Christmas Jack Ass!!!

Here is the post that I have promised, Well kind of...

Originally my wife and I started out making a "Christmas Jack Ass" for our new Christmas tradition, but it turned out to be a Christmas Camel. We are still in the process of building our Christmas Camel and I will post pics when is finished.

Anyway, Here is the heart behind our Christmas Camel and our new Christmas tradition:

Christmas Tradition

Christmas Tree –

The Christmas tree has many origins, many stories, and has no one distinct background. The Christmas tree has been seen in various pagan worship ceremonies, pagan religions, or other cultural traditions throughout time. The Christmas Tree was later brought into Christianity by the catholic church in order to try and make the Christmas Tree a symbol of Christianity. The popularity of the Christmas tree however found its popularity out of various marketing strategies or pop culture trends of sorts. The Christmas tree has very little meaning and significance when it comes to the celebration of Jesus’ birthday.

Santa Clause –

Santa Clause also has many stories and origins. The story of Santa originates from many different origins, legends, myths, cultures, traditions, and stories. There is no one specific Santa belief, story, or origin. If you travel throughout various parts of the world, Santa looks different, has a different story, and has a different background, history, and purpose. The story of Santa Clause was brought into Christianity by the Catholic Church to try and make Santa Clause a symbol of Christianity. One example of how the Catholic church tried to do this was through the story of a Saint who goes by the name of St. Nick. St. Nick was known to perform many good deeds, support the poor and helpless, give gifts etc. but there is some debate as to whether St. Nick was even a real man or just a legend who later became known as Santa Clause. The Santa Clause we know today became popular through as a well known tradition, through a well known Christmas marketing strategy put together by Coca-Cola. Later, Rudolf joined the Christmas story through another Christmas marketing strategy. Santa has very little meaning and significance when it comes to the heart of Christmas…the birth of Christ.

The Camel –

In history the camel was used by travelers along the silk road for trade and in other forms of travel. Our Christmas camel is a symbol of the many travelers who came to worship Jesus and celebrate the birth of Jesus in the town of Bethlehem. Some of these travelers could have included shepherds (Luke 2:8-20), Magi (matt 2), and possibly even kings or other such visitors.

Shepherd Staff –

The Shepherd staff represents the prophetic word given and fulfilled that Jesus was going to be the shepherd of G-Ds people (Micah 5 and Matt 2:6). The duty of the shepherd was to lead and protect their sheep. The shepherd was to lead his sheep in the right direction and for them to arrive to various areas safely. He was also to protect the sheep from harm and to protect them from wolves and other such predators. Jesus was to be our shepherd, one who is to lead us as G-Ds people, to protect us from harm, and to lead us in the right directions, in life and toward G-D.

Sheep –

Since Jesus is seen as the shepherd of G-Ds people, and the role of the shepherd is to lead his sheep, then we, as G-Ds people are seen as His sheep. Because of this, the sheep represents us, as G-Ds people, and are ability to follow our shepherd, Jesus. He is our shepherd, our Messiah, our Savior. One that will lead us to G-D, will protect us and keep us safe, and will make sure we are lead in the right direction. (John 10:1-21) Many, many times throughout scripture, G-Ds people are referred to as sheep.

No Baby Jesus –

Is there anything wrong with having a baby Jesus? No, I don’t think so. But, we have chosen not to have a baby Jesus. Why? At most birthday parties you don’t sit around and take a look at a person’s baby pictures. Even if you do, we really don’t know what Jesus looked like, so that would be weird. Usually a birthday party is focused on celebrating the life of that particular person. Things like how they have grown, what they have accomplished, and the many stories that tell about who that person is and how they have impacted the world and the people around them. That is why we have chosen not to have a baby Jesus, so that we can focus on the life of Jesus, discuss the stories of Jesus and how, He has, and continues to impact our lives and the world around us.

