Holiday Iconography

Here's a little exercise in graphic design I gave myself today that put me in the Christmas spirit. Feel free to right-click and download or save as any of these graphics and use them for whatever print or web media you like. I plan on adding versions for all four weeks of Advent, plus one with the white Christ candle int he middle for Christmas. I saved these as PNGs at about 150 dpi. I'll be happy to email any of them to anyone who's interested too. While I personally like the ecumenical purple, just let me know and I'll be glad to send you some in LCMS Advent blue if you prefer. They're supposedly transparent, so they should work on whatever colored background your particular blog, Web site or email happens to be. I think they'll look pretty much like they do here on paper.

I know, doing pro-bono work is a bad business model, but it's the season of giving, right? If it's important to you to give and not just receive, you can always look for the PayPal donate button on my cartoon blog. Above is my first design, an Advent Mandela- sort of the traditional Advent wreath only viewed from directly above.
This year, instead of an Advent calendar with little drawers to pull out, we opted for a devotional Advent tree, separate from our family's main Christmas Tree. It has 26 numbered mini-stockings on it for our girls to find surprises in after we read devotions.
I think my favorite of the 4 designs is this Advent "Menorah." I guess I've always been fascinated with Christianity's roots in Judaism. It may also hearken for some the Kwanzaa candles too. But even if neither of these other faith traditions come to mind, the half wreath might suggest an elliptical full-Gestalt wreath. Plus I love the organic looking wick and flame on this one.
I call this one my Advent graphic-equalizer for you stereo-philes out there. In our house we use a crystal bar with four tea lights in it rather than a traditional evergreen or holly wreath. I miss the crown of thorns symbolism, but with out busy family it's hard to keep the table tops clear- especially with all the gift wrapping this time of year.