Catholic Thought discussion

Is there an any more enchanted season as Advent and Christmas? If there is any season to become child-like again, it is this one. The early nightfall, the twinkly lights in the heavens, on buildings, or in our homes all beckon that this time of the year is special, is separate from any other. The older we get, the more important I think it is to find that inner six-year-old full of wonder and anticipation. We all have traditions we cherish, and with our families we also create new traditions, hopefully to be carried on into the next generation. Most of all this is a season when the Christ Child, our Savior is born. The memories we make during this time remind us that they will always be intertwined with Him.

This thread is for all sorts of Advent and Christmas related topics.

Here is an article about Christmas Pudding.

https://hearthandfield.com/stir-up-su...

Thank you for that article. I always thought of Christmas pudding as an American-type pudding. Now I know better!

When my children were small I would gather us all at the Nativity scene in our home as soon as they were awake on Christmas morning. Then we would sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. They have moved out into homes of their own, but the tradition stayed with them. My husband and I still sing it to Him on Christmas morning.

That is a lovely tradition, Michelle!

The BBC 4 podcast "The Food Programme" just published a new episode entitled "The Forgotten Foods of Christmas". While not strictly Catholic, it gives a glimpse of what folks ate for Christmas and how certain items or food pairings, such as the combination of meat and fruit, came about. (30 minutes)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001...

My family is Polish so I still celebrate Wigilia on Christmas Eve dinner. No meat.

We're Italian, and no meat for us as well Doreen. We don't do seven fishes as some Italians do, but we do about three.

As Lutherans we didn't have meat restrictions on Christmas Eve, and in Germany many people had potato salad and wieners, the Christmas goose being the big meal the next day. There were a lot of families that had carp on Christmas Eve, and I recall my mom making it when I was little. In our family over the years the tradition became cheese fondue. My parents had friends living in Switzerland, and they taught my mom how to make it. I've continued the tradition to this day, because it is delicious and very little work in the kitchen with minimal clean-up. Though I would say what I like most about it, is that it is so communal. You interact on a different level and don't just concentrate on your own plate.

It's not a Catholic restriction, Kerstin, but a local custom. It's a tradition that sprang up in various countries.

You're right, I used the wrong word.

Doreen wrote: "My family is Polish so I still celebrate Wigilia on Christmas Eve dinner. No meat."

Doreen, do you do the butter lamb at Easter, too? My family is predominantly Polish, and we have that Easter tradition.

Kerstin, because you said we could use this thread for Christmas related topics, I’d like to quote some lines written by the Japanese writer Shusaku Endo. When we hear his name we usually think of his spare, evocative masterpiece Silence, but Endo also wrote a book called A Life of Jesus. Near the end of it he says this:

“Even if I failed to include the story of Bethlehem in this book, I do recognize the truth of Bethlehem; it is an integral part of that true world which the souls of human beings have craved. . . Because in the long course of human history there have been innumerable hearts that have ached with need for the little town of Bethlehem. Because in their hearts Bethlehem has continued to be revered as the purest and the most innocent place on earth. Because on Christmas night untold numbers of children have thought about Bethlehem, and the memory remains somewhere in their hearts for the rest of their lives. As all mankind has craved the reality of Bethlehem, so also did the authors of the New Testament crave it . . . “

That's a beautiful passage, Frances!

"all mankind has craved the reality of Bethlehem" - so true! It stirs something in the inmost heart we have no words for.

Thanks, Frances, I had not known about that book. I will be looking for it. I should share it with my Japanese-American grandchildren.

Merry Christmas to all!

Thank you. Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas!

May the joy of Christmas find each one of us and touch our hearts with love and grace. I am so grateful for this group and the blessed insights you all have shared.