Magical Christmas Wishes
It’s that magical time of year when believing in Christmas miracles seems….easier. I often use the New Moon as a time to make affirmations because it’s an energetic time of new beginnings. My mother and father (in-law) were salt of the earth, down to earth farmers who used the moon’s timing to plant their crops—not because it was “magic” but because it yielded better results. So if a specific timeframe provides the extra energy for magical happenings, why NOT use that energy? That being said, here’s a collections of some magical beginnings YOU can incorporate into your Christmas wishing based upon my own history of all things Christmas, be it movies, books and other miscellaneous Christmas folklore collections.
Lighting a candle and making a wish
All year round I light MANY candles. It’s a way to create a sacred space. So every day I light a candle to start my personal yoga practice. There’s a private prayer I repeat to myself whenever I light a candle. These are not my words, but words I picked up from another author: “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, my Lord and my God.”
Taking this practice one step further, don’t we all know the ritual of blowing out our birthday candles and making a wish? How about lighting a candle in church, inside a grotto, or at a gravesite and saying your prayerful intentions for your loved ones. There’s the Advent wreath lighting of candles to symbolize hope, peace, joy and love for the four weeks of Advent. These candles portray the light of God in a physical sense. It’s a commemoration, a prayer, an intention, an expression of gratitude or camaraderie. I’ve read that when we light a candle it’s a way of connecting with spirit. I feel that in all of my candle rituals. Don’t you?
Some candles include essential oils and/or crystals embedded inside to amplify a specific intention. What is an intention if not a wish? Bayberry Candles at Christmas time are a tradition going back to colonial times and were considered a symbol of good health and prosperity for the following year. So why NOT make a wish on your Christmas time candles? Max Lucado’s “The Christmas Candle” movie is a beautiful, moving story about lighting a Christmas candle touched by an angel and making a wish/prayer for your “Christmas miracle”.
Snow Globe magic
There’s another ritual I started after watching yet another Christmas movie I believe was called “Christmas in Evergreen”. “Legend says that if you shake the special snow globe in Chris Kringle Kitchen, close your eyes and wish your heart’s true desire, your wish will be granted!”
Well THAT was all I needed to start my own snow globe shaking wishes! There’s a magic about performing a ritual with the belief it will help your wish/intention come true. It’s why many continue to pray. The inner child in me adores anything Christmas that encourages belief. There are also studies about how belief in something changes you.
Letters to Santa and Wish Lists
We have a “letters to Santa” ornament that’s a tube with an enclosure and a lid. It’s become a tradition for my husband and me to write our Christmas wish list about what we’d like the next year to bring to our lives (love, time together, continued closeness, wishes, goals, etc.). We read the list each year after opening our gifts under the tree and then write another one for next year. One year we were gifted a similar item that’s a Santa mailbox. We do something similar there. There’s magic in writing things down and placing them in a special place that creates the momentum for the wishes to come to fruition. You’ve heard “write it down and make it happen”, right? Well add that energy to the Christmas spirit and there’s no stopping you! It’s the time of year for wish making!
Bells ringing
There are many legends about ringing a bell to make a wish come true. Some cultures believed that bell ringing warded off evil spirits and could bring good luck. Bell ringing has been used to culminate weddings, announce church services, send alarms, and …to make wishes. My love affair with bells and wishes started years ago after watching a movie called “The Christmas List” from 1997 (not the newer Hallmark one). The star of the movie wrote a letter to Santa with her wish list enclosed and mailed it in the department store Santa mailbox she worked at. Her wishes started coming true and as they did, you’d hear Santa’s sleigh bells. Let’s not forget Zuzu’s exclamation from “It’s a Wonderful Life”: “Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!”
In the yoga world, we use sound therapy to aid in healing, to center and ground you, to end or begin a class. Chakra bowls are very soothing. I end my daily practice with my personal chakra bowls and consider, as the first bowl I purchased promised, “Legend has it that during the making of Himalayan singing bowls, the monks would chant specific prayers as the metal was being hammered.” I consider the sound of the chakra bowls as “sealing in” my intentions made during my yoga and subsequent meditation practice. So it’s a natural progression to believe in bells for making wishes and sealing in your intention.
Elf on the Shelf
A few years ago, one of my treasured Yoga students was moving and was giving away several things, one of which was a beautiful red and green carved, wooden elf from Italy! Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes he found a treasured place in my Christmas decorations from then on! His presence emits a kind of aura of protection—like he’s watching over our celebrations and perhaps reporting back to Santa. I call him “Geppeto”. He simply makes me smile. Do you have an elf on your shelf? It should be required this time of year! It will make you smile, I promise! Having this “aura of protection” is also very grounding and a solid foundation for creating a wishing atmosphere, don’t you think?
