Well, here are three good reasons...
1. I've been watching the Hallmark Channel's annual Christmas in July extravaganza.
2. My work in progress is a Christmas-themed romance that features a sleigh ride, snow, and naturally, Christmas.
3. I've been baking dozens of Italian Christmas cookies for my grandson's wedding on August 3rd.
One scene in the book is centered around a grieving widower who realizes he's neglected his girls. To bring joy back into their home, he surprises them with a tree and a box of decorations. Among the crocheted snowflake ornaments was an angel dressed in an iridescent gown with feather wings.
Which led me down the rabbit hole to research the origin of tree toppers.
We all know that several angels appeared in the biblical story of the first Christmas, and angels appeared in the sky over Bethlehem to announce and celebrate Jesus's birth.
It's that last part of the story--the angels appearing high above the Earth--that offers the clearest explanation for why angels are placed at the top of Christmas trees.
The first time in recorded history that a tree was decorated specifically to celebrate Christmas was in Latvia in 1510, when people placed roses on the branches of a fir tree.
Tree Topper Angels
People eventually took up the practice of placing angel figures at the top of their Christmas trees to symbolize the significance of the angels who appeared over Bethlehem to announce Jesus's birth. If they didn't use an angel ornament as a tree topper, they usually used a star. According to the biblical story of Christmas, a bright star appeared in the sky to guide people to Jesus's birthplace.
By placing angels at the top of their trees, some Christians were also making a statement of faith intended to scare evil spirits away from their homes.
Streamers and Tinsel: Angel 'Hair'
Once they began decorating Christmas trees, people would sometimes pretend that angels were actually the ones decorating the trees. This was a way of making the Christmas festivities fun for children. People wrapped paper streamers around the trees and told children that the streamers were pieces of angel hair that had been caught in the branches when the angels leaned in too closely while decorating.
(Honestly, this is the first time I've heard this explanation of angel 'hair'.)
Later, after people figured out how to hammer out silver (and then aluminum) to
The first angel ornaments were handmade ones, such as angel-shaped cookies or angel ornaments fashioned out of natural materials like straw. By the 1800s, glassblowers in Germany were making glass Christmas ornaments, and glass angels began to adorn many Christmas trees throughout the world.
Angels remain popular Christmas tree decorations today. High-tech ornaments implanted with microchips (which enable the angels to glow from within, sing, dance, talk, and play trumpets) are now widely available.
A Sleigh Ride for Claire
Coming September 2nd
He was the most stubborn and prideful man she’d ever met!
She was a busybody who stuck her nose in his business at every turn!With Christmas on the horizon, Claire McAllister has far too much to do to entertain dreams of a husband and family. Even if she feels inclined to help Lincoln Wyse outwit his three mischievous young daughters, it's impossible to imagine the handsome widower seeing her as anything but a scolding schoolteacher.
Even though the pretty schoolteacher never turned a favorable eye to him, Linc Wyse’s heart skipped a beat whenever she pinned him with her mesmerizing green eyes. Beautiful or not, Claire McAllister was a meddling spinster who placed judgments on him and his family.
Yet, neither one can imagine how three little, mischievous matchmakers and a magical Christmas Eve sleigh ride will open their eyes to love…or how the Lord will awaken their faith and hope.
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