Advent 2011

by ixthis 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  finallysomepride

  ixthis

  i wasn't meaning any offence, i was a bit tired last night and didn't finish my post.

  merry xmas

  Azazel

  merry xmas
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  oppostate

  

  And a happy Hanukka (and kwanza time too of course)!

  Did you know Jesus celebrated Hanukka by going to the temple for this festival of lights? (John 10: 22-23, NIV)
  "Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade."

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

  Jesus as a practicing and faithful jew of his time would definitely have participated in this Feast of Dedication, a festival of lights.

  http://christianity.about.com/od/biblefeastsandholidays/p/feastofdedicati.htm

  Since Jesus is the light of this world, this time can remind us of the anunciation, when Mary through the Holy Spirit came to be with child.

  --Oppo'
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  botchtowersociety

  Advent 2011

  I could get behind a traditional Christmas celebration, I think. The way it is done popularly is barren as a desert.

  Great post, BTW.
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  ixthis

  thank you botchtowersociety! For those who do not know me, I am not of a JW background and I am Australian born of Greek heritage. That means I am thrice-blessed to have my (a) nationalistic traditions (as an Aussie), (b) nationalistic traditions (as a greek) and (c) my religious tradition of being an Orthodox Christian ... these mixed together make for beautiful moments and memories around these times ...

  dear finallysomepride, do not feel embarresed. The goat was super cute and I figured you were just being playful and not trying to be offensive. I am wondering if back in Greece they dressed up the goat before they chopped off its head for the spit roast ;)

  I would love to see photos of other traditions from across the world (keep them nice please).
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  GLTirebiter

  Ixthis, it's good to see you here again!

  Do Orthodox christians use advent wreaths? We lit our final candle this past Sunday, as we begin the fourth week of Advent.

  
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  ixthis

  The truth is most Orthodox Christian churches do not use the wreath not because it is a bad thing to do but because majority of Orthodox tend to be Greek, Russian etc and this is not a tradition that they are familiar with. However, that said ... the parish that I attend here in Melbourne is from the Antiochian jurisdiction (again mainly Arabic backgrounds) but our parish priest is ex-Anglican born and raised in Great Britain ... so, he has the candles and we light one every Sunday just after the Gospel and as the priest says the Sermon.

  I wanted to add, at this parish the entire service is in English ... the aim is to introduce Orthodox Christianity to those who are not of Greek or Russian (etc) background since most Anglo-saxon people think it is a new religion and do not realise it is the one before Catholicism split away (hehe - I am waiting for some Catholics to pounce on me for that one).

  I like the addition of the wreath to the service it is quite nice and it has no dogmatical impact on salvation so its welcome :)
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  GLTirebiter

  most Anglo-saxon people think it is a new religion and do not realise it is the one before Catholicism split away (hehe - I am waiting for some Catholics to pounce on me for that one).

  There will be no pouncing on my part. I see it as a mutual parting of ways, with the western churches based in Rome and the eastern churches associated with Constantinople. Even with more than a thousand years passing after the division, Catholic teachings still are closer to the Orthodox churches than those of many Protestant groups. Not to mention that Orthodox Christians recognize more books of the Bible than even we Catholics do!
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  botchtowersociety

  The wreath derives from more northwestern European cultural traditions. The Christmas tree too. The traditional Orthodox celebration doesn't include it. ixthis, I am Catholic, I do appreciate Orthodoxy, incidentally.
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  TTWSYF

  what,no Santa Clause?
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  Bella15

  Thank you for sharing about your traditions ... I am from El Salvador, I was raised as a JW so I never participated in any Christmas traditions over there. I used to love to watch people doing the "posadas". I live in USA now and my children are half Greek ... after reading your post it just occurred to me to see if I can incorporate some Greek traditions in our family Christmas celebration for them to know about their heritage. They are 13 and 14 now, if you know of anything I could do, please let me know ... Greek grandparents passed away when my daughter was 6 moths old. Father is an only child and kind of cold when it comes to Greek Orthodox Church and has not passed down any traditions to my children ...