Ah… the ambiance of a warm, crackling fireplace at Christmas! Stockings are hung by the chimney with care, hoping St. Nicholas will soon be there. But, if you live in a Scandinavian or a European country, do not hang those…
Category: Holidays
Sledding in the Streets
As the cold snow wistfully falls, I dream of romantic horse-drawn carriage rides through Central Park in New York City. Thick, soft blankets and some steaming, hot chocolate add to the ambiance. The horses appear happy trotting down the paved…
The Most Holy Family: A Prelude to Christ
Welcome back to the final part of a three-part Special Edition of Everything Christmas Blogs. If you missed the first two parts of this special story, you may want to read them first by clicking on the following links: www.danabicksauthor.com/blog/a-real-father-christmas…
The Humble Mother of a Christmas Savior
Welcome to Part Two of a three-part Special Edition of Everything Christmas Blogs. As Christians, it is important to know about Jesus. For example, how many details do you actually know about His family? Though most information is minimal, try…
Slow Down and Light the Candles
My childhood and young adult years were informative times in the Lutheran church. But, as strong as my family’s practice was in this religious conviction, I cannot remember a time we celebrated Advent. Christmas always revolved around being good for…
It’s A Christmas Sing-A-Long!
My friends, today, we are warming up the vocal chords and putting on our thinking caps. This is a challenge, of sorts, to discover how well you know Christmas music! Please listen carefully to the three songs below: Can you…
The Season of Jesus
I give you the sun that breaches through the frosted foliage. I give you the peace of the morning light as cumulus lay resting high above and harmony wakens. I give you the fortitude to rise, and you can thank…
Paying Homage at Christmas
I'm not racist or blasphemous, as I'd like to believe we are all men of God. That being said, there's a piece of history I've stumbled upon I want to share with you. As the war broke out over Germany,…
A Personal Thanksgiving Message
My sanctuary is barren on this tranquil day for the winter cold has taken its toll on our summer blooms. But even so, it feels good to sit outside and reflect on another year almost gone. It’s Thanksgiving, and I…
Breaking Bread
It was early morning, and I smelled the aroma of pumpkin and turkey as I walked into the kitchen. Loaves of bread were cooling on the counter. The beginning of the holy season was here. It was a time to…
Losing Sight of Christmas
The muddy slush piles up against curbs and trampled footprints scatter about on the snow-covered sidewalks. Storefronts capitalize on impending Christmas shopping with festive, decorated windows. Full of alluring ideas that tax the mind where wallets won't permit, it’s hard…
No More Montgomery Wards
It was a cold Friday morning, and my mother promised to take me to see Santa the day after Thanksgiving. The winds howled, and flurries flew, but we bundled up and headed out, anyway. Twenty-five more days till Santa arrived…
Circle of Eternal Life
Several years ago, I visited Williamsburg, Virginia at Christmastime. I walked the streets of this historical town, and it amazed me how preservationists kept the buildings true to the colonial period of the 18th-century city. If you never visited America’s…
It Smells Like Christmas!
Oh, the sweet smell of Christmas! As it stimulates the sensory buttons, it also expands the visible waistline, but who cares, right? It’s the holidays, and it’s time to bake the best foods of the season – cookies (defined as…
A Christmas Celestial Event
A perfect scene… a star like none other, sitting above a stable in the peaceful night and it's announcing the birth of a holy Messiah. The Gospel of Matthew was the only book in the Bible which described “The Star…
Birth of the Christmas Greeting Card
It’s the mid-1800s in the United Kingdom, and Sir Henry Cole had a remarkable idea to share “Good Tidings” among his friends. His friend, John Horsley, was the artist who designed that very first Christmas greeting card for him. He…
The Littlest Feet of Christmas
Enjoy this Christmas tune, The Friendly Beasts, by Evan Wickham! Our African Grey parrot will celebrate twenty-seven Christmases with us this year; our Cockatoo, seven years. With a lifespan of 60-75 years, we have many more holidays to sing Christmas…
Pickling Christmas
There is nothing better than a good crunchy pickle, whether dill or sweet, to wash down a great sandwich. Just ask my daughter – she is the queen of pickle jars. But who, in their right mind, invented making a…