The Christmas Cross

I got a delightful book from my dear Aunt Nancy on Christmas morning.  She knows me so well.  At first I wasn't sure what to be most excited about: the fact that it was called "The Christmas Cross", the fact that it was a beautiful picture book, or the fact that as I started to read it I discovered little envelopes inside of it to lift up. I got excited about all of it, one step at a time, but mostly and longest lasting I was excited about the Christmas Cross.
Christmas and Easter.  You can't very well have one without the other.  Before the end of advent, I was already counting down the days until Easter (119 days from Christmas day this year if anyone wants to know). Jesus was born to die.  We couldn't have Easter if we hadn't had Christmas.  And Christmas would be meaningless if it weren't for Easter.  The two go together even better than goat cheese and smoked salmon on lentil crackers (or peanut butter and jelly).
That's why yesterday, when I made Christmas chocolates, I grabbed the bunny mold as well and made Christmas bunnies, because Easter is part of Christmas.

Cute Christmas bunnies!  

The manger and the cross.  The tradition that Mary road a donkey to Bethlehem and the triumphal entry on the back of donkey to Jerusalem.  "Away in a Manger" and "The Old Rugged Cross".  Chocolate letters and Easter eggs.
Merry Christmas and Happy Easter!
(now I just need to decide if I want to make an Easter calendar like an Advent calendar...)