Christmas

Thoughts & Sayings (February 2014)

Here are some thoughts and sayings I posted on Twitter and/or Facebook in December 2013 and January 2014. To my knowledge, I made these up (for better or for worse). Sit back, relax, and enjoy the write!

Encouraging Words

1. You cannot deny destiny, but if you do nothing, destiny can deny you.

2. Doing two things at once takes half the time.

Twisted Words

3. I score a goal every time I hit the coffee puck into the trash.

In Its Own Write

4. I’m writing a book about a pair of normal Romans.

Holidays & Events

5. A human in a polar vortex is like a polar bear in a zoo.

6. ’13 was my lucky year. I made it to 2014.

7. The Mayan calendar ended in 2012. It only took me a year to catch up.

8. The ring of the cash registers sounds like silver bells.

9. Before the advent of December 1, there was November 30.

Random Musings

10. Sometimes what’s in the rear view is more interesting than what lies ahead.

11. Trains of thought don’t always run on schedule.

Click here to visit the Thoughts & Sayings page, or click here to read the previous batch of Thoughts & Sayings.

Images courtesy of Microsoft except Roman Coliseum photo by M.G. Edwards.

The Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree has become the centerpiece of most modern Christmas celebrations. Whether its origins are Christian is unclear. Legend has it that Protestant reformer Martin Luther began the tradition of adorning trees with candles around 1500 A.D. after being awestruck by moonlight reflecting on a stand of evergreens. He brought a small fir tree home and decorated it with candles lit in honor of Jesus Christ’s birth.

Some claim that the Christmas tree has secular origins that range from the early Egyptian worship of evergreens to the Romans’ Saturnalia festival or Druidic rituals practiced during the winter solstice.

Whatever its origins, the modern Christmas tree represents something different to people who celebrate the holiday now than it did to their ancestors. The evergreen is a changeling in the sense that it can take any shape or form. It can be any color, tall or short, big or small, real or artificial, filled with lights, candles, garland and tinsel or none of them, topped by a star or angel, glittering or austere, and filled with identical ornaments or a hodgepodge of collectibles. The tree looks like whatever the person who puts it up wants it to be.

The only aspect that hasn’t changed through the centuries is that the tree should be a coniferous pine. Perhaps its evergreen nature symbolizes that it will always have a special place in people’s hearts, no matter what form it takes.

May your holidays ever be filled with the Christmas spirit.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

The Christmas Nativity

The Nativity, or crèche, is one of my family’s favorite Christmas symbols. Introduced to Europe in 1223 by St. Francis of Assisi, who wanted to emphasize Jesus Christ’s birth at Christmastime by reenacting the event with humans and animals, the Nativity has become an iconic part of the Yuletide. Nativities can be both live or inanimate with pieces in all shapes and sizes.

My family loves to collect Nativity scenes from around the world. Each one is unique with cultural influences from the places where they were made.

Here’s a wooden one from Africa.

This one is a ceramic set made in China and bought at a store in the United States.

This is a ceramic Nativity from Peru in South America.

This set was made of cloth, metal, and twine in Zambia, a country in southern Africa.

Here’s a porcelain Nativity with Thai figurines from Thailand.

Although each set it different, they all symbolize Christ’s birth, and that has special meaning to our family on Christmas.

Have a blessed Christmas! May it bring you peace and joy.