Advent Calendar – December 16
Today’s blog is from travel writer Gordon Lethbridge (www.travelunpacked.co.uk)
At this time of year right across Europe the squares of major cities are filled with Christmas markets. As a travel writer I am privileged to have visited a number of them. I have been to Christmas markets from Nice in the south of France to Copenhagen in Denmark but one of my favourite is the Christmas market in Salzburg, Austria. The stalls are set up, as they have been for hundreds of years, in front of the Dom or Cathedral.
The evening I was there it was snowing gently. All the stalls were festooned with lights creating a romantic atmosphere. Delicious aromas of spices, fresh baked cookies, gingerbreads filled the air. There were gorgeous handmade crafts for sale alongside decorations, food and Gluwhein. Families were out wrapped up against the cold and somewhere a band was playing.
I wandered through this festive scene towards the cathedral and the centre of the market. Right in front of the cathedral’s massive doors was a scene depicting a stable with the Christmas family, shepherds, three kings along with a number of animals who made the stable their home. Right at the centre of the scene was a crib with Baby Jesus in the hay. Jesus, at the centre of the scene, at the centre of the market. I though to myself that is exactly where He should be… at the centre of Christmas.
Several years ago I took the decision to let Jesus be central to my life and not just my Christmas and I think it has been richer as a result. Have you made Jesus the centre of your Christmas and your life? It is, after all, His birthday. Why not make that decision today.
