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Saints Featured in December and Christmas
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items This is our longest list so far!--mostly because it includes not only our usual sections on Saints with December feast days but also several Christmas sections. + Be sure to come back later in the month. Again, we're running late. We still have at le...
Sections
8
Countdown to Christmas!
Making Christmas Christ-Centered
December Saints
Added Info, Historical Novels, and Movies
Merry Christmas!
Nativity Scenes
Countdown to Christmas!
You'll have to use a traditional Advent Calendar to count down to Christmas. Modern computer-based counters with religious themes seem to be in short supply.
If I had the computer skills, one of the things I'd do is program an Advent and/or Countdown to Christmas widget with attractive religious imagery for general use. I searched in vain for something a lot nicer than what‘s posted here. Still, it’s a st...
Catholic Christmas Countdown Timer
Making Christmas Christ-Centered
Remember, Jesus *is* the reason for the season!
A short, 7-point guide to keeping Christ in Christmas! + Very helpful!
Keeping Christ in Christmas
Another list of suggestions for a Christ-centered holiday season! + You'll be inspired!
Keeping Christ at the Heart of Christmas: A Catholic Guide
It's so very easy to let mundane preparations for Christmas run away with us despite our best intentions to pursue meaningful activities. A Catholic To-Do List can help to focus your energies!
A Catholic's December To Do List - Catholic-Link
No two lists here have identical suggestions. They each have something unique to share… Adopt or adapt the suggestions that speak to you and create your own list of traditions that keep Christ at the center of your family's holiday celebrations!
21 Ways to Keep Christ in Christmas | Focus on Jesus During the Holiday Season - Beliefnet
A long but practical list of activities by a mother of teens… Has a section of especially good suggestions for small children at the end + Highly recommended!
41 Joyful Ways To Keep Christ In Christmas
I especially like this list for imbuing the various acts and decorations for Christmas with sacredness and meaning!
10 Easy Christmas Decorations That Point You to Jesus
Call me old fashioned, but I like a traditional Christmas tree--not one of the sterile, modern decorator type trees but a tree with lots of colorful ornaments and lots of memories to go with them! That's why I like this video and hope you will too!
Christmas Tree Decorating - Classic Traditional Family Christmas Tree - Decorate With Me - Tutorial
Regardless of the style of tree you choose, gather your family and friiends around and bless it with a short prayer like this one.
A Christmas Tree Blessing Prayer
Another Christmas tree prayer but much, MUCH more! This article contains prayers and downloadable activities for all age groups and every situation imaginable during Christmas time! + A treasury!
11+ Catholic Christmas Season Prayers & Activities for Catholics
December Saints
Here are seven saints with feast days celebrated in December at Saints_Aplenty on Zazzle with eighteen beautiful COLLECTIONS. Each of our COLLECTIONS features 15-150 items. Browse them all in our Zazzle store!
A beautiful image in, perhaps, our favorite antique holy card style… According to tradition, St. Barbara of Nicomedia (3rd-4th century) was young, rich, and very beautiful. To shield her from the world, her father Dioscorus locked her away in a tower. Despite her isolation, she was allowed tutors. Her studies led her ...
St. Barbara (JP 01) COLLECTION
Another lovely COLLECTION devoted to a popular saint… While doubts about her historicity surfaced in the 20th century, St. Barbara’s extensive list of patronages attests to her unabated popularity with the laity throughout the ages. Chief among her patronages are artillerymen, miners, and, by extension,... + Feast: December 4
St. Barbara of Nicomedia COLLECTION (BK 001)
In this image, a cutting probably from an antique nineteenth-century Lives of the Saints book, St. Barbara of Nicomedia (3rd-4th century) is depicted with another of her attributes: a cannon and cannonball pyramid. St. Barbara is patron of field arti... Feast: December 4 + A special collection…
St. Barbara With Artillery (M 007) COLLECTION
St. Ambrose of Milan was born around c. 340 in Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier, Germany). Raised in Rome, he studied literature, law, and rhetoric, that is, advanced public speaking, entered public life, served as a Roman governor, and eventually be...
St. Ambrose of Milan (BEN 001) COLLECTION
St. Adelaide (931-999) was a Holy Roman Empress noted for her grace and beauty as well as for the significant political influence she wielded and the charitable works she performed during her lifetime. As in this lovely traditional image featured in ...
