Can you believe Christmas is already gone? Wow, that went fast. It’s been a busy season, but very enjoyable. Not too much stressing out and maybe that is because I did most of my Christmas shopping last January. It was nice not having to think about so much of that.
The Boar’s Head Christmas Festival
This year we attended a most magical event called the Boar’s Head Christmas Festival held in a beautifully ornate Lutheran church in St. Charles, MO. This wonderful Christmas celebration find’s its roots in the story of the unarmed Sir Wenceslas killing the vicious attacking boar by ramming his metal bound Bible down the animal’s throat. Led in by the Beefeaters, the king’s court fills the church and the festivities begin. Jesters, the lords and ladies of the court, choirs all perform for the king’s enjoyment as the guests (that would be us in the pews) enjoy cookies and mingle with the court. When the Wassailers finish with a merry tune and the Yule log is escorted out, the story of the Christ child’s birth is retold in a beautiful performance that brings the festival goers right into the performance. Aromatic incense of frankincense and myrrh fills the church as the kings travel through down to the manger where the baby Savior lies. For twenty-nine years the congregation of this church have been celebrating the Christmas season with the Boar’s Head Festival. I can’t wait for next year.
Christmas Lights at Our Lady of the Snows
Every year we make it a point to visit a few light displays around St. Louis. The weather has been so warm and no where near snowy, so it just hasn’t been a tradition that we’ve thought much about this year. We did, however, get out to Our Lady of the Snows to visit the Way of Lights. This large display is made up of mostly white lights and tells the Christmas story through Scripture and light formations as you travel through the display.
Laying of the Wreaths
I took the kids to Jefferson Barracks with our 4-H group and we placed wreaths on graves for the Christmas season. It was a wonderful time of reflection and remembrance of those who aren’t with us anymore and those who are spending the holidays in far away places without family. Pray for our soldiers and their families. I can’t imagine being away from my husband for long periods of time. It must be very difficult.
A Christmas Concert
We got to celebrate Christmas with our church family in song at our annual gathering the Sunday before Christmas. Families or individuals perform songs, recite catechisms, or perform skits and this year there were so many different instruments included in the performances. I love how diverse our church family is in pretty much every way possible. They are real, and loving, and passionate about Jesus, and they encourage me so much to be the same. One particular song that I had not heard before has become a favorite. It’s called Born to Die. What a beautiful reminder of why Christmas and the birth of Jesus is worth celebrating with it’s own holiday.
Christmas Eve
Our family tradition on Christmas eve is to watch A Christmas Carol, the George C. Scott version. I love that we stay home. We aren’t rushing off to some event. It’s a magical story that gives a great reminder the day before gift-giving of the type of attitude we should have on Christmas and every day, really. I think this is my favorite Christmas tradition of all.
Christmas Day
Christmas morning we gather early in the morning, read the Christmas story in the gospel of Luke and open presents with the kids. I think the highlight for them was the huge batch of Japanese snack foods I got them. It was fun watching them try these foreign foods with no idea what any of it was they were eating. They are stocked up on mystery snacks. =)
My favorite gift was the one I got for my husband – a new Iwata air compressor and a couple of new air brushes for working on his model airplanes. Frustrated with the poor quality of his equipment and the poor results he was getting, he put it all away months ago and hadn’t touched it. I knew how much he wanted to get back into it so I was very eager to find a way to make it happen. I think he was pretty happy with his gift.
Another highlight of the day was getting to spend time with family we hadn’t seen in a while including relatives in from California. It was so good to visit again but as always, the time flew by too quickly. 
And here we are, just a couple days away from 2016. I’m excited about the new year and can’t wait to see what it holds. How was your Christmas season? Do you have any highlights? Please share them in the comments below.
