Christmas Traditions: The Focus

tra⋅di⋅tion: the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice

"Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world". ~Susan Lieberman

Well, that seems like a tall order for some lights and a nativity scene, doesn't it?!? It is if you want to have Christmas traditions that mean something more than eating too much and spending too much (and then lying to your kids about who those gifts are actually from. haha!) There are books written on this subject, blogs galore and everyone has an idea for you to try. So let me start this blog series by saying that I don't have it all down perfectly and you should only do things that you feel would bless YOUR family, not something that blesses mine! And I'd love to hear about YOUR traditions!

But before we talk about specific traditions I want to lay the foundation for why I practice Christmas traditions at all and what I'm hoping to pass down to my children. Very simply: Christmas is about Jesus and I want to celebrate HIM every year. The number one Christmas tradition I want to keep year in, year out is to celebrate Jesus' birthday! I want it to be personal, important, special, memorable, fun. I want my children to see and know that Jesus is so important to me, our family and ultimately them that we celebrate HIS birthday for about a month every year! That HE's so amazing, people all over the world celebrate HIS birth in some fashion. That our country considers HIS birthday a National Holiday. That HIS birth is the most important birthday our family will ever celebrate! (If you're reading this, you probably do too.) Imagine if it was your child's 5th birthday, would you choose a theme, food, presents that have nothing to do with them or their likes and desires? Of course not! So keep this the focus of your Christmas traditions...It is Jesus' birthday! Make the party about HIM!!! I will talk about how to incorporate that fact into decorations, events, food, and presents. But if we remember that one, true fact we will have a fabulous filter by which we can decide if things the culture says are "Christmas-y" are things worthy of our God's birthday party.

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:8-14