The Magic of Christmas
— Tom Krause‘Joy to the World’, the carolers sang out
as last minute shoppers scurried about,
desperately seeking that one special gift
that would give Christmas morning a magical lift.A old man standing still listening to the song,
amidst all the madness of the bustling throng,
in a shaky hoarse voice began to join in
singing the words of the famous old hymn.One by one people stopped with their madness
to join with the old man for a moment of gladness.
By the time the carolers finished singing their song
the whole throng was united as they all sang along.And as if by magic from out of the sky
church bells rang out from a chapel near by.
When the song finally ended the people greeted each other
with messages of good will they shared with one another.You see that magical gift the shoppers sought for so long,
was not in the shopping or scurrying along.
That magical gift so desperately sought
was the Spirit of Christmas -which could never be bought.
Christmas preparations are definitely under way in our house. My daughter has begun learning the poem The Magic of Christmas to recite in a couple of weeks. It brings us a timely reminder to pause with the old man, as carol services, Christmas parties and decorating begin.
So in the midst of all the scurrying about this December, we are going to try to slow down and enjoy Advent: we’ll decorate the house; light candles; share poems; make gifts; create memories; enjoy traditions; remind ourselves of the first nativity; and read Christmas books (in abundance!). Our Christmas read aloud this year is going to be E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Nutcracker illustrated by Maurice Sendak as my older two are being taken to see the live ballet performance with their grandmother just before Christmas.
One of our favourite Advent traditions is enjoying a pile of familiar short Christmas picture books and another is creating what my older two refer to as our ‘Christmas Library’. The ‘Christmas Library’ is a collection of chapter books with Christmas themes for them to enjoy, which we pull out each year from the attic.
How does your family enjoy Advent?
CLASSICALLY CURIOUS 