How do I make Christmas more memorable for my family?
When the holiday rush is upon us - with holiday traffic, parties and concerns of what to wear or what to serve -- the thought of Christmas becomes a source of stress rather than the joyful commemoration of God fulfilling His promise to send mankind a Savior, in the person of His Son, Jesus. It becomes difficult to focus on the real meaning of Christmas.
One way to keep Christmas personally meaningful for our families is to establish traditions centered around the true meaning of Christmas and to help each member associate its significance to himself or herself.
Do you have family traditions around Christmastime? What are these? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________
The celebration of Advent beginning five weeks into Christmas is both apt for this purpose and timely. Advent means "coming" and commemorates the coming of our Messiah. Christ's first coming in Christmas is celebrated as the First Advent. The fulfilment of Christ's mission and the anticipation of Christ's second coming in the Second Advent is commemorated around the season of Lent.
(The First) Advent helps spiritually prepare churches and families for Christmas. It is usually celebrated four Sundays before Christmas, and culminates on Christmas Eve. In your Advent family devotions, different Bible passages relating to God's promises to send the Messiah, culminating to the birth of Christ, are read each week for the family to meditate on, talk about and thank God for. Visually, the celebration of Advent involves the use of a wreath with four candles around it (traditionally three purple and one rose-colored or pink) and one bigger white candle in the middle. These are progressively lit beginning with one of the purple candles, then also adding one more every week, until Christmas eve, when all candles are lit, especially the white candle, known as the Christ candle. Candle lighting can be assigned to different members of the family so that all can be meaningfully involved in the celebration. (You can look up resources on Christian Advent Celebrations online, like those in Lifeway.com)
"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." (W.T. Ellis, quoted in Lifeway.com) May you be able to establish Christmas traditions that bring true joy and enrich the hearts of your family members as it brings them back to the gift of Jesus, our Messiah.
Do you plan to begin an Advent tradition in your family? If so, start reading up on Advent celebration ideas (like Lifeway.com or Focus on the Family). Then start writing down your plans for each of the four Sundays (Scripture passages to read, worship songs to sing, assigned readers, devotional leaders, candlelighters, special dishes to prepare ) beginning with this coming one, until Christmas Eve. Prepare your wreath and candles and get everyone excited for it!
Do you have other ideas for Christmas traditions to help your family have more meaningful celebrations year after year? What are these?
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But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
Luke 2:19
Let's pray:
Father, thank You for sending us a Savior in Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for fulfilling the promises You made beginning in Genesis and into the Prophets to send a Messiah who will save us from our sins. Thank You that because of Jesus, we can enjoy having a living and intimate relationship with You, our God. Help us not to get lost in all the busyness of the holidays. Keep Jesus in the center of our celebrations and in our hearts. Make this a joyful time for our families. We ask these in Jesus' name. Amen.
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