The Star of Bethlehem

 One day this summer I was watching an episode of "Royal Pains" (one of my favorite shows) where a florist was one of the main characters. Apropos of I-don't-remember-what, he said that the Star of Bethlehem means reconciliation. That sent me into research mode..... no surprise there.

The official name of the "Language of Flowers" is "floriology." Using flowers to send a message probably dates to prehistoric times as symbolic use of flowers is mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions, in Chinese writings and in both Greek and Roman mythology.

In the 1600’s there was an actual "language" of flowers used in Turkey allowing specific messages sent of great importance through a seemingly harmless bouquet. Flowers could declare intentions, indicate acceptance, announce dismissal or even arrange a rendezvous. Flowers gained meanings which enabled lovers to convey messages to each other without having to write or talk. Shakespeare alludes to the meaning of plants and flowers in some of his writing -- in Act 4, Scene 5 of Hamlet, Ophelia says "There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts." The passing of messages via the floral code was then adopted by the French, and returned to England during the reign of Queen Victoria. Mme. Charlotte de la Tour wrote the first flower dictionary in 1818 in Paris. Entitled Le Language des Fleurs, it was very popular.. A Victorian lady, Miss Corruthers of Inverness, wrote a book on the subject in 1879. Her book became the standard for flower symbolism both in England and the United States.

The Society of American Florists website on this subject claims that the Star of Bethlehem stands for hope rather than reconciliation. I'm quite willing to accept both, and believe that the flower, like the actual star of Bethlehem, stands for "hope of reconciliation" -- in the floral sense between two persons, and in the spiritual sense between God and mankind.

If I could send each of my readers a bouquet this Christmas, it would contain gardenia for joy, violet for faithfulness, geranium for comfort, and azalea for abundance. Lacking that ability this evening, I can only send you my wish that God's grace be with you at this special time of the year.

The Advent Wreath

The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival" and our focus is the celebration of the birth of Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. But Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. This is a process in which we all participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate.

The circle of the advent wreath reminds us of God Himself, His eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life.

Candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son. The four outer candles -- which might be white, pink, purple or red -- represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ. The first candle is called “prophecy” or “hope” because it symbolizes the prophets’ promises that foretold Christ’s birth and the hope we have in Christ. The second candle is called “the Bethlehem candle” in honor of Christ’s birthplace or “love” because Christ is the Light sent into the world to show us the way out of darkness. The third candle is called “the shepherds’ candle” or “peace” because the only lasting peace to be found is through Christ. The fourth candle is called “the angels’ candle” or “joy” because it represents the angelic proclamation of joy at Christ's birth. On Christmas Eve, the white center candle – called the “Christ candle” -- is lit, representing our sinless, spotless, pure Savior.

A ring of evergreens decorated with candles was seen in northern Europe long before the arrival of Christianity. It symbolized the eternal cycle of the seasons, while the evergreens and lighted candles signified the persistence of life in the midst of winter. One theory credits a Protestant pastor in Germany as the inventor of the modern Advent wreath. The custom first gained ground among Protestant churches in Germany, Roman Catholics in Germany began to adopt the custom in the 1920s, and in the 1930s it spread to North America.

The "Coming" of Advent

I was originally going to do a four-part series on Advent this year, beginning on December 1st. Then other things got in the way. Our rector, Father Malm, says "We make plans, and God laughs." This is one of those times I gave him a good laugh. But I like the concept of God laughing, so I don't feel so bad about it.

Advent began this year on Sunday, December 1, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The word itself is Anglicized from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming", and the Latin word is a translation of the Greek parousia, commonly used in reference to the second coming of Christ. Advent is the beginning of our liturgical year and also a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

The theme of readings and teachings during Advent is to prepare for the second coming while commemorating the first coming of Christ at Christmas. From the 4th century through the Middle Ages, the Advent season was kept as a period of fasting as strict as that of Lent. In some localities it began right after November 11, the feast day of St. Martin of Tours. In some countries this feast was a time of frolic and heavy eating – similar to Mardi Gras -- since the 40-day fast began the next day. In the Anglican and Lutheran churches the fasting rule was later relaxed, with the Roman Catholic Church doing likewise later,but Advent was still kept as a season of penitence. The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches still hold the tradition of fasting for 40 days before the Nativity Feast.

In many countries, Advent has been marked by interesting popular observances, some of which still survive. In England, especially in the northern counties, there was a custom (now extinct) for poor women to carry around the "Advent images", two dolls dressed to represent Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. A halfpenny coin was expected from every one to whom these were exhibited, and bad luck was thought to menace the household not visited by the doll-bearers before Christmas Eve. In Normandy, farmers employed children to run through the fields and orchards armed with torches, setting fire to bundles of straw and driving out vermin that would damage the crops. In Rome, the Calabrian pifferari (bagpipe players) entered the city during the last days of Advent to play before the shrines of Mary, because Italian folklore stated that the shepherds played these pipes when they came to the manger at Bethlehem to pay homage to the infant Jesus.

The origins of the Advent calendar come from German Lutherans, who would count down the first 24 days of December physically. This might be as simple as drawing a chalk line on the door each day, beginning on December 1. Some families had more elaborate means of marking the days, such as lighting a new candle or hanging a little religious picture on the wall each day (these pictures became part of some Advent calendars). The candles might also be placed on a structure which was called an "Advent clock" and later “Advent wreath.” In Scandinavia there is a more recent tradition of having a so-called julekalender in the form of a television or radio show, starting on the first of December and ending on Christmas Eve.