No, my family does not put up a Christmas tree at Christmas but I really do love vintage Christmas ornaments!
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed
Isaiah 53:2-5
We've decided not to put a tree up either.
Do you all do Advent?
Great shots. Love the first one… or the second? :)
THANK YOU, BECKY!! :)
@Rebekah: Nope, we don't do Advent :)
Why no tree?
@Rebekah:)
Why no tree? Jeremiah 10:2-5:
“2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5They are upright as the palm tree”
Although that is enough for me to not have one, it is historically stated that the Christmas tree's origin is pagan. Why aren't you doing a Christmas tree this year?
“So, I guess the same reason we don't have a statue of Buddha in our house”… okay SMARTY PANTS! :P
I have conflicting thoughts on the issue… as some would say that decorating with a tree in order to celebrate is no different than decorating your house with pictures and things of the sort.
Joseph would rather not have a tree because all that he recollects of Christmas time as a child is: “A tree with presents underneath for ME!” He believes that the falderol of a tree, etc takes away from what we're seeking to celebrate — namely, the birth of Christ. And if it takes away from Christ, then it becomes an idol.
I did some research myself, about Christmas itself and found that the entire day — not just the tree — is deeply rooted in paganism. Many false “gods” have their birthday celebration on the same day! Why we, as Christians decided to celebrate Jesus' birth on the same day is beyond me. Furthermore, Jesus was most likely born in October, according to the Jewish calendar.
I do think that well-meaning Christians use the day as a tool to witness to others — both family and friends. I commend that. I am sure that what the world intends for evil, God intends for the good and that He is fully capable of redeeming the day. :)
Tell me, what's the difference between a tree and those vintage ornaments? ;)
ps. Can you give me a clearer passage or commentary confirming the passage in Jeremiah is speaking of a “Christmas tree”? In context, I thought what was being spoken of was “an idol”… then again a tree can become an idol… [and so my thoughts go on and on…] I wonder what MHC has to say.
Those ornaments are beautiful! I love the bokeh in the background too!
Thank you, Sereina!