Wrapping presents, crafting DIY Christmas ornaments, and carol singing are all signs that the Christmas season has arrived. Depending on which part of the world you live in, this looks very different.
Christmas is not the best time of the year for everyone. Some families can barely afford enough food, a warm home, or clothing. Not to mention presents for the children. Young people in Freudenstadt in Germany are aware of this and started a campaign to create a little joy by collecting all kinds of things to give away as gifts. They met in the church on 12 and 13 October and packed the toys, toiletries, and writing materials they had collected into beautifully upcycled shoe boxes. The Christian aid organisation Samaritan’s Purse will deliver the 225 gifts, each with a personal greeting from the young people, to children in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Ukraine, for example. The young people had also raised almost a thousand euros which they gave to the aid organisation to pay for the transport of the gifts. The weekend was rounded off with a youth service based on the good Samaritan.
Getting in the mood for Advent
A Sunday School choir, an adult choir, and the Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra got the Advent season off to a musical start by treating Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa to an extraordinary concert on Saturday, 30 November. The musicians performed at the majestic Feather Market Centre. One of the highlights was “Hello little King” rendered by the Sunday School choir together with organ and piano. The adult choir sang the carol “The First Nowell”. Solo and orchestral contributions rounded off the concert, which was greeted with a standing ovation.
Accompanying children into Advent
In order to make the Bible texts of the Advent services understandable to children, the New Apostolic Church Canada has uploaded activity pages to its website as it does every month. With some text and pictures and a picture to colour in, children can engage with the same worship themes as their parents during the Advent season: the arrival of the King, Mary’s trust, and our own redemption and hope. The activity pages invite the children to test their knowledge, do some colouring, and encourage them to learn.
A Christmas star shines brightly
“There is no family, no company, no village and no congregation where Christmas is not celebrated together,” says the retired District Apostle Urs Hebeisen about his adopted country, the Philippines. Already in September, Christmas music can be heard at petrol stations or in shopping centres, and as soon as the Halloween decorations are gone the Filipinos bring out their Christmas decorations. A sister from the Makati congregation in Metro Manila includes some of the iconic symbols of the Yuletide season in her art. The five-pointed star is one of these. People decorate the front of their homes with star-shaped lanterns. They are called “parols” and symbolise the Star of Bethlehem, which led the wise men to the baby Jesus. Originally, these holiday ornaments were crafted from bamboo strips and Japanese paper (papel de Japon) and were illuminated by a candle. Today, these lanterns are made from a variety of materials and are typically illuminated by electric lights.