By Lisa Nielsen

One of my favorite memories from Chistmastime is the celebration of Little Christmas Eve (Lille Jul Afen), the Danish holiday on December 23 in which people anticipate Christmas through intentional calm time at home. In years past, I hosted small get-togethers on this day for a handful of friends in which we ate traditional Juletide food that I had prepared: rice pudding (risekrem), Danish donut holes (aebleskrivers), and apple cake (aeblekage). These special desserts were enjoyed while my friends and I chatted about the year and rejoiced that Christmas was coming soon. It was a time for resting after getting through the long fall season and the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations. Our time together had no set agenda, nor any gift exchanges or other required preparation for the guests – they came, ate, and connected with others. Some years we played board games, or even traditional Danish yard games (if no snow), and other years we let out our exhaustion through quiet calmness. The simplicity of the event and the joy I experienced in preparing and hosting the event embodied hygge – coziness with peaceful happiness in a small way. Through appreciation of the small comforts and togetherness I felt a deep sense of peace that prepared my heart for honoring Christ’s birth. 

​By Melissa Kramer

Mark 1:1-8: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Prepare: Take a moment to reflect… What does the word prepare mean to you?  What do we prepare for? Why do we need to prepare? 

By Allegra Smith

​My favorite Christmas tradition is when my mother, sister, and I make food for our family Christmas party. Each year, we make the same family recipes—artichoke dip, green bean casserole, frosted Christmas cookies—and everyone has their specialty. It's always comforting to be working on chopping the vegetables while my sister mixes the chip dip, or taking shifts to cut out dough with our favorite star and bell cookie cutters. My dad even gets in on the action when we make the scalloped potatoes: he and my mom each know a part of the recipe and work together to fill a big glass casserole dish with layers of sliced potatoes, minced onions, and cream sauce. My sister has a job in the entertainment industry and has worked through the holidays for the past few years, so we wait to do all the food prep and cooking until she gets home on December 26th or 27th. It doesn't really feel like a proper holiday until she's there and we're all together laughing at the frosting and sprinkle combinations we're putting on the snowman cookies. I pray that this Advent season we can work together to accomplish bigger and better things than we could do separately, and that we can make time for laughter while doing it. 

By Betsy Cederquist 

​I have had many wonderful Christmas memories over the years, but the Christmas memory that really stands out did not involve special gifts beautifully wrapped in brightly colored paper or my favorite foods lovingly prepared or even the joy of a new baby--even though those are all wonderful. It was a Christmas I unmistakably felt God's presence in my life.