Maureen and Daryl invited us a week before Christmas to celebrate the story behind Christmas. There was a lot of food, English desserts and English traditions.

A few children to brighten the holiday festivities. Their innocence is so precious to watch.

The boy below chowed on that roll for over a half and hour and left a Hansel and Gretel trail to prove it.

As my friend says, “Chubby Chinese babies are so cute!”.

Maureen introduced us to some traditional English desserts. If you are interested in making some gluten-free mincemeat tarlets than click here for directions and here for ingredients.

If you are interested in a gluten free version of flapjacks than click here.  You will notice in the flapjack recipe that it calls for golden syrup. This is a common dessert ingredient in England.

“Flapjacks” don’t you love the name of that dessert? I told Denny I would love to nickname one of our children or dogs that name. It makes me smile.

If you are interested in some healthy Jell-O mold recipes click here.

We read the Christmas story!

And made Christingles. Maureen explained to us the meaning behind this tradition in England. Christingle means “Christ’s light”. The tradition originated in Germany in 1747.

The meaning behind the parts of the Christingle:

• The orange: the world
• The ribbon: the blood of Christ that was shed for the world
• The dried fruit: the three major races of the world (raisin) Black (yellow raisin) Asian (popcorn) Caucasian (Note: a mini marshmallow would be easier than a popcorn to use)
• The four toothpicks: the four corners of the world
• A candle: Jesus is light to the world
• The aluminum: has no meaning, it’s just functional

The summary of the Christingle:

Jesus shed his innocent blood to save every race. He is the light people are searching for in this broken world.

If you would like to learn more about the history of the Chistingle than click here. For directions on how to make one click here.

The lighting ceremony. 

Happy Christmas!

Thank you God for sending Jesus. He is the best gift a person could ask for.

Do you know of other Christmas traditions that shed light on the true meaning of Christmas?