Dear Diego, I’m always very busy this time of year. For my job, I’m a math professor at the College of Charleston. Our classes finish in early December, so at the beginning of Advent, I have to work very hard to give final exams to my students. At the same time, I help my church decorate the sanctuary and sing music at our holiday services. I’ve attached a picture of our choir and our decorated tree.

St. Andrew’s Chrismon tree

St. Andrew’s Choir

The ornaments are called Chrismons. The word “Chrismon” is a combination of “Christ” and “monogram” which means a letter or symbol. A lot of them are shaped like Greek letters “chi” and “rho” and represent the word “Christ.” Others are symbols of what Christ has given us. Chrismons are an American tradition that started about 50 years ago. They are supposed to be hand made out of white and gold materials, usually out of something that looks pretty but isn’t expensive. White represents how Jesus is perfect, and gold represents how he is king of all creation. They are never sold. Instead they are always given as gifts to represent how Jesus was a gift from God. Members of our church made all these Chrismons.

I play the oboe and the English horn with a volunteer concert band in Charleston, so I also play concerts with the band. I’ve attached a picture of me with a small part of the band. I have to learn a lot of music every Christmas! My favorite Christmas song is “Away in a Manger.” My parents used to sing it as a lullaby when I was very young. In a way I have two homes. One home is where I live in the city of Charleston and my church there. My other home is with my family in the city of Charlotte. I traveled to Charlotte yesterday. My sister and her husband also visit Charlotte every Christmas. As I said in my last letter, my parents no longer live together, so my sister and I have to make time to visit my mother and time to visit my father, and all the traveling can be complicated. But we love our family and always enjoy our visits.

Merry Christmas,
— Garrett Mitchener