St. Adelaide, Holy Roman Empress, COLLECTION
Though largely superseded by Gaudete Sunday, the Feast of the Expectation of Mary on December 18 provides a wonderful opportunity for meditating on the BVM's hopes and fears as she awaited the delivery of the Infant Jesus. + Many of the items here ca...
The Gaudete Madonna COLLECTION
The first of three COLLECTIONS devoted to this saint… A stylized rendering of St. Stephen, standing, dressed in deacon's regalia, and holding a palm of martyrdom, a book (presumably of the Gospels), and rocks (the instruments of his martyrdom by ston... Feast: December 26 + Attractive!
St. Stephen the ProtoMartyr COLLECTION (RLS 17)
The second of our St. Stephen COLLECTIONS features a more naturalistic portrait. Tonsured and wearing a deacon's dalmatic, he holds a martyr's palm and an armful of stones as attributes. Here. St. Stephen's eyes are closed, perhaps symbolizing deep r... Feast: December 26 + Intriguing depiction…
St. Stephen the ProtoMartyr COLLECTION (SNV 26)
Our third and final St. Stephen COLLECTION is also our most popular one. Tonsured and wearing a deacon's dalmatic, he holds a martyr's palm and an armful of stones as attributes. If this description sounds familiar, it is. It is the same as in the pr... + A comparison with the previous image also points up the chief difference, however: the saint's expression. Here, eyes open, he makes eye contact with the viewer. The eye contact establishes a more personal relationship between the saint and you. + Feast: December 26 + Gorgeous!
St. Stephen the ProtoMartyr COLLECTION (PM 08)
St. John the Evangelist (D. c. 101) was supposedly the youngest of the original twelve Apostles and the only one to live to a ripe old age and die of natural causes. Known also as St. John the Divine and the Beloved Disciple, he is traditionally cred...
St. John the Evangelist COLLECTION (RLS 07)
A much more naturalistic portrait of the Beloved Disciple St. John in a Roman-style wreath of spiky leaves… According to tradition, as a test of faith, St. John once drank a cup of poison--represented here by the chalice with snake--without being harmed. + Feast: December 27 + Gorgeous!
St. John the Evangelist COLLECTION (JMAS 06)
In Bures, Normandy, at his 1170 Christmas court, Henry II, King of England, had ranted: “What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household who let their Lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric...
An Early Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket in Art
A more detailed, busier, and more colorful depiction of the assassination of St. Thomas Becket… + Feast: December 29
St. Thomas Becket’s Martyrdom (M 031)
No representations of Thomas Becket exist from during his lifetime. All portraits are posthumous and either derived from a lost original or imaginary. The image here is one of the few to have survived the purge of Catholic art in England under Henry ... Dressed in full canonicals, St. Thomas holds his archiepiscopal cross in his left hand and an inverted sword, the instrument of his martyrdom, in his right. + Feast: December 29 + Historically important!
St Thomas Becket Holding a Sword COLLECTION (M 33)
This is a colorized version, a Saints_Aplenty Exclusive, of the antique engraving presented as our St. Thomas Becket Holding a Sword (M 033). In arriving at our visual reconstruction, we have followed the description by Francis Joseph Baigent who dis... + Splendid!
St. Thomas Becket with Sword (M 033; Colorized)
St. Thomas Becket’s first “portraits” are of little interest iconographically. They routinely depict him merely as archbishop with no other emblems, identification being made through accompanying inscriptions. Gradually, Becket’s portraits were provi... + Distinctive
St. Thomas Becket with Sword in Miter (P 005)
In this glorious representation, St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, stands before an altar dressed for Mass. The altar is probably intended for St. Benedict’s near which—not at which--he was assassinated on 29 December 1170. It is a formal ...
St. Thomas Becket in Red Chasuble (K 34)
St. Thomas Becket (1120-1170) lived and died before the age of heraldry and bore no coat of arms during his lifetime. As such, his arms are said to be attributed. In heraldry-speak, his arms are described as “argent, three choughs proper, two and one... + Feast of St. Thomas Becket: December 29
Attributed Arms of St. Thomas Becket
Added Info, Historical Novels, and Movies
Fewer films and videos in this category this month; more books and plays--especially plays and even an opera about St. Thomas Becket (forthcoming soon!).
