Nations will come to your light,
       and kings to the brightness of your dawn.  
                            ~isaiah 60:2-3

advent ideas for week one

• an advent wreath is so simple - four candles in a circle, three purple and one rose-colored, with a center white pillar candle. light one candle a week, starting with a purple candle (the tird week is the pink candle).
• at the beginning of advent we find ourselves celebrating st. nicholas. read about this real man here. you can also find resources at this site for family crafts, recipes, and traditions to celebrate a real man (a saint!).  how does st. nicholas tie into the christmas story?
  
• for st. nicholas day, make bishop cookies (recipe below) and pass around to friends, family, and neighbors.
  

this is a recipe for a traditional Nicholas cookie that comes out of the Rhineland. The cookie is called "Speculatius" which means "image." In Europe, the "image" is the mirror-image of a Nicholas which had been pressed into a wooden mold and then turned out on a sheet to bake in the oven. As we don't have these molds, we roll out dough and use a cardboard pattern (about 7-inches tall) of a gingerbread bishop to cut around for the basic shape and everyone further decorates it as the imagination dictates.

Mix in order:

1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs whole
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cloves

Turn out onto a floured board. Knead in about one cup additional flour or as much as you need until dough is no longer sticky and is easy to handle.

Put into a plastic bag and refrigerate until chilled and stiff. Then you are ready to roll out and cut the cookies. Cut off a manageable piece and keep the rest cool until you are ready for more.

For the larger, decorated St. Nicholas cookies, roll the dough to about ¼ inch thickness. Cut out cookie around paper pattern. Place on greased baking sheet.Then get inspired. Use scrappy bits of dough to decorate your Nicholas. For a beard press a little dough through a sieve or a garlic press. Use little balls of dough for eyes or buttons.

The same dough lends itself to all sorts of shapes and symbols and is useful for making "St. Nicholas awards" to certain people on this special occasion.

Bake at 350º F. until golden-brown. These keep forever in tins in the freezer or for two–three weeks on the shelf.