Christmas greetings to all of you! Many thanks to both long-time readers and the legions of new readers who have come on board over the last year. I greatly appreciate your visits to the Cranach blog, your comments, and your insights into the topics that we discuss. In the words of Tiny Tim–the Dickens character, not the ukulele player–God bless you, every one!
At this blog, I write about things that I find interesting, so if you find them interesting too, we are kindred spirits, even though we might disagree about them. I sincerely wish you the joy and peace of the season, the joy and peace that comes from Christ Jesus, whose birth we celebrate.
As long-time readers may recall and as new readers might like to know, we have some post-Christmas customs here at the Cranach Institute.
The week leading up to New Year’s Day will feature posts that look back on the year that has passed. This will culminate on Friday with our annual predictions review. We will go back to this time last year and check out the post in which I asked for readers to offer their predictions for 2017. Whoever made the best prediction–that is, the most seemingly-unlikely or unknowable prognostication at the time that nevertheless came true–will be proclaimed the winner. The prize, I’m afraid, is honor and acclaim alone, but you get bragging rights for the rest of the year. (Again, this will happen on Friday, since we normally don’t blog on the weekends.)
Then, on New Year’s Day, which will be Monday, you will get to make your predictions for 2018, which we will similarly review at the end of that year. So be thinking about what you think will happen in the year ahead!
But now, today, it is Christmas. (And it will be for 12 days, so expect other Christmas-related posts over the next couple of weeks.) So, as I say every year, keep “Christ” in Christmas, and also keep “mass” in Christmas by going to church!
And who is this Christ? And who are we meeting in church?
Here is a Christmas text from the Nicene Creed:
I believe. . . .
in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man.
Photo by geralt, via Pixabay, CC0, Creative Commons
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