Celtic Advent Wreath

Celtic Christmas Advent Wreath CH-417

Amazon Price: $64.95 (as of 05/26/2012)

# Beautiful 7" Diameter Celtic Christmas Advent Wreath

# Interior Arms Form A Celtic Cross

# Decorated With Knot Work Inspired By The Book Of Kells

# Inscribed With The Ancient Celtic Prayer, As I Light This Flame I Lay Myself Before Thee

# Solid Bronze With Color Enamel Inlay

Crafted of solid bronze, this beautiful Celtic Christmas Advent Wreath is 7" in diameter. The interior arms form a Celtic Cross, and are decorated with knot work adapted from the Book of Kells.

The exterior circle contains words from an ancient Celtic Prayer "As I Light This Flame I Lay Myself Before Thee", set in a bed of green enamel. Candles not inclued.

"Celtic Green" Advent Wreath

Amazon Price: $40.00 (as of 05/26/2012)

Kurt Adler Wooden Nativity Advent Calendar with 24 Magnetic Figures

Amazon Price: $54.99 (as of 05/26/2012)

# Nativity Advent calendar includes 24 magnetic figures
# Wood construction with lovely nighttime sky color scheme
# Open each numbered door to reveal a member of the manger scene
# Display on wall or tabletop
# Measures 14-1/4 inches high by 17-1/4 inches wide

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The Advent Calendar

There are secular as well as religious Advent Calendars. Most have 24 doors to open or 24 pockets to fill or 24 pictures to stick on , one of which is opened or filled each day from the first day of December until Christmas Eve. The little "window" may show something to do with the Nativity Story and birth of Jesus, or just something Christmas-related: holly, bells, etc...

It is a nice family tradition especially for children as it helps with the month-long "countdown" to Christmas and the celebration of our Lord's birth, which is what much of the Advent Season itself has become for today's Christians.

History:

As far back as the early 1800's, German families might do the "countdown" of the Advent Season by marking a door or wall daily with a chalk line, or light 24 candles, one more each day. Some families would also hang 24 little religious pictures on a wall.

Use of today's Advent Calendars is of fairly recent practice, appearing first in a Protestant area of Germany around 1851, with the first known hand-made Advent Calendar, but being almost immediately adopted by Roman Catholics, also.

Other types are ones with chocolates (first seen in 1958), or larger Christmas tree boards with 24 little presents hanging on them, one to be opened each day. In Scandinavian countries, entire buildings are sometimes used as "Advent Calendars", with a different actual lighted window showing something each evening.

The first printed Advent Calendar is said to have been published by a Swabian (German), Gerhard Lang in 1908. It is certain that he published the first one with little windows/doors that opened, in the early part of the 20th century.

Department 56 Possible Dreams Clothtique Luck of the Irish Celtic Santa Figurine

Amazon Price: (as of 05/26/2012)

Department 56 presents Possible Dreams Clothtique collectible Santas. 2010 marks the 25th Anniversary of Possible Dreams. All of the Clothtique Santas are individually handmade and each has slight differences in painting, fabrics, and some components. Each piece is truly a one-of-a-kind collectible. The Possible Dreams Clothtique brass tag symbolizes that each piece is an authentic Clothtique patented stiffened fabric design. All of the Possible Dreams Santas are designed by the award winning artist Ann Dezendorf. Santa shows off his Gaelic spriit in the Celtic Collection. Dressed in green (and sometimes plaid), Santa sports his colors proudly.

Pipka Holy Irish Nativity 14 Piece Set

Amazon Price: (as of 05/26/2012)

Long time ago, a young woman named Mary and her husband, Joseph, had to travel from their little village to a town called Bethlehem to be counted in a census. Mary, pregnant, rode a donkey led by Joseph as they made the long journey to the city. When they arrived it was late and getting dark. Joseph knocked on door after door trying to find a place for them to stay, yet there were no rooms available. He saw a light at a small inn at the end of a narrow street and decided to ask there. The innkeeper, like all the others, informed there was no room available. The innkeeper's wife, noticed the young Mary, pregnant with child, and compassion filled her heart. She suggested they stay in the manger. There she provided Mary and Joseph with water, blankets and lanterns. The light filled the manger with a warm glow and Mary awaited the birth of her child. Late during the night, when the city was asleep, a baby's cry was heard from the manger in back of the inn. Mary gave birth to her son, Jesus, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and placed him in the little wooden crib. Joseph and Mary spent the next hours gazing in loving wonder at the beautiful child, asleep in his cradle. The donkey, sensing something special was taking place, came closer and gazed down at the sleeping baby. In the deep night sky, a bright star hovered, casting its rays like a protective mantel over the manger. Nearby in the fields, shepherds were sung awake by a chorus of angels...and the heavens rejoiced.

Luxury Handmade Irish Christmas Cake 6in 1000g / 2.2lbs

Amazon Price: (as of 05/26/2012)

# Delicious Irish Christmas Cake
# Decorated with Marzipan and Icing
# Baked in Ireland
# Made with delicious vine fruits, cherries and french brandy

The Irish Christmas Book

by: John Killen

Amazon Price: $0.62 (as of 05/26/2012)

This warm, spicy treat of a book is a splendid anthology of Irish writing - stories, poems, songs, letters, folklore, and extracts from famous novels, histories, and biographies. Rich ingredients culled from the work of writers as diverse as Yeats, Behan, Longley, Kavanagh, Joyce, Heaney, Binchy, MacNeice, Kiely, and MacLaverty. Illustrated throughout with appealing woodcuts, photographs, and line drawings, this collection is perfect for dipping into over Christmas and throughout the year.