Interested? Try to borrow it through Interlibrary Loan (See https://search.worldcat.org/title/53360403?oclcNum=53360403.) It is a slim volume of only 80 pages and, though out of print, too pricey at booksellers.
Saint Barbara: Truth, Tales, Tidbits, & Trivia
A short, hard-to-find novelization of St. Barbara's life and death.. +. Pleasant and diverting, but not very deep…
The Cross and the Sword: Life of St. Barbara
St. Barbara is the patron of the U.S. Field Artillery. This short, informative article will introduce you to its proud heritage and customs!
Legend of Saint Barbara - United States Field Artillery Association
St. Barbara is not just the patron of the U.S. Field Artillery, but artillerymen in general. The English writer G. K. Chesterton’s poem The Ballad of St. Barbara interweaves her legend with the events of an important battle of World War I, the First ... + Audio file of the entire book available at https://librivox.org/the-ballad-of-st-barbara-and-other-verses-by-g-k-chesterton/ ; this specific poem at dn721209.ca.archive.org/0/items/balladstbarbara_1104_librivox/balladstbarbara_02_chesterton_64kb.mp3
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Ballad of St. Barbara, by G. K. Chesterton
Santa Barbara, Virgen y Martir, is a 1973 Spanish-language Telenovela starring Cuban-born actress Lilia Lazo (1935-2022) in the title role. Unfortunately, I have been unable to run down a print for viewing even on YouTube. The production was filmed i...
Santa Bárbara: Virgen y mártir (TV Series 1971–1973) | Biography
This is a lovely made-for-TV movie. Too bad it’s not more closely tied to the received version of St. Barbara’s story in The Golden Legend, which can be read online at sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume6.asp#Barbara. There is no tower and no bathhouse. There is a pre-conversion romance and a sacrifice made out of love, but not because of consecrated virginity. Nevertheless, the film's exploration of what it meant to be a Christian in pagan society in the early years of the Church is inspirational w... And the movie is regularly played on ETWN.. + The film is free for viewing with autogenerated closed captions in English at youtube.com/watch?v=UWkahXShuv8&t=14s
Saint Barbara: Convert & Martyr of Early Church
This entry is a ‘fun fact!’ In RL, Babs is a nickname for Barbara. On the TV series The Closer (2005-2012), Babs is a non-human ‘character,’ a robot namesake of the Saint, designed to find and disarm explosives. Babs makes her ‘debut’ in Season 4 Epi...
"The Closer" Time Bomb (TV Episode 2008) ⭐ 9.0 | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An old-fashioned read… Compare it to the following item.
Adelaide, Queen of Italy; Or, The Iron Crown
A more modern, faster-paced novelization of the life and times of St. Adelaide by a woman with a degree in history who specializes in Early Medieval period fiction with female main characters…
God's Maidservant: Adelaide of Italy Story
St. Stephen's selection as deacon, trial for blasphemy, and subsequent martyrdom are recounted in Acts 6:1-7:60. As such, the events appear in all the film versions. This is just one portrayal by Francesco Quinn (1963-2011), son of Oscar-winner Antho... Available free for viewing on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=q5bTIUrUw0M. St. Stephen's story begins at about the 33-minute mark and concludes 13.5 minutes later at the 46.5-mark. + For comments on the Visual Bible series and this video in particular, see benable.com/Saints_Aplenty/october-saints/details?detail_id=16144474
The Visual Bible: Acts (Video 1994) ⭐ 7.6 | Drama, History
We know; we know. We already recommended this video last month. But, if you haven’t already seen this film, you simply must put it on your watchlist—not for now in Advent, perhaps, but surely for Lent. (I’ll explain my reasoning below.) + St. John in... + Also on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=oQwYP21Y1u0. + Currently streaming on Tubi TV
St. John in Exile
For purchase, see Amazon here too. + This movie, also marketed under the title The Life of Jesus, is part of the Visual Bible series. It is as close a film to Scripture as a cinematic dramatization can be. All dialogue is taken word-for-word from the Gospel itself with narrative passag...
The Gospel of John (2003) - Visual Bible DVD
Another word-for-word adaptation of the Gospel of John. This film is very much like an audiobook, however. You need not ‘view’ a screen to follow the story. A narrator reads the Gospel from beginning to end. On the other hand, it is also like a full-...
