12 Days of Christmas (DIY advent)

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: CELEBRATING THE MESSIAH

**If you have less time or shorter attention spans in your family, feel free to break each day in half for a longer advent calendar.  If so, begin reading on December 1st instead of December 13th, ending Christmas Eve.

DAY  1 (Dec. 13):  The year is 1742 and autumn is in the air.  An elderly gentleman sighs then says to his secretary, “God has visited me.”  In a mere 24 days Handel composed his most outstanding work!   Initially he thought this would take a year to complete.  Handel wrote Messiah with careful simplicity and it is best performed accordingly.  Part I (songs #1-21) contains many prophecies about the Messiah, most of which are from Isaiah.  Part II (songs #22-44) deals mainly with the suffering, Crucifixion, and Atonement of Christ.  Part III (songs #45-53) is concerned with the Resurrection.   

Read the following scriptures to introduce the oratorio: 1 Tim. 3:16, Col. 2:2-3.

DAY 2 (Dec. 14):  Read and discuss “Handel and the gift of the Messiah” by Elder Condie in the Ensign December 2010, pages 23-24, 26-27.

DAY 3 (Dec. 15): #3-7, 9-11 are prophecies of the Second Coming.  Here are the references:

Isaiah 40:1-5

Haggai 2:6-7, Malachi 3:1

Malachi 3:2-3

Isaiah 40:9; 60:1

Isaiah 9:2-3

DAY 4 (Dec. 16): #8, 12, 14-17 Are prophecies about Christ’s birth.  In #17 Handel inserted Italian directions for this number, translated as follows: as from a distance and rather softly.  He wanted the chorus to sound like the Angelic hosts coming down from Heaven to visit the shepherds. Listen to “For Unto Us a Child is Born” online. Here are the references:

Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23

Isaiah 9:6

Luke 2:8-11, 13-14

DAY 5 (Dec. 17): #18-21 Are general prophecies about the Savior. Here are the references:

Zechariah 9:9-10

Isaiah 35:5-6

Isaiah 40:11

Matthew 11:28-30

DAY 6 (Dec. 18):  #22-25, 30-32 Describe explicit and exquisite suffering, including the Father’s reaction.  Here are the references:

John 1:29  This song is marked “Largo”, a tempo reserved for a king’s entry or a death march—this is both.  The words are what John the Baptism said when introducing Christ.

Isaiah 53:3-5 The first four notes of verse 5 are sung using “the cross motif” (if you connect the notes you get a cross laying on its side.)  This was used by Bach and since then, people had learned to recognize the melody and associate it with the cross of Christ.

Lamentations 1:12

Isaiah 50:6

Isaiah 53:8

Psalm 16:10

DAY 7 (Dec. 19):  #26-29 Are the reactions of people now and then towards Christ.   Psalms 22:8 is a fugue so each of the four voice parts takes a turn singing the melody and then it gets broken into pieces and everyone starts singing something different at the same time.  The melismas (lots of notes on one word or syllable) on the word delight often sound like mean laughter.  Sometimes the characters singing here in verse 8 sounds like the smug Pharisees, but Handel also has sections that sound more like Christ’s disciples who were disappointed and confused that Christ allowed himself to die.  Part of being the Messiah meant that He had to choose to die, but they did not understand that.  Here are the references:

Isaiah 53:6

Psalm 22:7-8

Psalm 69:20

DAY 8 (Dec. 20):  #33-44 Describe some of the results of the Atonement.  Here are the references:   

Psalm 24: 7-10

Heb. 1:5-6

Psalm 68: 11, 16

Romans 10:15, 18

Psalm 2:1-4, 9

Revelation 19:6,16; 11:15

DAY 9 (Dec. 21):  Listen to the Hallelujah chorus online and discuss.  Why do we stand for the Hallelujah chorus (#44)?

The tradition of standing during the Hallelujah Chorus began during a performance on March 23, 1743 [its first performance in England]. King George II was attending the performance. When the Hallelujah Chorus began King George rose. It is unclear why he stood up, he may have been stretching his legs, it is possible that King George, who was partially deaf, mistook the opening notes for the national anthem, or he may have risen to his feet out of respect.

No one knows why King George stood but we do know that people around the world still rise to their feet whenever they hear first notes of the Hallelujah Chorus.

(Read more at Suite101: Handel's Hallelujah Chorus: The Story of the Culminating Chorus in The Messiah http://www.suite101.com/content/handels-hallelujah-chorus-a34854#ixzz17MLvDgpz)

DAY 10 (Dec. 22):  #45-50 testify of the resurrection of our living Lord.  Here are the references:

Job 19:25-26, 1 Cor. 15:20

1 Corinthians 15:21-22

1 Corinthians 15:52-56

DAY 11 (Dec. 23):  #51-53 highlight especially the gratitude we should all feel for what Christ did so that we each might live.  Here are the references:

1 Corinthians 15:57

Romans 8:31, 33-34

Revelations 5:12-13

DAY 12 (Dec. 24): Testimony bearing with friends and family

Let me know how this worked (or didn't) for your family? What other traditions do you have for Christmas? How do you strike a balance between the religious and commercial?