J.M.J.

+

Hello, Friend!  Nannie here!

It’s so fun to see Finney all about his decoratin’ for Christmas!

 I hope you loved seein’ him in his bed, after lights were out, enjoyin’ lookin’ at his lighted tree!  How fun is that?!  Looked pretty cozy !

If anyone would like to know about some traditional Irish Christmas customs, (C) Copyright http://www.ireland-information.com gives us some fun information.  We read that a candle in the window is “a symbol of welcome to Mary and Joseph as they travelled looking for shelter.”  Also, during Penal times, when priests were not allowed to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a candle in the window would indicate a “safe place” to offer Mass.

 

Another tradition involving a lighted candle was to set the kitchen table, after Christmas Eve’s evening meal, with “a loaf of bread filled with caraway seeds and raisins, a pitcher of milk, and a large lit candle.  The door to the house was left unlatched so that Mary and Joseph, or any wandering traveller, could avail of the welcome.”  This tradition is referred to as the “laden table.”

 Yet another tradition involves a ring of Holly for the doors.  “Holly was one of the main plants that flourished at Christmas time and which gave the poor ample means with which to decorate their dwellings.”

We read at http://www.irishcentral.com…”If you’re looking for a Church packed to the rafters, look no further than any Church in Ireland at midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.  This is a huge social gathering where family, friends, and neighbors who you may not have seen all year come together and celebrate Christmas.”  We also read that January 6, Feast of the Epiphany, is traditionally when the Irish finish celebrating Christmas.  Tradition has it that women get the day off and the men of the house get to do the housework, cooking and taking down of the Christmas decorations.  Women meet up, have a day out and treat themselves.”

Finney shows us how pine cones become beautifully sparkly gold-y with a generous sprinklin’ of gold dust from the bottom of the pots o’ gold!

Also, in the last story-rhyme, Decoratin’ (Post #76), we spoke of a “Christmas Stone.”

In Post #75, we spoke a little about the great King  David of the Israelites.  We spoke about how my Dad* (from Cobh in County Cork) prayed the 23rd Psalm (a psalm of David) in his times of need.  Finney and his fellow Leprechauns have a special place in their minds and hearts for King David.  David’s story was one of the many stories that St. Patrick knew and could talk about.  The Leprechaun world was so delighted with this story of the ancestor of Baby Jesus!  He was a great King and faced a great battle with the Philistine Giant Goliath…and David was just a young shepherd at the time…and he was so much smaller than Goliath!  So, at Christmastime, when we celebrate the birthday of Baby Jesus in Bethlehem, the city of King David (because St. Joseph was of the Family of David), Finney’s Leprechaun world remembers David with a stone.  The stone represents the stone that David used to win the battle with Goliath…shows that you can be small and do great things!  Not only was David small against Goliath, so, too, was the city of his birth (Bethlehem).      “But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel;  Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times…He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God.”  (Micah, Chapter 5)

I’m sure you can see why the Leprechauns love King David!

We mentioned in the story-rhyme about Missie the donkey (Post #67), that, because Finney loves Missie as he does, he always wants to make sure the donkey has a special place in every Nativity scene.  Finney also loves to see the Nativity scene with lots of sheep, with a special thought for King David!  This shouldn’t be hard because Ireland has lots of sheep!

 

Finney knows that, as a shepherd,  King David  took care of his sheep.  A shepherd will leave the herd of sheep, if one is missing, and go to find the little lost one.  St. Patrick taught that this is what Jesus does, too.  Jesus is our Good Shepherd.

Finney must be all worn out because of all the decoratin’ work he has done!  He probably could not wait to get to bed!  He also wants to be very sure that he does not see Santa.  We all know that we should be asleep pretty quickly on Christmas Eve, because Santa needs his privacy and does not want anyone see him do his work!

Sleep well as we await the birthday of little Jesus, the King of Kings!

 God bless you and thank you for stopping by!

This Christmas scene was painted by Stevie Towne.

*We spoke of my Dad’s name being David…he would speak of  himself  as Daíthín (sounds like Dah-heen) …little David…how fun that is!