A Christ-Centered Christmas Doesn't Have to Be HardSmakprov

Christmas Traditions After I stopped believing in Santa Clause, my mom and dad no longer waited until Christmas morning to place gifts under our tree. With all the gifts in plain view, my brother, sister, and I spent hours shaking the packages, trying to discern what treasures might be tucked inside the pretty colored papers. In order to keep us from potentially damaging the gifts, my mom grew clever and coded our presents using a secret numbering system. (I must say that trying to guess what was inside each package lost its luster when we no longer knew which gift was our own.) One Christmas morning, my mom couldn’t remember where she put the key code for the gift distribution. That year, even my mom didn’t know whose gifts were whose. There was only one way to figure out her cryptogram. We had to open up the first round of presents. After this little mishap, mom decided to go back to putting our names on the gifts. She claimed it was a whole lot easier. Easier maybe, but not nearly as interesting! We all have special memories, traditions, and practices from childhood that we pass along to our own families after we are grown. Some traditions stand the test of time, while others change to fit our new family dynamics. Holiday memories and traditions are special because they bind us together in unique ways. God, Himself, understood the importance of keeping memories alive through ongoing traditions. We can see this by the way He established special celebrations that were to be observed and passed down from generation to generation. These practices were instituted to help God’s people remember what He did for them. For example, after God told the Israelites to mark their outside door frames with lamb’s blood so that the angel of death would pass over their homes, He later instructed them to remember the event through a celebration called the Passover Feast. Some Christians do not believe we should celebrate Jesus’ birthday on December 25th. They reason that no one knows the exact date Jesus was born, so why pick a day and celebrate? Friends, we don’t need to know the exact date Jesus was born to celebrate and remember this amazing event in history. The birth of Jesus changed the course of history forever. Why wouldn’t we acknowledge this remarkable occasion? Remembering and celebrating the birth of Christ is just as important as remembering and celebrating Christ’s death and resurrection. “And [Jesus] took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19). Go ahead and celebrate those family traditions surrounding Christmas. Just be sure to give praise to the One responsible for inspiring them in the first place. Jesus – He is the real reason for the season! Personal Reflection * Which Christmas traditions from your childhood have been carried over into your adulthood today? * What are some of the new Christmas traditions you have established with your family? * In what way do these traditions help you remember the birth of Jesus? Prayer Lord, I thank you for the Christmas traditions of my past, as well as those I practice now, which better help me remember who you are and what you have done for me and those I love. Amen.