What comes to mind when you think of Advent and Christmas? Most Christmas symbols are easily created. In fact many of them are included in the Chrismon decorations.
Some of my favorite holiday symbols are:
Bells—that ring in the good news.
Angels—who proclaim glad tidings.
Sheep—remind us of the Shepherd who came and the shepherds who adored. (I’ve recently come across a new way of making a sheep’s head. Lay your hand on a paper, with the 3 middle fingers together and the thumb and little finger sticking out for the ears. It's similar to the way you make a turkey from your hand, except you keep the 3 middle fingers together.)
Evergreen wreaths and trees—represent eternity and are found everywhere this time of year.
Candy Canes—symbolize the purity and blood of Jesus.
Stars—foretold the birth to the Wise men.
Holly—foreshadows the crown of thorns and drops of blood.
However, the main focus of all the decorations and symbols is, of course, the Nativity and Manger. If you are looking for something to do with the youngsters in your life to help them learn about the story, have them use their fingerprints to create the scene. (It can also be a creative spiritual aid for you as you think about the role each person and animal played in the whole story.) Remember a couple of years back when making animals and other real and imaginary creatures using your fingerprints was all the rage…well, here’s how to make the complete Nativity scene with the same craft.
You’ll need a white paper, some colored ink pads (you can use black, but I think it’s a bit more fun with the colors), and a damp cloth or paper towel to clean your fingers. You will also need markers or pens to complete the figures.
Practice making the animals and people before you make your scene. Here are some of my practice ones, including my first, not so great attempt at a camel. Looking at tit now, I could perhaps have turned the smudges into a cow by adding ears, legs, and horns. In reality, I don't think there are mistakes with this art form. While it may not look like anything at first, once you add eyes, legs, etc., they do take on a life of their own.
Sheep: Index finger for body, and tip of the pinky finger for the head. Add eyes, nose, ears, legs, and tail with markers.
Donkey: Thumb for body, end of pinky for head. Add ears, nose, legs, tail, and eyes.
Camel: Thumb for body, pinky for head (like Donkey). Make the hump from your index finger at right angles to the body.
King: First 2 joints of your index finger. Tip of index finger for face. Add arms, crown, hair, beard, and eyes. You can add a gift in his hands, too.
Shepherd: Like the King, except add a head band and shepherd’s crook
Mary: Index finger for body and second print at right angles for her to kneel, Index finger head and pinky print for her veil. Add hair, arms, eyes, mouth, and halo.
Joseph: Similar to Mary, except add beard and halo
Angel: Like Shepherd and King, with index finger wing. Add halo and outline wings and gown.
Infant Jesus: Index finger for swaddled baby, pinky head. Add eyes, halo, hair, a few lines on the body to indicate the bands of cloth.
Sketch a manger under the Baby and add straw on the ‘floor’.
While making the scene with the children in your life, have them tell you the story, if they are old enough. If they don’t know all the details, you can help them out.
Have fun! Remember it’s the creativity that counts, not the perfection of the result!
See you tomorrow.