Christmas tree wishes
There has been more than one movie using a Christmas tree lighting as an impetus to make a Christmas wish. It’s either making a wish just before the lighting, or placing an ornament representing your wish on the tree and then making a wish as you light the tree. Although I can’t find a legend about wishing as you light the tree, the lights on the Christmas tree ARE one of the most magical experiences I can remember as a child and continues to be one of my favorite experiences to simply gaze upon. So it seems the absolute perfect foundation of magic to make a wish, doesn’t it?
I feel like each of our Christmas trees have had a spirit all their own. And as I’ve hung each treasured ornament, it’s like I’m creating a sacred space to celebrate Christmas with all the love that each ornament’s history brings with it. Ornaments are accumulated throughout your life and each ornament has a memory all its own. Many of ours come from Poland, the country our ancestors came from. Some were purchased in Poland on our first trip there, some gifted to us by our treasured Polish relatives, some purchased here in the States but “made in Poland”.
I’ve loved Santa my whole life, so I have a huge number of Santa ornaments! They are all real treasures. Then there’s the precious ornaments gifted to us by dear friends, some placed upon our tree as a surprise for us to discover later. What joy each one brings as I place them on the tree with love. Why not honor them with a silent wish at the same time. Why not make a wish each day when you turn on the lights of your magical creation?
Christmas Star wish
The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, is part of the Nativity story in the bible that led the Three Wise Men to the Christ Child. Many put a star on the top of their tree. There is also the “wishing upon a star” we are all familiar with.
In Poland, in memory of the Star of Bethlehem, children look for the first star to appear on Christmas Eve. This is when they light their tree and the Christmas feast called Wigilia—the Christmas Eve vigil supper—begins.
Two of my favorite movies about the Christmas Star are “The Christmas Star” with Ed Asner and a short film, “Star in the Night”. The Star in the Night film is from 1945. We first discovered it as a bonus recording on our “Christmas in Connecticut” movie. This short film makes me cry every time. It’s a modern retelling of the Nativity story set on Christmas Eve at a desert motel in the Southwestern United States. It won an Oscar—enough said. You can find it on YouTube too.
There are books and movies about wishing upon the Christmas Star. Why not use this blessed event to place your wish in the hands of the reason for the season?
Believe
It goes without saying that belief in the magic of Christmas is the energy that makes your wish come true. There have been many Christmas movies about wishes that are heartfelt coming true where wishes that are materialistic do not. If you don’t believe in the mage this time of year, the magic won’t reciprocate. Makes sense, right? So the biggest ingredient to your Christmas wish-making is to BELIEVE! Some of this post incorporates pieces from my email last year. As does this ending, which is all about believing:
Santa Claus
And I’ll end with my most favorite—Santa Claus! I once gave a speech in my college communications class about believing in Santa. It was St. Nicholas Day the day I was to speak. My professor liked it so much, he asked me to present it at the Beiger Mansion Inn in my home town (Mishawaka, Indiana) during a charity function. At the very end I quoted a Statler Brothers’ song. It summarizes how I feel:
“Never heard a snowman talking
Never seen a reindeer fly
Nor seen a wooden soldier walking
Nor met Santa eye to eye
Now there are those who don’t believe
In miracles or Santa Claus
But I believe what I believe
And I believe in Santa’s cause”
It’s a beautiful song.
Thank you for reading about ways to create magical Christmas wishes. I hope you find something in here that lights up your inner child. “May you find among the gifts placed beneath your tree, the most precious one of all—the child you used to be.” Jody Bergsma
Here’s my annual favorite Christmas email: https://www.jacquielawson.com/ecard/pickup?source=jl999&code=2007134554829
Namasté,
Sandy Krzyzanowski
Better Day Yoga, LLC
~Mail to: 5024 Oxborough Gardens
Brooklyn Park, MN 55443-3990
(612) 708 6900
www.betterdayyoga.com
UPCOMING WEBINAR CREATION!
I’m excited to announce a webinar I plan to release in 2024 for those interested in learning techniques to stay grounded and present during high stress times so that your nervous system will stay balanced. This will allow you to be the best, resilient version of yourself. After completing the webinar, you’ll have learned the skills you need to live a more peaceful, centered life with increased energy.
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Minnetina Home Decor
My dear friend, Christine Sever, has launched her new business creating unique crafts and fun items designed to make you smile! These fun items can be customized for your home, garden, work and special events! Many of my blog readers will recognize Christine from the MANY recipes she shared with my newsletter for many years! Please join me in congratulating her and supporting her newest endeavor! Thank you!
