Christmas Around the World
Frosty might be the most famous, but the Abominable Snowman might be the most fierce. This mythical creature, also known as the Yeti, resides in the Himalayan mountains, which span the border of India, Nepal, and Tibet. Let's take a look at India today!
To hear that there are 24 million Christians living in India is exciting until you realize that this makes up less than 2.5% of the population. As of 2008, the population of India was 1,139,964,932. That's a lot of people! And sadly, that is a lot of people who do not know our Lord and Saviour. Remember to pray for the people of India as we study today.
Christmas is a beloved festival to Christian Indians, but it is celebrated by other religions as well. It is not uncommon to see a Mango tree, rather than an evergreen decorated for this holiday. A large portion of professing Christians in India are Catholic and many families attend Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. There are several languages and quite different Christmas traditions in the various regions of India. Here are more details on India Christmas traditions.
Merry Christmas in the Sanskrit tongue is - 'Krismasasya shubhkaamnaa'
Merry Christmas in Hindi is said - 'śubh krisamas'
Hands On
Make rice krispy treats, but rather than pressing into a pan, let them cool until safe to handle and let the family shape them into balls for snowmen. Decorate with mini m&m's and other goodies. Don't forget to take a picture! If you'd like, share a link to your picture for me to share here!
- Powder-sugar donuts make great snowman faces with candy corn or baby carrot noses
- For a kid-approved taste of India, try some mango. For a more adventurous taste of India, try some Gobi.
- Label India on a map of Asia.
- Color the flag of India.
Music
Frosty the Snowman - http://www.christmas-carols.net/carols/frosty.html
This song has been recorded by many artists, the first being Gene Autrey. Frosty is a popular Christmas character, but ironically, the word Christmas is not found in the song.
Books
The Mitford Snowmen (for mom)
Games
Movies
Beautiful music in this one!
Classic Children's Tale -
Classic Children's Tale -
Depressing Grown-up Tale -
A preview of Jack Frost:
The Backyardigans Episode #3, Yeti Tale
For older children, this bollywood movie would require some discussion and a scene with children's heads turned, but it does give a good sample of bollywood. Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is about a rich businessman who is sentenced to be a guardian for four children after he accidentally kills their parents in a car wreck. God sends an angel down to be their nanny. One major point of discussion is the nanny's advice that God has a "point system" that allows us to earn His favor. Thankfully, this is not so and makes room for a great family discussion about God's grace and mercy. If good deeds earned His favor, bad deeds deserve His scorn. Instead, we rely on His Grace and are grateful for the blood of Jesus that was shed for our sins. This made for a GREAT discussion with my family, pausing the movie and asking our children to explain what was wrong with what the characters were saying. Another discussion is the ending, which has the angel getting to become human. Be sure to have everyone turn their heads when the fiance throws a pool party....strangely risque dancing for a family movie.
A Sample:
