The Christmas Tradition Continues...

The Durfee family has a tradition of putting luminaries out on Christmas Eve. These luminaries are placed to light the way for the Christ child. As we were not able to make it to Stansbury Park this year to participate in Virginia's "absolute favorite tradition", we decided to have our own luminary party. Here are a few pictures of what it looked like.

The following information was found at http://www.brownielocks.com/christmassymbols.html.

Candles

Lighting candles is a custom of many religions for many different reasons. When it comes to
Christmas, many feel that the candles are symbolic of the sun's light and warmth in the middle of dark winters especially during Winter Solstice (December 21 or 22). Christians see candles as "Christ's Light" and the lighting of candles on Christmas Eve comes from the Jewish "Feast of Lights" or Hanukkah.

During the Middle Ages it was customary to light one large candle on Christmas Eve in both your church and home to represent the Star of Bethlehem. Some feel the candle represents
the baby Jesus (A light to the Gentiles). In Scandinavian countries, keeping the Yule Candle buring was very important. Sometimes there were two candles: One for the wife. One for the Husband. Whichever went out first, meant that the other partner would live longer. (Moral of this story: Don't place your candle in a draft!)

In Scotland, it was believed that if the Christmas candle went out before midnight, it meant a great disaster would happen to the family. In Ireland, they make their candles so very big that the candle holders have to be carved out of large turnips to be used as candlesticks (Note: This is also the origin of the Halloween Jack-O-Lantern.)

Farolitos

In some areas they are termed "luminaries" and in some neighborhoods it is a form of unity
for all the homes to put them out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But they originated in the American Southwest as glowing paper sacks on patios, walks, driveways at night. Farolitos are pronounced like "Fah-Row-Lee-Toes" and mean "little lanterns." In some party stores they can be purchased pre-decorated and colored, along with the sand and candles. But the original hand-made farilitos are simply done with brown paper lunch bags filled with a few inches of sand (or kitty litter) to weigh them down and support the votive candle inside. When lit, the candles give off a golden glow through the bags. In some cases cut-out shapes are done first on the bags like snowflakes, trees, etc.

Many assume they originate from Mexico, because this is where they were brought to the US from. But they are actually Chinese in origin, going over to the Phillipines and from there to Mexico by the Spanish traders.

We hope that you enjoy our luminaries as much as we do. Have a very Merry Christmas.

Love,

Morley and Virginia