Birthday Hats -

All the animals who are a part of the manger will be wearing birthday hats. Why? Well Duh!!! We are celebrating the birth of Jesus, the prophesied Messiah, our Lord and Savior. We will celebrate who Jesus is and how he has impacted our lives and the people’s lives around us. We will focus on the stories of Jesus, The Old Testament and Jewish prophesies that talk about a prophesied King, Savior, Messiah, and how Jesus is the fulfillment of such scriptures.

Gifts –

Matthew 2 records a story about some Magi who had followed a star to the place where Jesus was born. These Magi brought gifts to Jesus. These gifts included gold, incense, and myrrh (vs. 11). Every Christmas, these gifts will be placed in the manger and opened by our kids, our friends, or ourselves. We will then use these gifts to tell the story of the birth of Jesus and continue our celebration of His birth and His impact in our lives. This will be a time to teach the story of Jesus or to remember His story and His crazy love for us.

Gold –

Throughout history and scripture, gold is seen as a material or object that is valuable, worth a lot, and a worthy gift for a king, royalty, or someone of great power. It is also seen as a material that is precious enough to decorate temples, altars, palaces, and other important monuments. These Magi brought Jesus a valuable gift of precious metal because they knew that this was no ordinary baby.

Because of this, we use this gift of gold as a reminder that Jesus was no ordinary

baby. Jesus is to be our king (matt 2:2), our G-D (matt 1:23), and one worthy of our most precious gifts.

Incense –

A ritual incense in ancient Israel was a mixture of finely pulverized aromatic gum resins and frankincense, which was salted to produce a visible cloud of sweet smelling smoke. (Exodus 30:34-35). It was consecrated for ritual use…”holy to the Lord” (exodus 30:37)

It became a sign of an earthly act of devotion ascending to G-Ds dwelling place, and likened in scripture to prayer rising to heaven as a cloud of smoke rises in the sky (ps 141:2, rev. 5:8; 8:3-4). One example of its use is on the Day of Atonement where it is used as an offering to the Lord (Lev. 16). During the Day of Atonement, the incense was combined with the sacrifice of a goat in order to remove the sins of G-Ds people. It was also used as a daily sacrifice to the Lord (exodus 30).

Incense was another worthy gift for the Lord. Its cost and fragrance rendered it a

valuable commodity and an offering fitting for the Lord. Again we use this as an opportunity to remember whose birthday we have an opportunity to celebrate. We can also use it as an opportunity to remember that we no longer have to make a sacrifice to the Lord in order to be forgiven for our sins, because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, the perfect Lamb, the one that would truly offer total and complete forgiveness, the complete and final atonement for our sins!

Myrrh –

Myrrh was valuable and was used for a multiple of different reasons. Myrrh was used in embalming or in the anointing of the dead. It later came to represent mortality, suffering, or sorrow. The Israelites used perfume ointments of myrrh in funeral preparations to postpone the decay and alleviate odors of the deceased. For example, Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh to prepare Jesus’ body for burial in accordance with Jewish burial customs (John 19:38-42). Myrrh was also seen as a common painkiller or analgesic (mark 15:23). It was also used in cleaning wounds and in expensive perfumes, such as in men’s beards or between women’s breasts. It was also was used as anointing oil, and when combined with incense, as a symbol of prayers rising to heaven. Myrrh was bitter and had a sweet fragrance which makes myrrh to be known as something that is bittersweet.

Myrrh can remind us of Jesus’ human nature or remind us of his death on the cross. It can remind us that our G-D loves us so much that he was willing to come and live among us while also having every intention of dying a sacrificial death in order to forgive us for our sins and bring us into a deeper relationship with Him. His birth is one that is bittersweet. His birth brings about a reminder of his death, which also reminds us that his birth brought salvation and freedom as well.

Manger –

Jesus, who is G-D himself, was born in a manger. He was not born in a castle or into a rich family, a royal atmosphere, or to a great warrior. He was basically born in a stable, outside, with a bunch of animals. He was born into a poor family and as a baby. He was a G-D that chose to be able to live and experience the life that many of His people lived, understood, and connected with. Very freakin cool!!!!