For our first Christmas after we were married, Jeff gave me the book Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper (free PDF here). It had just come out, and it was perfect timing. We were a brand-new family, deciding together what traditions we’d keep, leave behind, or begin.
These days, tradition sometimes get a bad rap, at least in some circles. We’re looking for things that are new, fresh, innovative — not old, regular, same. Why do the same thing again and again when you can do something NEW?
But tradition isn’t good or bad in and of itself, it’s simply a vehicle. It’s the transmitting of customs, beliefs, behaviors, from generation to generation. It’s a way of passing down. Or, quite simply, it’s a way of remembering.
There’s a Jewish proverb that says,
“Put something where you can see it so your eye will remind your heart.”
Yes! We observe a tradition because it reminds our hearts of what is good, right, and true. The reason God gave the nation of Israel various feasts to celebrate, various rituals and ceremonies, was to remember. By speaking certain words, eating certain foods, and engaging in various activities, they were reminded again of the truth, of God’s faithfulness, of all that He had done.
Tradition is simply something we do again and again, for a particular purpose. So even if we say we don’t “do” Christmas traditions, we probably do.
We shop. We wrap. We use bows. We decorate with green and red. We eat cookies. We throw parties. We get a manicured fir tree. We string lights on it. We hang stockings on the hearth, but not real stockings that we wear, huge decorated boot-shaped things for the purpose of stuffing full of stuff. We listen to certain music. We watch certain movies. We wear ugly sweaters. We exchange gifts and eat pie and all of these are traditions.
So the question isn’t, “Do you do traditions?” the questions is, “What do your traditions do?” When you observe a tradition, what do you see? What do your traditions say, what do they imprint on our hearts, what purpose do they serve?
I’m really not sharing all this to poo-poo the “traditional” traditions. I love exchanging gifts. We have a tree and stockings too. The point is, if we’re going to go through all this hassle to “keep” such elaborate traditions (I’d say paying money to cut and haul and prop up an actual tree inside our house is elaborate), then let’s make sure that at least most of these traditions point us in the direction we want to go!
The direction of Christ.
Some prefer to say Advent instead of Christmas, but no matter what we call it, both are about Jesus. Advent simply means Coming. Jesus’ birth is His first coming. Christmas comes from the words Christ’s Mass, the church service held to honor Jesus’ birth.
Advent is fun because it’s not just about one day, it’s the 4-5 week period of preparation and anticipation. It usually involves a daily countdown to Christmas day.
So, where do we begin? Here are a few ways to celebrate Advent as a family:
- Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp — we use this as a daily Advent reader, and Heidi and I made felt Jesse Tree ornaments using these as a rough pattern. I love these ornaments!
- Tomorrow, Dec 4th, will actually be the second Sunday of Advent. So, on Sunday, perhaps at dinner, you can explain that we are anticipating the coming birth of Christ, and will be lighting a candle each Sunday, leading up to Christmas. On Christmas morning you’ll light the final candle. My friend Anna has a great script you can follow for each Advent Sunday, with songs and scriptures (hoping to share soon). Or you can simply choose one Christmas carol and one Scripture to read each Sunday. Keep it simple, especially for small kids. Isaiah 9:2 or John 1:1-9 is a great place to begin! There are dozens of scriptures talking about Jesus being the LIGHT. Do a study and dig them up on your own then share with your kids!
- Advent cake. You can bake a simple bundt (round) cake, and decorate with green frosting and green-tinted coconut flakes, as an advent wreath (see pic). Use red-hots for decoration, and celebrate the beginning of Advent with this sweet treat.
You could also do sugar cookies instead, decorated as wreaths, or any special treat you choose. The point is to make the beginning of Advent a celebration, a treat, a special opportunity to point your family to Jesus.
- Advent calendar. These are readily available in every store, usually including chocolate. I have the fabric one from when I was little, which my mom would use to write notes and verses. Now, the kids each have a special little “mailbox” on the Christmas tree, and each day they receive “mail” from me— a love note, a treasure map to find a treat, or some special fun instructions about the day ahead. The kids love receiving their mail each morning!
So, this is all for now, there are many more fun things to share in days ahead. We’ll talk about St. Nicholas Day, stockings, nativity scenes and activities, Christmas day and Epiphany.
I’ll leave you with a fun little Christmas story Anna read to us, for perspective. 😉 Thanks for reading.
Joy to the Mall
Chris Dolson
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from the U.S. Treasury that all of America should go shopping. (And this decree was first made when leading economic indicators dipped to their lowest point.) And all went out to shop, each to his own mall.
And a Christian also went up from his suburban home to the city with its many malls because he wanted to prove he was from the household of prosperity. And with him was his wife, who was great with economic worry. And so it was, that, while they were there, they found many expensive presents, pudgy-faced dolls, trucks that turn into robots, and a various assortment of video (and computer) games. And the woman wrote checks for those they could afford and charged the rest on many different kinds of plastic cards; she wrapped the presents in bright paper and laid them in the garage; for there was no room for them in her closet.
And there were in the same country children keeping watch over their stockings by night. And, lo, Santa Claus came upon them; and they were sore afraid (expecting to see the special effects, they had seen in the movies). And Santa said to them, “Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people who can afford this holiday. For unto you will be given this day, in your suburban home, great feasts of turkey, dressing, and cake – and many presents. And this shall be a sign unto you: you shall find the presents wrapped in bright paper, lying beneath an artificial tree adorned with tinsel, colored balls, and lights.”
And suddenly there was with Santa Claus a multitude of relatives and friends, praising one another and saying, “Glory to you for getting me this gift; it’s just what I wanted.”
And it came to pass, as the friends and relatives were gone away into their own homes, the parents said to one another, “I sure am glad that’s over. What a mess! I’m too tired to clean it up now. Let’s go to bed and pick it up tomorrow.” And when they had said this, they remembered the statement that had been told them by the storekeepers: “Christmas comes only once a year.” And they that heard it wondered at those things that were sold to them by the storekeepers, but the children treasured all their things in their hearts, hoarding their toys from each other. And the parents, after a drink, went to bed, glorifying and praising each other for all the bargains they had found in the stores.