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Home » Family Articles » The Symbolism Of Holiday Decor

The Symbolism of Holiday Decor

With all the holiday hustle driving us from one party to the next, and one store to another, it's hard not to take for granted the symbols and traditions passed down hundreds of years that collectively have become Christmas. Winter days are the shortest of the whole year, and it's almost impossible to find a quiet moment for reflection. But families who gather together and consider the symbolism behind all the spangles are sure to bring more spirit into their season. After all, these baubles and boughs weren't meant to be mere frippery to waste money on. Christmas ornamentation and holiday decor have significance that can strike awe and wonder as deeply in our hearts as the angel who appeared to the shepherds did on that most holy night.

Take the star, for instance, one of the basic shapes associated with Christmas. When we place it atop our evergreen trees, we bring into our home a reminder that heavenly signs of prophecy were fulfilled long, long ago when a new star appeared in the heavens over the manger where the newborn Christ-child lay. The star is the shining hope of mankind.

Like the star, candles symbolize Christ, who is the light of the world. They mirror starlight, just as we reflect our thanks for the Star of Bethlehem. In recent years candles have been replaced by electric twinkling lights, which carry the same meaning.

Even the sounds we associate with Christmas have meaning, and the ringing of bells reach out to the lost sheep, guiding them back to the fold on Christmas Day. For all are precious in God's sight.

It is said that 350 years ago a German choir director gave out candy sticks to the children in his choir to keep them quiet during the ceremony. To give the candy more spiritual significance, he bent them to look like shepherd's crooks. Over the years candy cane makers added the red bands-a thick one to represent Christ's sacrifice, and two smaller ones to show the stripes with which he saved all mankind. The white background symbolized Christ's sinless nature. Even the flavor-peppermint-has meaning, for in the Old Testament mint (hyssop) was used for purification and sacrifice.

Although originally used in winter solstice ceremonies, and even outlawed in America as a pagan ritual, the evergreen tree has become one of the most poignant symbols of Christianity. The needles, pointing up to heaven, stay green all year long, reminding us that life is everlasting if we look to Him above.

The very first Christmas trees were used in miracle and mystery plays performed in Western Germany during the middle ages. These trees, called "Paradise Trees" were decorated with red apples, and used to tell the story of Adam and Eve. Later, the plays ceased to be performed in Germany, but the symbol was planted in the minds of the people, who began using trees decorated with apples in their own homes to teach their children. The color red is the first color of Christmas, a symbol of Christ's sacrifice for all. Representing the fruits of redemption, other ornaments were soon added as decorations, starting with wafers (cookies) made from white dough and formed into the shapes of angels, flowers, bells, hearts, and stars.

Gift-giving is a universal tradition that spreads good cheer, and even the wrapping has significance. The bows that we fasten on the tree branches, and top presents with are tied as we should all be, tied together in bonds of goodwill forever.

Christmas is a symbolic holiday meant to turn the hearts of Christians to Jesus Christ by commemorating his birth and his life. By remembering the symbolism behind the symbols, the holiday will take on more meaning in our lives.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom and Wealth Building - Step 5

This is Step 5 of CashFlow Avenue's 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom and Wealth Building.

STEP 5 â€" Arm Yourself with Options Trading Knowledge

Today, we move forward to understanding the business of Options Trading. Just like when we get into any new business, we have to equip ourselves with knowledge of the business. Many amateur traders pay the ultimate price by "messing" with their hard earned risk capital and end up losing all their money. In any business, when you do that, you would be out of the game.

So before you go charging into the market, with the hope of unrealistic profit, please consider educating yourselves with knowledge of the business. You may get lucky a few times, but the luck will run out. Understand that for you to profit, some other trader will lose. Basically, in the equity market, you are, essentially, trading against other traders. It may be against amateurs, professionals, or even institutional trader, which probably explains why most new traders will lose money when they start. In fact, most amateur traders will quit the business before completing the 1 st year.

It is easy to educate yourselves but you would have to pay a small fee to learn how to trade. Just go to www.google.com and search for "Options Trading Course" and you would be able to get a pretty long list of trading courses available. The biggest problem with trading courses is you may need to take a few months before jumping into action. Also, learning the rules of a game does not necessarily make you a good player. You can teach beginners the rules of poker but it does not mean they can all turn out to be good poker players.

Another simple way, just like any business, is to hire a consultant â€" in your case, an Options Trading Advisory service. There are plenty out there too. Again, when there are too many choices, it can be confusing. To make sure you appoint a "consultant" or Options Trading Advisor, you should evaluate them on:

Performance â€" how much money have they provided to their subscribers in the short term and long term? Read closely - if they are emphasizing on huge returns on single trades or overall monthly portfolio gains. Be cautious of advisory services that boast impressive returns per trade because they obviously are not reporting their huge losses. It is important that you evaluate their monthly performance rather than on per trade basis. It is pointless to have excellent returns per trade but still losing money end of every month.

Trading Style - do they provide high risk trading or steady income building strategy? High returns mirror the risks. If you are an aggressive trader, this might be suitable. If you are planning for early retirement, or your child's education fund, then this is something too risky.

Customer Service â€" try writing a mail to them and understand their response time. You want to know that they are there for you when you need them. What's the point of having a lawyer but when you are in jail, you can't find them.

Stop Loss â€" understand if capital preservation is priority. You would not want to follow an advice that will cause you substantial losses. When the chips are down, there must be an exit plan. This is easy to spot by going through the website. Is the website emphasizing more on profits or on capital preservation?

Number of Trade Recommendations â€" be cautious of websites that provide too many recommendations. It reflects on their confidence in their suggestions. As rule of thumb, you should not be holding more than 8 positions at any time. Moreover, it is unrealistic to hold so many positions simultaneously â€" you may not have enough capital and you cannot monitor all of your trades.

Motivation â€" this is an important factor. When following trade recommendations, you need to know if there is any motivation behind the trade signal. Use only Advisory Services that invest together with you. That way you are sure that your "consultant" is also facing the same risk.

Trade Holding Period â€" understand how long before you can expect to see profit. Gone are the days of long term investing. Do not get into the "hold and pray" trap. Many advisory services will hide or delay losses by not closing losing positions. Ideally you should hold and close a position not longer than 60 days.

With these as guidelines, you can now identify and appoint a reliable Options Advisory Service as your business consultant. There maybe a few that qualifies. For certain, CashFlow Avenue's own Options Trading Newsletter, CashFlow Advisor, meets and exceeds all requirements. CashFlow Advisor is created to provide options trading advisory to aid common traders and investors in their pursuit of financial freedom and wealth building. If you truly understand the value that we bring to your Brokerage Account and Financial health, we are sure you would be with for a pretty long period - like many of our susbcribers.

Now, with expert knowledge behind you, it is time to move to the next step â€"

STEP 6: Time to Execute â€" It's Show Time

Copyright 2005 William Tan