Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days

Do you know any odd Christians?   People with hearts of gold, who would never harm anyone… but who are nonetheless just plain ODD…. Well, Daniel the Stylite should be their patron saint.  Perhaps he is the proof that God can bless and use any one of us – no matter how batty some of our...

Lucy was a Christian girl who got caught up in the fierce and widespread Diocletian persecutions of 303-4. She refused to give up her Christian faith, and so was put to death. Her tomb can still be found in a Catacomb in Syracuse (Sicily), and there are early fourth-century inscriptions bearing her name (Euskia). Lucy’s...

Some people have near-death experiences…. Lazarus should be their patron saint.  Except that he went all the way, and died for four days.  He was quiet in his tomb and the mourners of Bethany were in full swing – before Jesus called him back to life.  (See John 11: 1 – 44.) What happened next...

Here is a modern-day saint whose compassion and determination has saved literally millions of lives. Eglantyne Jebb did not begin as an obvious ‘mover and shaker’ of people. Born in Shropshire in 1876, she grew up in Ellesmere, studied history at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, taught at Marlborough, and then resigned as she was...

A Midwinter festival has been a part of life since pre-Christian times. When the hours of daylight are fewest, the warmth of the sun weakest, and life itself seemingly at a standstill, our ancestors, the pagan peoples of Europe and Western Asia, kept festival by lighting bonfires and decorating their buildings with evergreens. Perhaps they...

How do you celebrate Christmas Eve?  It has its own customs, the most popular of which is going to Midnight Mass, or the Christ-Mas.  This is the only Mass of the year that is allowed to start after sunset.  In Catholic countries such as Spain, Italy and Poland, Midnight Mass is in fact the most...

For nearly four weeks leading up to Christmas Christians recognise a period called Advent.  It means ‘coming’.  It is a time of spiritual preparation.  ‘Coming’ refers to Jesus’ first coming as a baby, but it also looks forward to a day when Jesus is expected to return in triumph at his ‘second coming’ to establish...

The word ‘Christingle’ actually means ‘Christ Light’, and celebrates the light of Jesus coming into the world.   Stories of how the Christingle began look back to the Moravian Church, which is found in the Czech Republic.  The Moravians have held Christingle services for more than 200 years, and according to them, this is how the...

It is the Moravians whom we have to thank for bringing us the Christingle.  Especially one Moravian clergyman: John de Watteville. On 20th December, 1747, John de Watteville was taking a children’s service in his Moravian church in Marienborn, Germany.   He led the children in some hymns, and read out verses which the children themselves...

Our pretty Christmas cards do not do it justice – the stable that Jesus was born in would have been smelly, dirty, and full of mess.   So why did God not provide something better for His beloved Son?   Why let Joseph and Mary scrounge around until they ended up in a smelly stable? Perhaps because...

Ever wonder why Jesus was born when He was?  The Bible tells us that “when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son…” The Jewish people had been waiting for their Messiah for centuries.  Why did God send Him precisely when He did? Many biblical scholars believe that the ‘time had fully come’...

The traditional Nativity scene on our Christmas cards has Mary with the Holy Babe. Around her are the shepherds and Magi. We may also see stable animals, angels and a star! While Joseph is often included, his presence seems to be of minor importance. After all, we praise God for Jesus with our familiar Christmas...