The Gospel of John (2014)
In November, we cited several films related to Revelation 4:10-11 and St. John the Evangelist. We re-list only two items here. Please consult the November Saints list’s Movies & Historical Novels section for the others at https://benable.com/Sain...
The Apocalypse
Lastly, we again call to your attention REVELATION: The Final Vision of John. Billed as a “Full 4K Cinematic Bible Movie,” you won’t find this film listed in the IMDb. Except for the narration, perhaps, the entire production was, I believe, generated...
REVELATION: The Final Vision of John | Full 4K Cinematic Bible Movie
Merry Christmas!
May the spirit of Christmas bless your home, fill your heart, and inspire you to spread love and kindness to all those around you!
Greetings!
From us to you…
Nativity Scenes
For Christians, a nativity scene is the most special and important seasonal item. Also known as a manger, crib, creche, or praeseppio, such scenes are usually composed of figurines or sculptures in the round. Depending on their venue--whether under t...
The traditional 13th-century origins story of Christmas creches…
St. Francis and the Christmas Creche
Scholars will argue about anything at the drop of a hat. What exactly is a creche? Any Nativity scene? Or only scenes comprised of figurines? Can an Early Christian wall painting, for instance, be considered in the same breath or in the same category... manger scenes have become a beloved holiday tradition!
Did St. Francis invent the Christmas crèche as we know it?
An informative historical overview of representations of the Nativity regardless of medium, from the simple to the complex to the ultra-modern…
What Nativity Scenes Tell Us About the Evolution of Christianity
A more succinct history based on the preceding Smithsonian article but including pictures of artworks mentioned there but not illustrated and others besides… A useful supplement
‘No crib for a bed’: Learn about the history of the crèche
Since we published the Friends of the Creche list in December 2025, their directory has grown exponentially and now covers multiple web pages, Here's the intro followed by 3 US links and one for Canada.
Friends of the Creche (Nativity)
It's possible to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in your heart all year long. Here's how… By visiting one of the year round collections of manger scenes!
Year-Round U.S Nativity Exhibits | Friends of Creche
Parr 1 of the State-by-State Seasonal Guide to Nativity scenes in the U.S.
Seasonal Nativity Exhibits - USA
Alabama to North Dakota | Creche Exhibit Directory | Friends of the Crèche
Parr 2 of the State-by-State Seasonal Guide to Nativity scenes in the U.S.
Seasonal Nativity Exhibits - USA
Ohio to Wyoming | Directory of Nativity and Creche Exhibits in the US
The Creche Collection at the Marian Library of The University of Dayton, Ohio, is justifiably renown. Use the red call-to-action button banner on the first page to go to the second. There you will find 100 pictures--also watchable as a slideshow--of ... + Impressive!
Crèche Collection: University of Dayton, Ohio
The Canadian Creche Guide covers both year-round and seasonal exhibits.
Nativity Exhibits in Canada | Directory of Nativity and Creche Exhibits | Friends of the Creche
Nativity & Christmassy Movies
There is, perhaps, no better way to start your Christmas viewing than to watch videos of the Gospel accounts. Nativity stories appear in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. We provide references to videos—one for each Gospel—that are word-for-word readi...
This video features a word-for-word reading of the entire Gospel of Luke (NIV or KJV) accompanied by live-action visuals. The Gospel of Luke contains one of the two New Testament accounts of the birth of Jesus, the other being The Gospel of Matthew. ...
The Gospel Of Luke [DVD]
The Gospel of Matthew provides a second account of the birth of Jesus. This video is from the Visual Bible Series. It represents a different take on approaching the New Testament text than the preceding item. Though Scripturally faithful (the relevan...
The Gospel According to Matthew (1993) ⭐ 7.9 | Adventure, Biography, Drama
This is a handy list of Nativity films…. While I cannot claim to have viewed all 53 of them, I have recently viewed or re-viewed the ones commented upon here.
Bible Films Blog: Nativity Films Revisited
For the most Catholic renditions of the Nativity on film, you have to go back to the late 1950s or earlier. We provide here only one example. The 1957 film The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary made under the auspices of the Venerable Father Patrick Pey... See also the recut, remastered video of the 1959 Life of Christ from footage originally aired as part of his Family Theater on TV at youtube.com/watch?v=Az0.. The first 20 minutes depict the Christmas story.
Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary - Complete Movie
The first 70 minutes of this epic 6-hour+ miniseries directed by Franco Zeffirelli (1923-2019) presents a harmonious blending of the New Testament infancy accounts of Luke and Matthew, the usual approach in Nativity films, with minor deviations. A hu... + Criticized--like all the other films here--from a Catholic perspective for Mary exhibiting labor pains and what amounts to a natural childbirth. + Catholic Review: https://www.ncregister.com/features/jesus-of-nazareth-turns-40-yxm4zqce
Jesus of Nazareth (TV Mini Series 1977)
A grittier film; in many ways, a more realistic and human one than the Zeffirelli’s film cited in the previous entry… Except, perhaps, for Oscar Isaac, the cast is largely comprised of unknowns though more age appropriate and ethnically diverse than ... + Criticized from a Catholic perspective for not emphasizing the supernatural aspects enough, a sulky Mary, and less than pristine looking settings and wardrobe. + Catholic Reviews: lifesitenews.com/news/the-nativity-story-movie-problematic-for-catholics-unsuitable-for-young-chi, https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/12/my-review-of-nativity-story.html, and decentfilms.com/articles/nativitycritics + Useful resource: biblefilms.blogspot.com/2005/12/nativity-story-central-page.html
The Nativity Story (2006) ⭐ 6.8 | Adventure, Drama, Family
An appealing pair of actors cast as Mary and Joseph in a TV mini series that falls somewhere in between Zeffirelli's sumptuous 1977 Jesus of Nazareth and 2006's grittier theatrical Nativity Story film… Criticized from a Catholic perspective for the negative reactions to Mary's alleged out-of-wedlock pregnancy by bystanders, Joseph's prolonged doubt and coldness to the BVM until his late dream, and the presence of a midwife at the virgin birth. + A non-Catholic Review: biblefilms.blogspot.com/2010/12/review-nativity-bbc1.html. Four reviews of the individual episodes by Jesuits in Britain at thinkingfaith.org/tags/bbc-nativity
The Nativity (TV Mini Series 2010) ⭐ 7.6 | Drama
This is a lovely little film as film. The producers have opted to emphasize visual storytelling over verbal. What dialogue there is—and it’s very sparse--is spoken in Aramaic, the lingua franca or the commercial language of the Levant at the time of ...youtube.com/watch?v=oXz0kWCsy2M for insight into the producers’ thoughtful decision-making processes. + Criticised from a Catholic perspective for omitting the Annunciation and beginning with the trip to Bethlehem thereby downplaying the supernatural.
The Christ Child: A Nativity Story (Short 2019) ⭐ 9.5 | Short, History
Simon the Shepherd is lame. Barely tolerated by his companions, he makes what for him is an arduous journey to town to bring an unblemished lamb for sacrifice. Scorned by a Pharisee when his lamb is found to be damaged and turned away from the synago... + Criticized from a Catholic perspective for the usual reasons.
The Chosen | A Special Christmas Presentation: The Shepherd
No doubt TCM (Turner Classic Movies) will air this film several times in December. While certainly not a Christmas movie per se, it does have one scene at about the 51-minute mark that qualifies it for inclusion here: a Nativity play staged by childr...
Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman in Classic Comedy I The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) I Retrospective
Finally… Miss Amelia Potts (Elsa Lanchaster) is an artist who paints, among other subjects, Nativity scenes in a barn that has been converted into her studio outside of Bethlehem, a town in New England. Having initially extended lodgings to two nuns ...
📺 Come to the Stable (1949) | Loretta Young & Celeste Holm | Classic Drama Full Movie
That's a wrap... Or Is It?
These days, we are so bombarded with Christmas merchandising beginning the day after Halloween that it is small wonder the Christmas decorations come down in many homes on December 26th. In times past, December 25th was actually the first, not the la...
Revive a forgotten tradition…
The Tradition Behind Leaving Up Christmas Decor Through January 6
Good ideas for celebrating Twelfth Night…
Closing Christmas with Celebration — Little Way Chapel
Okay. Keeping your tree up until Candlemas on February 2nd may be excessive! But the possibility is certainly worth mentioning if only to alleviate the guilt of procrastinators! 😊
Keep Your Christmas Tree Up!