Christmas Joy To The World

Let Me Introduce You To Advent

Advent Calendar Dates for 2017

• December 3 - First Sunday of Advent
• December 10 - Second Sunday of Advent
• December 17 - Third Sunday of Advent
• December 24 - Fourth Sunday of Advent

Advent is a Christian Season, it is for four weeks before Christmas. It starts at four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve.

The secular holiday season (not the liturgical Christian season) basically begins a few weeks before Christmas. Usually, this is a retail selling season. Of course there are get together's, partying and celebrations, but many times these are not religious. But still, they do foster a feeling of goodwill.

Advent is a religious holiday, and it does have that theme. Advent is not a time where shopping and partying take priority.

What is Advent?
Advent leads to the Real Christian Season Of Christmas, starting with Christmas Eve and it goes for 12 days, ending on Jan 6th. The good old 12 days of Christmas did not start this season, although I am sure it inspired it.
Advent actually means preparing for the birth of Christ, and now, waiting for the return of Christ.

Advent Comes With It's Own Colors?
The Advent wreath uses purple and pink candles, and a white candle for Christmas, the greenery associated with Christmas is an added on custom.
Advent features purple (or sometimes dark blue) and pink. The purple color shows seriousness, and repentance, and royalty. Pink relates to joy.

Advent is once again becoming very popular. There is a website that explains in depth the full concept of Advent. It is worth for you to check out.

Much joy of the Christmas Season comes from the music. Check out the free sheet music available here,

FREE DOWNLOADABLE SHEET MUSIC

• Adeste Fideles

• Angels We Have Heard On High

• Away in a Manger

• Carol of the Birds

• Deck the Hall

• God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

• I Saw Three Ships

• It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

• O Come, All Ye Faithful

• O Christmas Tree

• O Tannenbaum

• We Three Kings

• While Shepherds Watched

Don't surprise your family with a dog, rather, you can tell them you can all decide which dog to get.

Read the following articles!

Puppies, Dogs Are NOT Presents, They Are A Choice Made By A Family!

If you are thinking of a dog for your family, check out this article, how to pick the perfect dog for your family and lifestyle.

Choosing The Perfect Pooch For Your Family. An Assessment List

Our very well known and popular Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer, has a shiny red nose. This helps him cope with the deep winter darkness, but, hey, in real life a reindeer does not have a red glowing nose. However, they do have a certain kind of magic, and this magic is in the eyes.

Part of a reindeer's eye changes from gold to a winter blue. This will improve their ability to use light when the winter days become much shorter. You can read all about it on this website, just click on the picture.

This is very interesting, and hey, man gave Rudolph a red nose, but God in nature, changes his eyes so he can see better in the dark.

* Another part of the country actually had a pickle as part of their Christmas.

The Christmas pickle isn't really a pickle, but rather a pickle-ornament. A very old Christmas Eve tradition in Germany is to hide the pickle-ornament deep inside the branches of the decorated tree.

When the children woke up and saw the tree that day, (in those days, the tree was decorated after the children went to bed the night before Christmas Eve) the child who first spotted the ornament received an extra gift.

If an adult finds the pickle ornament then it is said that they will have a whole year of good luck.
In my family, this Christmas pickle is still a part of our Christmas celebration.

Is your dog one of these?

- A dog that races to the door when someone knocks or rings the door, and barks endlessly?

- Or maybe one of those dogs that when someone comes in the house they jump all over your guest, excited and happy to see them, but rather overwhelming?

- Or maybe one of those little guys that runs around your guests yapping and nipping the whole time of their visit?

- Or worse yet, will they steal food?

- Or try to escape when your guests come in?

Well, now is the time you need to get your companion canine to behave when guests come.

It can be done. I have found and online Dog Trainer, called Doggy Dan that is approved by the SPCA for his training methods. Check it out and make your holiday a happy and peaceful one that can include your dog.

Thanksgiving, is an awesome time of thanksgiving, of family, it is a pre-Christmas celebration of Thanksgiving, celebrated with lots of good food. It's a time to take your family, your dog and go out and enjoy God's nature. A time of waiting and smelling that wonderful meal you know is coming up. A time when your eyes ARE larger than your stomach.

The food is so much a part of the celebration of both Thanksgiving, and of course, Christmas. And yet, especially regarding your eyes, your vision, these two dinners hold some amazing nutrients for your eyes.

Here are some examples of those foods you love, and your eyes love and crave them too!

Check them out here, Natural Vision Therapy Blog

Since many of our pets are part of our family, four legged family members, they take part of the celebrations.

Here is my Nikki, a golden retriever and a favorite to the kids of my extended family, and even to some of my neighbors.

She wears her Reindeer Cap, and plays with one of her toys, given to her by her neighbor friend.

Being a golden retriever, and a retired Therapy dog, she absolutely loves people, kids, old people, and especially those in walkers or wheelchairs, since my husband used those for many years.

She still gets excited at the thought that maybe that is my husband in that walker, or wheelchair. She even gets excited at Wheel Trans for the handicapped because she used to ride along with my husband.

She deserves something nice and special at Christmas, she has brought much joy to others when she visited the many seniors in "homes" for the elderly for many years.

I have experienced many different Christmas customs throughout my life.

* When I was a young kid, my uncle always made his boys sing a Christmas tune before they could open their gifts.

* Coming from a European, German, background, we had our Main Christmas Celebration on Christmas Eve. That was our 1's t Day of Christmas, with Christmas day being the 2'nd Day of Christmas.

* When we were young, we were always dressed up for Christmas Eve, with a full Christmas meal served. The meal of course is still part of the celebration, the dressing up not so much... except for the little ones.

* My girlfriend would have a special breakfast Christmas morning, and then came the gifts.

* Church was always a part of our Christmas. Many different parts of Europe would also serve different foods as part of the Christmas Eve Celebration. One such meal was wieners with potato salad. But they had to be special wieners.