Pharos Beckons

Christmas in Our House

Christmas Eve we're waiting for Father Christmas to come
Singing carols like Little Drummer Boy, Pa rum pum pum pum
Waiting like Mary did for little Boy Jesus
We now know that He came to save us

Our tree, evergreen, everlasting hope and love suffic'd
Forever and ever eternal life in Christ
Holly's pointy leaves a reminder of the crown and pain endured
Red berries, the blood, salvation assured

A Candy cane like the shepherd’s staff
Guided his sheep like Jesus now does
The star atop the tree, 'twas the same that led them to Bethlehem
The Wisemen's long journey as it beckoned them

Hanging in the tree, angels gloriously
Announcing the Good News of Christ's birth, victoriously,
Little bells chime
Declaring the joy of this day's sublime

Twinkling lights, white, red and blue
Introducing Christ as the Light of the World, anew
Gifts for us under the tree
Myrrh, frankincense and gold for Thee

Going to bed tired but excited,
Looking forward to a feast with friends invited.
Finally, the day to be celebrated,
Love, peace and joy ignited.

Mouth watering sweet dishes
Koeksisters, melktert and malva pudding, just delicious!
Pancakes, pampoenkoekies, marshmallows on the braai and sticky kisses
Lemon meringue pie, coconut ice, and silly wishes!

Or would you prefer pap and braaivleis or rice and potjiekos
Mieliebrood, frikkadels and brown onion sauce
Chicken pie or putu pap and boerewors
And wash it down with gemmerbier or boeretroos

Now let's settle down
And gather round
And find out who's the karaoke clown.
Before we hurry home!

To celebrate the true meaning of Christmas our family gets together Christmas Eve and sings Christmas Carols. We discuss every Christmas decoration with a symbolic Christian meaning. A bag is filled with various Christmas decorations with a note attached to each one. The bag gets sent around and each person draws one item from the bag. When it is your turn around you get to explain what symbolic meaning your decoration is.

The following are the ones I used in the first part of the poem:

1. The evergreen tree symbolizes eternal life in Christ. Evergreens stay green all year long, this is a reminder of the eternal life with God we will have in heaven.

2. The Holly - The pointy holly leaves remind us of the crown of thorns Jesus wore as He hung on the cross when He died to save us from our sins.  The red berries remind us of His blood.

3. The Candy Cane - The candy cane is like a shepherd's staff. Just as a shepherd uses his staff to guide his sheep, Jesus is our guide and we follow him; He is always watching over us. Also, the red stripes on the white cane signify the blood He spilled for us when He died on the cross to save us from our sins.  The white is for His purity.

4. The Star on Top of the Tree - The star remind us of the star the Wise Men followed to find baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

5. Angels - this being a symbol of the angel who announced Christ’s birth or the angels that appeared to the shepherd and sang and rejoiced.

6. The bells attached to the branches of the Christmas tree represent the Joy of this day.

7. The flashing lights in the tree symbolizes Christ as the Light of the World.

8. Our gifts under the tree - are a symbol of the myrrh, frankincense and gold brought by the Wise Men to the Christ Child, in Bethlehem. Most importantly, gifts remind us of the greatest gift ever given- God's gift to all mankind- His Son Jesus!

South African traditional food:

1. Koeksisters - a plaited doughnut dipped in syrup.

2. Melktert - milktart

3. Malva pudding - almost like Amercan sticky pudding

4. Pampoenkoekies - Pumpkin fritters

5. Pap - also known as mieliepap in South Africa, porridge, maize meal

6. Potjiekos - small pot food, a dish prepared outdoors on a fire. It is cooked with very little liquid and it is not stirred. It's cooked in a round, cast iron, three-legged pot.

7. Mieliebrood - sweetened bread baked with sweet corn

8. Frikkadels - meatballs

9. Putu pap - It is made from maize and just a little bit of water, making it a dry, crumbly dish.

10. Boerewors - type of sausage, The name is derived from the Afrikaans words boer ("farmer") and wors ("sausage").

After we have had a fun filled day with good food and good friends and family we will end of the day with karaoke and a music game called 'Noot vir Noot'. 'Note for Note, lol, it sounds strange in English. But it's a game where you guess the singer, answer some questions on songs, continue to sing where the song stopped, etc. It is such a fun game to play.

I hope you enjoyed a little part of my Christmas celebrations.

This poem was inspired by @rosaimee when she invited me to write a poem for her Christmas around the world anthology..

I wish each and everyone of you a Merry Merry Christmas in whichever way, religion or culture you celebrate it. God bless!