Day 1 Craft: Jingling Bells
Shakers and “Tambourines” to celebrate this day, Christmas !
Shake ’em and say, “Happy Birthday, Jesus!”
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
~Luke 2:11-14
Now THAT’S something to CELEBRATE !e
Symbolism of the Bell
Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. – It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Ringing a bell always communicates a message of some kind.
Church bells are rung before ceremonies to call the community to worship and create a sense of calm; during ceremonies and processions, the reverberation of bells is a mark of solemnity, respect, remembrance or celebration (and even to wake up sleepy parishioners!).
The ringing of bells is often used to symbolize peace and freedom.
In many religions, a pealing bell is said to herald the arrival of a supernatural power or spirit, to be the voice of angels or the sound of revelations. In other beliefs, bells either summon or ward off spirits of the dead.
The bell itself can also be a holy object; in Hinduism and Buddhism, it represents the illusory and immaterial world due to the brief and fleeting sound it produces.
Hung from a cord, the bell symbolizes the human soul suspended between heaven and earth.
Bells are associated with the elements of Air and Water because of their rippling waves of sound, and they are considered both feminine (the bowl or cup) and masculine (the clapper).
About Bells
The earliest known clapper bells date from 3000 BC and were made of pottery;
metal bells appeared a millennium later
• Church, clock and tower bells are cast from bell metal, a type of bronze with high tin content which affords excellent resonance
• Bellfounding, the process of casting metal bells, has been practiced in Europe
since the 1300s
• The clapper of a bell is also known as the uvula
• The study of the technology of bells (casting, tuning, ringing) is called campanology
• A group or set of bells (i.e. in a tower or carillon) is called a ring
• The world’s largest, heaviest bell was the Great Bell of Dhammazedi; cast in Burma in 1484 and weighting over 300 tons, it was removed by mercenaries in the 17th century and promptly lost to shipwreck
• The world’s heaviest functioning bell, at 127 tons, is China’s Bell of Good Luck, cast on New Year’s Eve 2000
Odd law: In Ontario, Canada, any sleigh drawn by a horse or other animal must have
at least two bells attached; any perpetrators can be fined, but not more than $5.
Making the Jingling Bells
What you will need:
~ Sticks, Dowels, Craft Sticks
~ Pipe Cleaners (Chenille stems)
~ Jingle Bells
~ Optional: Ribbon or twine
To construct the “tambourine” shaker, begin with two pipe cleaners.
String your jingle bells on one of the pipe cleaners. Use as many, or as few, as you prefer.
Take your second stem and wrap around the one with the bells to make the whole string thicker
Then connect the ends by wrapping them around each other.
Now, you have a bracelet !!!
Add a third stem, ribbon or twine, to decorate.
Now you have an ornament or shaker !
To construct the shakers, pick a stick and a few pipe cleaners.
Wrap a few around your stick
String your jingle bells on one of the pipe cleaners. Use as many, or as few, as you prefer.
Wrap your string of jingle bells
around your stick…
Now, you have a bell shaker !!!
Use a stick from your yard or a piece of driftwood.
Add a more bells!
Add ribbon or twine, to decorate.
Time to ring those bells in celebration!
NOTE: Keep those shakers in a safe place and use them to ring in the New Year next week.
Tomorrow….
Day 2
