With the start of Advent, Emily and Katie discuss all sorts of fun and meaningful aspects of the Advent, Christmas, and even Epiphany seasons. They also talk about listening to Handel's Messiah during these seasons and give some details and information about that work as well as a few guides to increase your enjoyment when listening to it. Enjoy!

Show Notes:
"Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.' Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon"

"Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither
children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are
unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering
the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding."

- Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

https://www.villageschoolma.org/pdf/YesVirginiathereisaSantaClaus.pdf

"This quality will be understood by any one who really understands the meaning of the Middle English word solempne. This means something different, but not quite different, from modern English solemn. Like solemn it implies the opposite of what is familiar, free, easy, or ordinary. But unlike solemn it does not suggest gloom, oppression, or austerity.... - C.S. Lewis: Preface to Paradise Lost - Pg 21  (Due to length, quote is continued at link...)

A Christmas Treasury of Yuletide Stories... book (thriftbooks.com)

Hallelujah by Cindy Rollins

O Come O Come, Emmanuel - Kloria Press

Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend

 Messiah: The Greatest Sermon Ever Sung by Tony Pittenger (also available through Kloria). Can be used as a devotional book with children.
JesseTree.pdf (confessionsofahomeschooler.com) - Jesse Tree Advent Study
Jesse Tree: Daily Devotions: Michelle Domin: 9780758665508 - Christianbook.com

Advent Wreath for Building and Playing - Wicking Vicar

 George Balanchine's The Nutcracker® | New York City Ballet (nycballet.com) - A history of The Nutcracker ballet as most of us know it; the George Balanchine version influenced ballet companies all over the United States, including ones I was involved with as a child.
The Advent Book

The 12 Days of Christmas: The Story... by Haidle, Helen C. (amazon.com)
The Third Gift book by Linda Sue Park (thriftbooks.com)
All the Household

Dawn Duran's fun tradition of opening a picture book each day leading up to Christmas.