The Carnival of Christmas, 2009: GLORIA!

UPDATE, 25Dec2009 - What a lovely Christmas present: a link from the Blog Daddy himself! Thank you, Prof. Reynolds, and I hope your day was a joyful as mine. For those who would like more Christmas awesomeness, you can also read the first, second, third and fourth Carnivals of Christmas. I love hosting this wonderful Carnival; it has blessed me each year. So, I hope to see you all again for the SIXTH Carnival next year - and you'll send something in for me to link, right? ;-)

Best blessings to you all for a glorious day! (/UPDATE)

UPDATE (24Dec2009, 9a)! Kender, that blessed man, decided to feature the Carnival on his Right Talk Radio program on the 23rd of December. He graciously sent me the file and encouraged me to post it here. So, for your listening pleasure - and in hopes that this becomes a Christmas tradition - here it is. It's just over two hours long, and Kender did an AWESOME job! Thank you, my friend!

(UPDATE to the UPDATE(25Dec2009 7a): *sigh* The complete file was just too long, and died at about 1:15:00, so I have uploaded the eight parts separately.)

Carnival of Christmas, part one

Carnival of Christmas, part two

Carnival of Christmas, part three

Carnival of Christmas, part four

Carnival of Christmas, part five

Carnival of Christmas, part six

Carnival of Christmas, part seven

Carnival of Christmas, part eight

Thank you for coming by this year's Carnival of Christmas. It's a little quieter than it was last year, but there is a lot here to encourage and bless you for this most holy day.

I want to give my deepest thanks to all the contributors; it wouldn't be the Carnival without you all, and I am blessed and honored that you got involved. I truly appreciate all the beauty and care you put into your submissions, and I know they will be a wonderful gift of grace to your readers. Thanks again!

This year's Carnival was a bit hard for me, since we're mourning the loss of our dear Princess Pixel of the Prodigious Purr. It's sad to lose a beloved pet, especially so close to the holidays, but she lived a very good life with lots of kitti-skritchies, snuggles, cuddles, and love. We will miss her cat conversations and her quirky character very much.

With Pixel in mind, I'd like to open with an entry from A Ski, "The Christmas Tale of Baby the Cat." I think that I'm going to see if I can find a little Hummel cat figurine to add to my crèche scene, so that I can remember the purrs who have gone across the Rainbow Bridge.

Let's start with entries about

The Real Meaning of Christmas

Adam, the founder of the Carnival, gives us "The Season of Good News," and reminds us -

Presents are nice, and it’s great to share Christmas with family, but the extravagant gift of God, of what He invites us into is what is the true meaning of Christmas, and that’s why Christmas can be meaningful, even to the pauper and the lonely.

A.F. Ticker reminds us of the Reason we celebrate Christmas - 

Now this is a reason for celebration! The King Who came to the world as a child, grew to manhood, was crucified, buried, raised from the tomb, and ascended into heaven is coming again. This time He will not come as a peaceful Child. This time He will come as The King of kings and the Lord of lords.

My friend Doug, who writes at Political Pistacio, sent this in:

On Christmas Morning in 1987 it was my third Christmas in the United States Navy, and my third Christmas away from home. Like all of my other Christmas mornings, I was alone, and on duty.

The first Christmas I was in the state of Mississippi. I volunteered to stand duty watch, since I had nobody else to spend it with.

On my second Christmas in the Navy I was out to sea. I served underway watch, cold in the dark of night with the sea spray tapping on my skin. I served watch alone. I had nobody else to spend it with.

My third Christmas was on shore duty, in an office, alone. I had nobody to spend it with.

I was alone each Christmas, or so I thought, with nobody to spend it with. But during that time, when I felt my most lonely, He was watching over me, keeping me safe, keeping me close. I thought I was alone, but it was then that He was with me.

I assumed I had nobody to spend the time with, but despite my doubts, Christ spent the time with me.

Indeed! Remember, one of the Names of Christ is Immanuel - God With Us!

My dear blog brother, GM Roper, sends in his story about Daddy Bah - 

... when you give something to someone this Christmas, do it not because giving is important, do it from love, because Love is most important and the most important gift you can give.

I adore the Random Yak, and this year he sends in proof that Yak the Younger knows the true meaning of Christmas, too!

“Besides, it’s not about getting an expensive gift.  We only give presents to remind one another that Christ came into the world to live and die on our behalf.  The presents aren’t important, and if you put too much emphasis on them, people forget what they’re really all about in the first place.

“It doesn’t matter what they give me.  I know what it stands for, and I’m glad they care enough to send anything at all.”

Ah, Kender - my dear brother, my goofy, fierce, and wonderful friend - Kender sends in his own poem about the Reason for the Season -

No gift on Earth can equal
What the Lord above has done
He sent us our salvation
When He Sent His only Son

Kender is an excellent wordsmith in his own right - and I'm still waiting for that collection of poems and stories, my friend! ;-)

Of course, Kender isn't the only poet here at the Carnival; David at Third World County has penned a beautiful set of verses, the Gift, to celebrate the Reason for the season!

Big Dog has a great post up - no, trust me! - "It's all about the gifts" -

But the true spirit of Christmas is when we give something, no matter what the value, to someone we either do not know or do not have a close relationship with. It is our chance to demonstrate the kindness and to redeem ourselves. It is a chance to do something without any expectation of something in return.

And Cao chimes in with some great Illinois pictures and says

Material things…wealth, money – they come and go. But hopefully through it all, we’re able to maintain relationships with family and friends and help each other out and be there for each other when the times get tough. It is when people go through rough times that you truly find out who cares about you. It is those times when Christ’s message shines through…in that forgiving, unconditional love that is taught in 2nd Corinthians.

The Sounds of Christmas

Adam also sent in two old time radio shows, first from Let George Do It, and the second from Dragnet. Both have Christmas themes and are lots of fun to hear.

LOL, well there are sounds in this one, but it's not quite what you'd expect! Both GM Roper and David at Third World County thought this worthy of inclusion...

The cadences of poetry frequently set the mood for some stirring or thoughtful ideas. David at Third World County found this beautiful gem by C.S. Lewis, truly an excellent writer in a class of his own.

Nice Deb sends in her annual "A Very Perry Christmas" - oh, I remember Steve Perry (and Journey)! I guess I do miss the 80's sometimes ;-)

"Crabs for Christmas"? Well, Fishersville Mike says you might not get it if you're not from Baltimore... LOL! Very cute, though!

One of my Virginia blog friends, Rick Sincere, has a fascinating discussion of carols and Christmas hymns that I earnestly encourage you to go read. There's a lot of information there, and a lot to learn! Do you know where your favorite carol came from?

A Ski, who sent in the story about Baby the Cat, also sent in this video on YouTube - a beautiful choral rendition of O Magnum Mysterium.

The Traditions of Christmas

My dear friend, Always On Watch, has had a very hard year. But thanks to friends who believe in doing what Christ commands, AOW and her husband have had a joyous early Christmas!

Is it really the tree or the presents that make Christmas? Brian from Bearing Drift sends in a story about the best Christmas Tree ever - and gives an excellent answer to the question.

The Random Yak reappears to comment on the traditions of how we choose our Christmas trees (oh, I've seen one or two of those trees in my own life!), and reminds us that these family memories really help make Christmas special.

What could be more traditional for Christmas than Santa Claus? Well, Paul at Thoughts of a Regular Guy has a great entry that explains why he believes in Santa - the real Santa! And for more information about St. Nicholas, I encourage you to go over to the Mars Hill Church blog and read all about him.

I can remember, many years ago, that my parents got quite upset with the abbreviation of Christmas to "Xmas." David at Third World County reminds us that "Xmas" is actually a respectful and historical version of the word - so let's keep the "X" in Christmas!

Laying Wreaths at Arlington and other National Cemeteries is very definitely a tradition of Christmas, and one we should hold close. never forget the Man who took the Ultimate Fall, so that we might be raised to new life in Him...

SWAC Girl also posts some gorgeous pictures of Christmas in Williamsburg - a colonial Christmas is truly a thing of beauty, but oh, that candy!!! Yum! Plus, she also has an absolutely perfect story about visiting Santa as a young girl, as well as going to have a Christmas tea after seeing Santa.

Obi's Sister has a picture-filled post up about all the gorgeous Santas she owns  - truly an impressive collection!

The Flavors of Christmas

David directs us to a Christmas "Chili" - apparently it's not a real chili, but it certainly looks awesomely excellent!

And Peppermint Bark? I loooooooove Peppermint Bark! This looks like an excellent recipe, posted over at Charm Offensive Cooking.

Christmas in the News

This is a new section for the Carnival, but I received two entries that I think warranted it. First is from Beth Shaw at Right Pundits, "Advent Conspiracy: Have Americans Lost Our Way?" It is indeed a good question, with so many resenting a cheerful "Merry Christmas!" wish. Beth's post dovetails in nicely with a post from last year by Cassie Fiano at Stop the ACLU: "Christmas is now an official holiday in Iraq." I pray that, as Iraq celebrates Christmas - officially - for the first time this year, that the Savior whose birth we celebrate is born in many hearts!

And that's all for this year's Carnival; I hope that all these wonderful posts will help you enjoy Christmas. May you be surrounded by family and friends this year, but most importantly, I pray that you remember and rejoice over the greatest Gift ever given: a little, helpless babe born in a tiny town who is the God who came to us to be our Savior.

May the Spirit of Christ be born in your heart this year, and may you bow before Him in worship and gratitude for all the abundant gifts He has poured out upon us!