The ABC's of Christmas ~ X

What is the Christmas spirit? It is the spirit which brings a smile to the lips and tenderness to the heart; It is the spirit which warms one into friendship with all the world, which impels one to hold out the hand of fellowship to every man and woman. ~ Anonymous

Welcome to the next letter in the ABC's of Christmas! 

Internet

Today's letter is X.

is for...
Xmas, Xylophone, and Angels We Have Heard on High.

The term "Xmas" is a bone of contention for many since it seems an informal and crass abbreviation of what is a very traditional and celebrated event. 

The X stems from the Greek word for Christ, so the abbreviation is accurate, however it is a term that is discouraged since it seems to gloss over the importance of Jesus. While the term was used on occasion by the likes of Lord Byron, Samuel Coleridge and Lewis Carroll, in secular society it is also considered rather abhorrent by many, including myself.

I feel it is of the utmost importance to write Merry Christmas on your Christmas cards and not Xmas.

Source

Please, let's keep Christ in CHRISTmas. He is the Reason for the season and without His coming that first time, there would be no Christmas.

I wish you all a Very Merry CHRISTmas!

A vintage xylophone by Fisher Price, courtesy of the Internet

Xylophone ~ The xylophone is an instrument belonging to the family of the percussion musical instruments. It's bars are made of wood. There is a similar instrument also in the percussion instruments called the glockenspiel. It's bars however,  are made of steel. 

My youngest son got a xylophone for Christmas when he was a little fellow. He always had an ear for music as did all my guys. 
He played percussion in the school band but he always preferred instruments like these rather than the drum kit. I remember at one Christmas band concert, he had to run from one instrument to another while performing. Percussionists play many instruments in the course of their music and I am always amazed at how all those instruments together can make such beautiful music. My son also loved to play the keyboards. 

I think most little ones probably had a glockenspiel or a xylophone at one time or another. 

Angels We Have Heard on High is inspired by the French carol known as Les Anges dans nos campagnes composed by Francois- Augiste Gevaert in France. The French song has received many adjustments including Angels We Have Heard on High written in 1862 by James Chadwick, the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, northeast England.

I chose this particular song for today's letter X because the chorus goes, "Gloria, in ex-cel-sis Deo!

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.

Refrain:
Gloria, in ex-cel-sis Deo!
Gloria, in ex-cel-sis Deo!

Thank you for visiting today and I invite you to join me again tomorrow for the letter Y.

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

The ABC's of Christmas - W

W - The ABC's of Christmas

The first snowfall is not only an event but it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up to find yourself in another quite different and if this is not enchantment, where is it to be found? ~ JB Priestley

Welcome to the letter...W.

is for...
Wreaths, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Wish List, and Walt Disney.

Wreaths are used at Christmas time as a welcoming adornment on front doors and as part of the advent wreath which encircles five candles - that are lit in the four Sundays before Christmas and on Christmas Eve. 

As a never-ending circle, wreaths are symbolic of eternal life and strength.

I love a wreath and especially at this time of year. I have them in my home, greeting you at the door, hanging on mirrors and cabinet drawers, even around a hurricane lamp on a table.

I think they make a most welcome and delightful decoration in one's home, don't you?

The wreath above is one I fashioned for the patio doors which also matches a little tree beside the fireplace. 

And this lovely wreath surrounds the hurricane lamp on the coffee table.

We have been enjoying a winter wonderland for a while here on the Island. We have had lots of snow this season and a snowfall always puts folks in the mood for the holidays. A white Christmas is almost a sure thing for us this year. I'm sure most folks are happy about that; particularly the children.

The song, Walking in a Winter Wonderland was written in 1934 by lyricist Richard B. Smith and the music was composed by Felix Bernard. 

Sleigh bells ring, Are you listening

In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight
We're happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland.

Internet

White Christmas is one of the most famous and popular of all the  Christmas songs. The music and lyrics were written by Irving Berlin in 1942. The lyrics of White Christmas struck a chord with the soldiers fighting in the Second World War and their families who were waiting for them back home.   

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Just like the ones I used to know

Where the treetops glisten,

And children listen

To hear sleigh bells in the snow.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

With every Christmas card I write

May all your days be merry and bright

And may all your Christmases be white.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

With every Christmas card I write

May all your days be merry and bright

And may all your Christmases be white.

A Wish List is one which children of all ages love to write out for Santa.

My hubby insists on me making a list out for him every year for Christmas. Only trouble is, each year, it gets harder for me to make a list because I feel I have everything I need. How about you? Do you make out your Christmas list for anyone?

Every Christmas Day when I was growing up, there was a Walt Disney special on TV in the afternoon. All of my favourite characters were showcased; Cinderella, Snow White, Lady and the Tramp, Chip and Dale, and Bambi, among others. It was a special afternoon my brother and I looked forward to every year because that was the day our father would get down on the floor with us and watch. That was the day that the little kid would come out as he laughed along with us. My Daddy made Christmas so much fun! I have so many lovely memories of him at Christmastime.

This Bambi and Thumper snowglobe was gifted to me many years ago by a family member. It plays the Skater's Waltz. A wonderful reminder of those days spent with my father and brother on Christmas Day watching the Disney show.

What we remember from childhood, we remember forever. - Cynthia Ozick

I hope you enjoyed my take on the letter W and tomorrow you will join me for the letter X.

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi