We finished our Christmas shopping today. The kids and I also finished putting up our Scripture Wall. We don't put up Christmas trees. We do a Scripture Wall instead. We enjoy this, as we make it as a family, and we make it look however we want. This year's says "Happy Birthday Jesus" in big colorful letters, and has several pages of decorated Scriptures and pictures on it. This time we made the Scripture wall on a movable foam board, so that if we have Christmas in the new house, we can pick up the Scripture wall, and bring it to the new house. :-)Many Catholic Christians and others have been decorating with Scripture all Advent Long. This resource on the Domestic Church Site has symbols and scriptures for every week of advent.
The Under Her Starry Mantle Blog has a beautiful example of the type of "scripture wall" Candy describes.
Fisheaters has a great description of the Jesse Tree and the symbols and scriptures that go with it.
My family also does a Jessee Tree and this year we even hung ornaments for the O Antiphons. (I'll try to get pictures up later). In this way, despite our differences, Candy and I have something in common!
4 comments:
+JMJ+
Hmmmmm. Where in the Bible can we find Candy's "New Testament church" tradition of Scripture walls? I wonder . . .
I'm guessing it doesn't count as a tradition if she made it up herself.
Not so much that, Enbrethiliel, as where in the Bible does it command us to observe Christ's birth every year.
And before we get all "pagan holiday," read this article in Biblical Archaeology Review on the date of Christmas. Very handy.
I remember receiving a Gideon booklet once which had John 3:16 printed in a number of foreign languages. I clipped out those languages I could decipher - a few - and stuck them on my gym locker. But, at what point is this devotion to the printed word idolatry? I'm genuinely curious because I could be guilty myself.
Felix Dies Nativitatis!
+JMJ+
Moonshadow: You remind me that my family once had a Gideon Bible, too! The different translations of John 3:16 fascinated me . . . but so did the different translations of Stille Nacht. I was into languages . . .
I really wouldn't know when devotion becomes idolatry. It's easier to spot idolatry (or merely to think that one has spotted idolatry) where the "graven images" of saints are concerned; much harder when it comes to the printed word. Thanks for this food for thought, though!
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