With commercial images of Christmas everywhere, it can be easy to forget its humble beginning and true meaning. The first Christmas did not have trees, lights, or tinsel. It was celebrated in a humble manger in the town of Bethlehem. There a virgin named Mary gave birth to a son. Her son was the baby Jesus, our Christ Savior, born to us, wrapped in cloths. He is the very reason we should celebrate Christmas. Christmas is a time for giving, sharing, good-tidings, etc., but we have to remember that it all began because Jesus was our very first Christmas gift from God. He was born to die for us. He was born so that we could be saved. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3.16-17)."
In this day and age, the Christ in Christmas is so easily lost. In our family we strive to be intentional about keeping our Christmas season centered on Jesus. It is a hard balancing act when we are bombarded with so many commercial images, toy ads, and all other seasonal splendor. We want our children to enjoy the holiday and maintain their childish innocence and amazement, but we also want to teach them the true meaning of Christmas. Here are a few things that we do in our family to make sure that we are Christ-focused:
(1) We do Advent in a number of different ways. Each girl has her own calendar where she can open doors each day to get a chocolate candy (it's also a great way to practice numbers with the 3 year old). We put up a new ornament each day onto a small tree, culminating in a beautiful ornament for Christmas day depicting the nativity scene. The girls enjoy getting their sweet treat and taking turns putting up the ornaments. But our favorite activity is reading the Advent Book together (http://www.amazon.com/Advent-Book-Jack-Stockman/dp/0615210007/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354763685&sr=1-1&keywords=the+advent+book+by+jack+and+kathy+stockman). It is a beautifully illustrated book that has become a treasured family keepsake. The book has 25 pages that are each adorned with a beautiful door that opens up to reveal illustrations and verses that tell the Christmas story. The girls sometimes fight over who can open which door, and they cannot wait for the next day to open the next door to reveal another part of the story. We are also reading the Advent Jesse Tree together (http://www.amazon.com/Advent-Jesse-Tree-Devotions-Christmas/dp/1426712103/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354763972&sr=1-2&keywords=the+jesse+tree). It is a great way to have family devotion time and really focus on teaching biblical principles to our children as we prepare for Christmas day and celebrating Christ's birth. Cara, who is 3, is still a little young to fully grasp everything in these devotionals, but she likes the illustrations and can still participate when we ask easy questions. Arianna, who is turning 6, is already learning to grasp key concepts such as how Jesus is the Lamb who was sacrificed for us. We were able to have discussions about sin and give examples, and to talk about her faith in Jesus, what she prays about, etc. It is truly a treasure to see her faith grow.
(2) We don't see any harm in having our children believe in Santa Claus as well. But we make sure to remind them that Santa is only Jesus's helper. Santa brings gifts to everyone as a reminder that Jesus was our first gift. By giving and receiving gifts we are showing love, just as God showed us love by sending his son. Because of this, we don't emphasize the naughty or nice list that Santa supposedly has. It is inevitable that children will misbehave. It's too high a standard to expect them to be good all the time in order for Santa to bring them a gift. Adults even find a hard time being good always. . . After all, we are all sinners and have all fallen short of God's righteousness (Romans 3.23). Yet, even though we didn't deserve it and while we are still sinners, Jesus was given to us and died for us (Romans 5:8) -- no strings attached. It was God's grace. So instead of putting pressure on them (and after all, it's not like we'd withhold Christmas gifts even if they were bad), we remind our children that Jesus lives in their hearts and will know their thoughts, behavior, and feelings. He wants us all to be good and will help us to be good if we ask for it in prayer. And he is our inner voice that will tell us to stop if we shouldn't be doing something. Arianna seems to really understand this and will comment all the time that Jesus made her stop doing something or reminded her to listen and obey. Cara is still learning. So we tell them we should always strive to be good, not because Santa will bring a gift, but because that's what Jesus would want us to do, and He's the real reason for Christmas and gift-giving.
(3) We allow them to only ask "Santa" for one gift each year. We remind them that even Jesus only got three gifts from the wise men, so we do not need any more than that. Besides, we know we have very generous family members and they will be showered with piles of new toys, books, regardless. But we do try to emphasize that there is a difference between "need" and "want." They do not need more things as they have way more than they can possibly play with.
(4) We teach our kids to love our neighbors because that is what Jesus commands of us (Matthew 22.39). One of the ways we can show love to our neighbors and friends is by being generous since God has been so generous to us and bestowed so many blessings. In addition to our regular giving to church and charities, each year we participate in Angel Tree. Each girl picks a tag off the tree and we buy gifts for other children in need. In order to make room for new things that we know that they will be getting, we remind them that we will be purging some of their old toys that they no longer play with or need to donate and give to others who are in need. I ask them to help me pick out a few things that they think they can part with. This part isn't always easy, as you can imagine, but we try to get them involved anyways, even if the bulk of the purging will be done by mommy and daddy when they are asleep.
(6) In our prayers every night we thank God for sending Jesus. We thank him for all that he has given us. And we pray that we may enjoy the Christmas season focused on Jesus, showing love, compassion, understanding, patience and generosity to each other.
Obviously my kids are still young, and this is what works for them right now based on their ages. I am sure we'll be changing things up each year as they get older. I love to adopt new family traditions when I hear of great ones from others, so I am sure we'll be adding more to this list. Whatever your Christmas traditions, may you remember the Christ always. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! God Bless.
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