Happy New Year

I sincerely hope you had a wonderful Christmas and the upcoming New Year brings you many blessings from our heavenly father. Happy New Year! I look forward to another year of posting blogs!

A Tree in the House

Well, it is that time of year when we begin to decorate for the Christmas season. A tree in the house, decorations inside and out, kids all a buzz with the thought of presents and sugar from cane candy  running through their veins. Have you ever thought why we do what we do? Well, let’s take a look.

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition, as we now know it, in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. (History.com)

Traditional holiday decor is all about the red and green. As it turns out, these colors are steeped in religious context. The color green is associated with the continuation of life through the winter, as well as, in the belief of the eternal life of Jesus. Meanwhile, red was traditionally used to symbolize the blood of Jesus. (christmasdecorottawa.com)

Here is one of several legends explaining the birth of candy canes. In Indiana, a candy maker wanted to make a candy that could be a reminder of Jesus Christ. Thus was born the Christmas candy cane. He started off with a stick of pure white hard candy. The white color symbolized the virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus. The hard candy symbolized the solid rock which was the foundation of the church and firmness of the promises of God. The candy maker made the candy in the form of a J, which represented the name of Jesus and the staff of the Good Shepherds. He then stained it with three stripes which showed the scourging Jesus received and symbolized the blood shed by Christ on the cross. When you break the cane, it reminds us that Jesus’ body was broken for us. (spanglercandy.com)

So now you have it, up ’til now, the whole story . . . kinda sorta . . . at least, I think so. The important thing being to have a wonderful Christmas and remember the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ!

Cigarettes

Talking with a good friend last week, I learned something new about an item in which I formally indulged not so many years ago. The item is cigarettes. Before I was born, they were an accepted and almost expected part of life. When I was a kid in the seventies, they remained a full blown part of society.

Cigarettes were advertised on television with catchy slogans such as, “I’d rather fight than switch,” or jingles like, “You’ve come a long way, baby, to get where you’ve got to, today. You’ve got your own cigarette now, baby; you’ve come a long, long way.” How about, “You can’t take the country out of Salem.”? Certainly something you wouldn’t see today.

Even though I’m a former smoker, I’m not a nicotine-Nazi and believe as long as you’re a common-sense distance away from non-smokers, ‘Burn’em if you’ve got’em.’

The one thing that would make me quit if I still partook of nicotine is the price. I couldn’t believe when my friend told me a pack of cigarettes in a tobacco state like Virginia, which is where we live, is $7. Take a jaunt north to the ‘Big Apple’ and you’ll pay $14/per pack. Trek ‘Down Under’ and you’re looking at $30 bucks a pack. These are based on a pack of Marlboro Reds. If you’re looking to purchase a carton in Virginia expect to spend $70 or more, and check this out, last year, for the first time in 20 years, cigarette sells were up . . . go figure.

Talk about sticker shock and this is an item that after it’s purchased is literally set afire and burned until nothing’s left!

Have one fantastic week and may God’s blessings fall upon you and yours!

The Constitution

In one setting or the other, the Constitution is frequently used to decide specific court cases all the way down to personal disputes. This document is the very foundation on which our constitutional republic is formed, giving us a democracy like no other.

The United States of America is the greatest country ever founded, and I am proud to be an American and reside in this amazing land.

Every once in a while, as with most things, a misnomer will appear even in such a powerful document as the Constitution. Well, not so much in the Constitution, but what is believed to appear in the Constitution.

The separation of church and state is often touted to be part of the Constitution. Actually, the phrase is never used . . . go figure.

I guess you learn something every day . . . now, that’s a phrase that may not be written but I can honestly say is used most every day, for it flies between my teeth nearly that often.

I hope your week runs as smooth as silk and God shines his countenance upon you!