The Mennobrarian

Christmas bells and whistles

02:02, Friday, December 21, 2007 .. Posted in Small Homemaking .. 4 comments .. Link

Our church has a rather odd Christmas tradition of giving out fruit after the Christmas service, usually an apple or orange. This year, I was designated to procure a case of oranges, which was somewhat inconvenient. All of the farm markets out here in the country are closed for the season, and I had to venture into an unfamiliar city in order to pick up a case of oranges at a "produce outlet." And as usual, there would be limited time to accomplish this.

I was anxious to complete this task in one hour or less this morning because I had pears baking in the oven. I didn't want the oven timer to go off and wake up my sleeping husband while I wasn't there!

One thing that I really liked about our house when we first bought it was the appliances: There weren't any. Well, there was a small (new) dishwasher, but that was it. It gave us the freedom to select and purchase whatever stove, refrigerator, and laundry appliances we might want. It was wonderful! So we set out researching, and measuring, and visiting appliance stores, and ultimately selecting and procuring our chosen machines. We bought the good, such as our range which was a Consumer Reports "Best Value" winner. We bought the bad, such as our washer which is a high-efficiency model and a complete nightmare. And we bought the space-efficient in the form of our refrigerator, a model with two side-by-side doors because you just could not open the door of a regular refrigerator in our tiny kitchen without taking out a wall.

But the one question I never thought to ask any salesman was "How many literal bells and whistles does it have?" Because every one of our appliances can produce a solo if not a symphony of annoying beeps and chimes that could send even the most charitable Christian over the edge.

Both the washer and dryer beep repeatedly at the end of a cycle until you either open their doors or turn them off completely. This happens even if it is not convenient for you to go and do that right at that moment, and even if you yell at it and try to explain that you will be there in just another minute. The stove timer does the same, but will continue doing it even after you have opened the oven door, removed your food, and are in fact eating it. It will only quiet after you specifically turn off the timer function. But the worst is the refrigerator. After a few seconds with the doors open, the fridge "thinks" you have neglected to fully close the doors and tries to warn you of this by chiming constantly. So any time the refrigerator door is open just a little too long, like when you are putting away groceries or cleaning the shelves, the "alarm" will sound. Oh, it's annoying.

I am very sensitive to noise, and the irony is, my hearing isn't even all that great.

As it turned out, I got home with time to spare before the hour was over, and there are 72 navel oranges in the trunk of my car.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who belongs to a church that has this tradition and where it might have come from.
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03:11, Friday, December 21, 2007 .. Posted by gabbie427
What a wonderful tradition for your church to carry on. I love the idea!

My friend has a microwave that "screams" at her as she explains, when it is done and keeps doing so until you open the door. What were the makers of these appliances thinking anyway??? LOL

Have a Blessed Christmas!

Amy Jo

Amy- If you ever decide to start this tradition at your own church, please pray for the brother or sister who has to travel afar to go pick up the fruit!

Oh, an I completely forgot about the microwave! Probably because it's not new and thus, not obnoxious.
Merry Christmas!

Edited by Mennobrarian on Friday, December 21, 2007 at 04:27

Appliances

03:13, Friday, December 21, 2007 .. Posted by smmagers
Tell your appliances to stop cussing at you! That is what I call it anyway. I have never been at a church that gives out fruit. Have a blessed day. mj

We Have Done this~

08:49, Monday, December 24, 2007 .. Posted by Amanda
in the past. We would gt a little brown bag with an orange, an apple, some nuts (walnuts usually) and some candy.

Since our prior Pastor passed onto Glory, we haven't done this. I really miss it.

My Mama told me that those were sometimes the only gifts they would receive for Christmas, and what a blessing it was.

Amanda <><
Matthew 6:33

Wow- thanks for the history Amanda. That is so good that those who were so needy were able to have a special gift at Christmas.
Monica

Edited by Mennobrarian on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 03:21

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02:44, Thursday, December 27, 2007 .. Posted by SisterLori
Blessings!
Originally the orange was a rare treat. This was before shipping type transportations were available (like the train).
When the train system connected the east from the west coast, it was at wintertime. The orange was the only fruit ready at that time and so it was "shipped". This was also before they knew that they could be grown on the west coast:P
During the winter is when colds are most common and the orange, rich in vitamin C was kept, if at all possible, as a source for helping with those nasty winter colds.
My children still receive oranges in their stockings AND at church:) I always had a stocking filled with nuts and dried fruits and always a nice big juicy orange stuffed into the toe:)
What a treat:)
God be with thee!
Sister Lori

Hi Sister Lori, We received oranges at Christmas, too, as children, and it baffled me even then! :-P I used to think, "An orange? Why? Couldn't I have just gotten one out of the fruit bin myself?" Anyway, yes, I was aware of the history of children receiving them as gifts but never quite made the connection between that and our church giving them out at Christmas. Thanks for filling in the blanks. May you and your family be richly blessed in the new year!
Monica

Edited by Mennobrarian on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 03:20