About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

ABC Wednesday - V is for Virgin Mary


I think it's appropriate at this time of year to point out the true meaning of Christmas. These days, we're living in a world where Christmas is about the tree, Santa Claus, gifts, and the turkey dinner. However, Christmas is not about the tree, Santa Claus, gifts, and the turkey dinner.

Through immaculate conception, a baby was born to the Virgin Mary. His name was Jesus.

CHRISTmas...celebrating the birth of God's son to the Virgin Mary.
Jesus is the reason for the season.

Above right is a photo I took through a jeweler's window in Taormina, Sicily, back in 2006 when I was visiting there. (Click to enlarge) It was the most beautiful nativity I'd ever seen and just had to capture it with my camera.
When my older daughter was 2 years old, I bought a little nativity scene at the old Woodward's store in downtown Vancouver. (Anyone in Canada remember Woodward's?) It cost $26.00 and I was afraid to tell my husband how expensive it was. I'd always lift my daughters up to see the baby Jesus every night before they went to bed and made sure that they understood that Christmas was a birthday party for Jesus.
Of course, Santa did come to our house and always left lovely gifts for everyone under our beautifully decorated tree. And we always have a great turkey dinner, too. I hope that however you celebrate the CHRISTmas season you will all have a wonderful and memorable time.

Do you have a nativity scene that you display every Christmas? I'd love to hear about your special traditions for this season.

12 comments:

ellen b. said...

Hi Leslie,
Wonderful post and what a great idea for V this time of year! We do have a nativity we display every year. I bought it when my kids were babies. It's small and wooden so they could handle it. I'm on a quest now to buy a more elaborate one...
I keep saying Merry Christmas no matter how many Happy Holiday greetings I get :0) A very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Anonymous said...

Oh yes! I think I will take pictures of Virgin Mary for round 4!

My V entries are here and here. Please drop by if you have time. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

i agree with you. the virgin mary played a very important role in the nativity and birth of christ! without her, there would be no salvation for mankind!

btw, mine is here: http://seasons.pinoyvibes.net/2008/12/17/v-is-for-vow/. hope you can visit too.

happy wednesday!

ArneA said...

A great V.
May be my V cover a guarantee for lifelong virginity behind the lines
Merry Christmas to you

Anonymous said...

Good choice.

Rune Eide said...

One gets amazed at the amount of detail and work that goes into such a scene - thank you for sharing!

PS The lake is well worth trying in summer!

Gerald (SK14) said...

Yes we have a crib that we bring out every year - got it about 30 years ago and my wife painted all the figures herself.

Miss_Yves said...

I have visited Taormina, in Sicily!
Beautiful crib, indeed.
-Napolitan cribs are famous.

RiverPoet said...

I don't have a nativity scene, but like you, I think people should remember why we celebrate Christmas. While I was a practicing Buddhist, I didn't have Christmas celebrations, because I thought that would be hypocritical of me. Now that I've returned to Christianity, I'm more focused than ever on what Christmas is supposed to be about. Sometimes I think we need a little break.

Thanks for the lovely reminder of the reason for the season. Peace - D

Rose said...

You are so right, Leslie--too many people have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. And even though many of us do remember, the hustle and bustle of Christmas activities can cause us to lose sight of the "reason for the season." One of our family traditions is going to the church service on Christmas Eve before we have our family celebration.

Glad you have a new someone special to celebrate Christmas with
this year.

Anonymous said...

That is a very beautiful Nativity scene. No, we don't have one here - I'm a Quaker married to an atheist!

antigoni said...

Excellent post, Leslie. Beautiful photos and your next post is great.