Christmas Tradition

The Family Tradition

All of our families have traditions. (cue your favorite “Tradition” song to play as background while you read the rest of this blog. Mine would be from Fiddler on the Roof). We all have those certain things that we always do. In my family, we always played dominoes when everyone got together. And it would go long into the night. The game we played is called “42” and involves bidding or passing. Most of the time, at least two of the four players would say “I pass” instead of bidding. My little cousin’s first words were “I pass” because she heard it so much at family gatherings. 

Of course, Grandma’s famous chocolate pie was something we only got to enjoy at Thanksgiving and Christmas. After I ate half of Aunt Bonnie Beth’s apple pie one Thanksgiving (not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed about that), she would make it again and again. 

Of course, there was Grandpa’s yearly “errand” that he would run mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve. “Errand” was, of course, code for: I’m going to buy Grandma’s gift. And there was always a gift from “Santa” for everyone under the tree which contained a pair of silly underwear. Suspiciously, Grandma & Grandpa never got one of these gifts and the labels were in Grandma’s handwriting. Hmm.....

And Christmas is certainly a time of traditions. Our culture has many traditions surrounding Christmas. Far too many to go into here. And if we polled everyone, we would, no doubt, come up with a lengthy list of great Christmas traditions. 

For now, our culture still recognizes Christmas as celebrating the birth of Christ for the most part. There are efforts to ban nativity scenes here and there and fights over sacred music in school plays from time to time, but most people would at least acknowledge that celebrating the birth of Christ is the reason behind everything going on. 

My wife and I have been discussing how we want to celebrate Christmas as a family for over a year now and have finally come to what we think is a good plan for us. Every family should put together their own plan for celebrating Christmas (remember: it’s not a plan until it’s written down). The goal of this plan should be to keep everyone focused on the central figure of this season: Jesus Christ and His Incarnation. 

After discussing it at length and reading a few blogs from some other families, we’ve put together our plan. This plan will, of course, be modified and adjusted a lot in the coming years. But for now, this is right for us. Not all of these things will work for every family. I’m certainly not suggesting that this is better or “more spiritual” than what your family does. This is just what we’ve decided for our family at this time. We’re trying to be intentional about everything and keep our family focused on Christ and His incarnation. 

Our New Christmas Traditions:

1. Advent Devotions. There are many different forms of this. This will morph and change as Micah (and perhaps some siblings) grows up. First and foremost, we’ll be spending time daily as a family thinking toward the incarnation of Jesus.

2. No Presents. I’ll just pause a minute and let the shock of that statement sink in......

Ok - now that you’re breathing again. You read that right. We’re not buying presents. We don’t think they’re wrong. We don’t think others shouldn’t do it. We’re not offended if someone gives us a gift. We have just decided that for our family, we want to step out of the consumer mindset of much of secular America and turn our focus to other things. Presents are fun. I had a lot of fun as a child choosing, wrapping, shaking, and opening presents. I look back on all of that with fond memories. For our family at this point, however, we want that element removed. We have so many things. We have so much “stuff.” And it’s so easy to get caught up in all the sales and buying this and buying that and getting the perfect gift and..... (you get the picture). Instead of buying presents, we’re going to make a list of gifts we’ve already received. Things that both God and others have given us this past year. That list is most definitely a long list. Salvation is at the top, and then a beautiful son comes right under that. The list just grows from there. 

Okay - maybe one present. The week after Christmas, on New Year’s Day, we’ll give each other some hand-made gifts. It might be made from things we bought, but instead of buying something, we’re going to build or make something for each other.  This will certainly take some thought and probably significantly more time and effort. As Micah (and siblings) grows up, we’ll help him make things for Mom and Dad and others. This creates a whole new dynamic and mindset as we think about the whole concept of giving at Christmas. 

3. Thank You Notes. Notes to everyone. Neighbors, Chick-fil-A workers, the person who cuts my hair, the lady at the dry cleaner (who is always super-nice), the waiter we like at our favorite restaurant, etc. We’re going to write notes to all of these people saying thank you for all that they’ve been doing all year to serve us. Then, we’ll deliver them during the holiday season with a small gift, probably cookies or something we’ve made (homemade goat milk soap, for example)

4. Visit some homebound. Our church has over 20 different people who are members, but due to health issues aren’t able to join us regularly. What better time to visit them and spend time with them? And before we go, we’ll see if we can find out what their favorite Christmas treat might be and take it along with us.

5. Future Giving List. So many things are centered around Christmas. What can we do to serve others? Friends at church, family members, neighbors, who else? How can I serve or help someone in the next few months? We want the mindset of giving and serving to extend far beyond the Christmas season, so we’ll come up with some ideas and put them on the calendar so we don’t forget it. 

6. Prophecy. The Old Testament paints a big, beautiful picture of the Promise of a Messiah/Redeemer. As we look toward the Fulfillment of that Promise in the Gospels, we’re going to spend some time as a family in the weeks before Christmas reading through some of the Old Testament passages that point to Christ. The idea is to build a sense of anticipation about the coming of Christ. We celebrate Advent all month long. This will fit in with the Advent Devotions in #1. 

7. A gift for Jesus. What can we give to Jesus? Maybe give some additional money to a missionary our church supports, or to the Lottie Moon offering, or to something specific at church (like the Building Fund). We spend a lot of money on ourselves all year long. We want to make sure we’re investing in others as well.

8. Family Adventure Time. This will likely change from year to year as we look for age-appropriate family outings. The Dickens Village in downtown Joplin, the Christmas Train over in Oklahoma, and other things. We don’t have a specific adventure in mind yet, but we can’t forget that being together and doing things as a family must be part of our traditions. There might even be more than one Adventure. I remember several neighborhoods that told the Christmas story from yard to yard with decorations that we would visit each year as a child. I always looked forward to it. 

The Bottom Line is to be focused on Christ and not the cultural trappings of Christmas. I speak from personal experience that in the midst of the season, it’s easy to get distracted. By thinking ahead about what we’ll do as a family to give and serve others, it keeps the Gospel front and center. Jesus came to give. Jesus came to serve. Ultimately He was born to die that we might have life. And what better way to celebrate that than to follow His example intentionally with a plan? (remember, if it’s not written down, it’s not a plan!)

I pray that this year is the best Christmas you’ve ever had. I pray that Jesus truly is the central focus of your families life this year and that as we come out of the season into the new year, we have a greater appreciation for the Gospel, for Christ, and for all of the amazing things He’s done for us.