CHRISTMAS IN BETHLEHEM!

Bethlehem is the town where Jesus Christ is said to have been born. Naturally, Christmas here is a major event and the festival is celebrated in a grand manner.
Here, Christmas Day is observed not on a particular day. Bethlehem consists of people of different Christian denominations - Catholics, Protestants, Greek Orthodoxes, Ethiopians, Armenians and more.
While Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrate Christmas Day on December 25, Greek, Syrian and other Orthodox Christians observe it on 6th January. For Armenian Christians, Christmas Day is on January 18. Hence, Bethlehem witnesses a longer Christmas celebrations than many other places.

In Bethlehem, Roman Catholic services begin on December 24 and take place in St. Catherine's Church , a Catholic church adjacent to the Orthodox Basilica of the Nativity. Protestants hold their services in a different way. While some of them may attend special Christmas services in their local churches, others may arrange excursions for special services in the Shepherd's Fields or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Some of the popular Jerusalem chuches such as The Anglican Cathedral of St. George, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and the YMCA organize travel to Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations. Orthodox Christians(Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox and others) celebrate the birth of Jesus by taking out numerous religious processions and holding special services mainly at the Basilica of the Nativity. Most Armenian Christmas services are also held in the Basilica, albeit a little later, on January 18. The Christmas processions usually pass through Manger Square, believed to be situated on the traditional site of Jesus' birth.

The general Christmas traditions in Bethlehem are similar to the Europeans and North American customs observed during the festival. From a few days before 25th December, the town is decorated with flags and other items of adornment. Streets are strung with Christmas lights. A Christmas market comes up and Christmas plays are performed. A cross is painted on the doors of every Christian home and Nativity scenes are displayed in every household.
On Christmas Eve, annual Christmas processions are taken out. Residents of the town as well as tourists crowd the doorways and the roof of the Basilica to get a view of the parade. Galloping horsemen and police mounted on Arabian horses lead the procession. The procession is led by galloping horsemen and police mounted over Arabian horses; followed by a man riding over a black steed and carrying a cross. After him comes the churchmen and government officials. The procession quitely enters the doors and puts an ancient effigy of the Holy Child in the Church. The visitors are then taken through deep winding stairs leading to a grotto where a silver star marks the site of the birth of Jesus.

VANILLA PEACH COFFEE CAKE!!

Did you know that the fruit this summer is supposed to be the best it has been in years? Apparently, fruit loves hot weather. I personally have eaten more peaches and cherries this summer than I have in about five years just for that reason. As I have been a little overzealous lately buying peaches and cherries I found myself with a few peaches that were going to be too ripe for me to eat on the same day. That is unless I wanted to have them for every meal plus a few snacks. So I decided to make this recipe for Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake. Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake Adapted from Allrecipes.com Batter: 2 eggs 1 C milk 1/2 C oil 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 C sour cream 3 C flour 1 C sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda Topping: 5 or 6 large peaches, diced. 3 Tbsp. butter, melted 11/4 C brown sugar 1Tbsp. cinnamon 2 tsp. nutmeg 4 Tbsp. flour Vanilla Icing: 1 Tbsp. butter 1 tsp

DIY GLASS CHRISTMAS TREES!

This diy comes from www.alderberryhill.blogspot.com . These are very cool and look like an upper end designer look. Start your Christmas decor now and you will have time to relax later when the holidays do arrive! Glass Christmas Trees Happy Weekend Everyone! Christmas crafting is in full swing for everyone by now and I am enjoying the crafting season as well. I love the color turquoise and am trying to work it into my Christmas decor. Here is my latest turquoise creation. Glass Christmas Trees And here is how I put them together. What you will need for the project: Styrofoam cones or stack trees. Craft paint Brush Glue gun Glue sticks Glass bowl fillers (the ones that are flat on the bottom). The process is so simple. Paint the styrofoam, let dry Glue on the glass I glued the glass on using a brick laying technique. The second row started at the seam of two glass pieces, not directly above the one below it. Sometimes

PRESENT TOPIARY TO DECORATE YOUR PORCH AND FRONT DOOR!

This comes from www.thatvillagehouse.blogspot.com . I made something similar a couple years ago, without the pots. It was about 6 feet high. I got the inspiration from a Chirstmas dectoration that we bought at Target. This is a very good idea and make a great enterance to your home. So here's a little something to thing about for next year. Before you know it December will be here again. You could also do something like this for an Easter theme. Enjoy! A Merry Welcome! So here is my first Christmas project for the year!! I saw something similar at our church's Advent celebration & pretty much straight up copied it. I couldn't help it. It was love at first sight! I plan to make a 2nd stack to go on the other side of my door, so I'm not completely done, but I thought I would share it with you anyway. I started with 3 different sized boxes...9, 12 & 14 inch cubes. I used an ice pick to punch holes in each of them so that I could run

DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

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