Christmas
The Nativity of Christ, the Word Made Flesh.
From the top, the hands of God offering His Son to the world.
The Star symbolizing the Birth of Christ which was seen by the Magi.
Christ was also referred to as the Bright Star of Dawn (Rev 22:16)
Beneath this is the symbol of the Holy Spirit.
These three symbols representing the Trinity.
Below is the figure of the infant Jesus in the posture of the Crucifixion, holding cherries
in his hand, the fruit of Paradise and was often associated with the birth of Christ.
The figure is surrounded with Violets which are symbolic of humility.
Beneath is the lamb both representing Christ and the gift of the Shepherds.
The Last Supper
The Palm Branches symbolise the Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Beneath is a representation
of the table for the Last Supper with twelve small bowls surrounding the large central bowl which
is in the centre of the shadow which forms the shape of the cross.
The hands below are offering the Eucharist symbolised below by the wheat and the grapes on either
side.
There is again here a lamb, representing the Paschal Lamb which both represents Christ in his
Sacrificial role and also marks the Last Supper as the Passover and the transition from Judaism
to Christianity.
The Garden of Gethsemane
The Palm Branches here represent the Garden of Gethsemane with the hands clasped in prayer
entwined with thorns as a symbol of the agony and the crown of thorns of the crucifixion.
The cup is offered from above.
At the base is a cockerel representing the denial by St. Peter and passion flowers.
Supper at Emmaus
The Last Window is after the resurrection with the Supper at Emmaus when Christ met with
the disciples and broke bread with them Luke 24: 28-32. They did not recognize him at first.
The symbolism here is the bread and the wine referring to the Eucharist, the Pomegranates symbolic
of the resurrection. The cross which is empty is now behind him and the palms representing the
Victory over Death.
|