I got this book for Christmas two years ago. Last year I read it to myself. This year I did Christ-Centered Christmas traditions with my family and loved every minute of it!! For me, this goes back to the heart of being intentional. Most people that I know INTEND to make Christ the reason for the season and all that jazz, but time flies by when we are having fun and life gets in the way and suddenly it is Christmas Eve...again. Preparing these traditions ensured that we took the time to do them. I blocked out nights on the calendar to make sure we got them in. They turned out to be some of my favorite Christmas moments this year. I couldn't recommend doing this, or something like this, more highly.
The first figure in the nativity set is Mary.
We made gingerbread cookies, which is a cherished tradition anyway, but made sure to make some of them hearts and to discuss Mary as we made them.
Then as we ate them we pondered as a family what it would have been like to be Mary (or Joseph). What were they thinking and feeling? It was a cool discussion that I can only assume will get cooler as the kids grow older. Natalie brought up the song she would be singing with the primary called "Could I Hold the Baby", and Jenna said she would have shared Baby Jesus with the shepherds who came to see Him. It was a special night!
Joseph is the next person in the nativity. His symbol is a bell, like Mary's is a heart. Joseph is supposed to remind us that we have to listen carefully and follow the Spirit so that we can bless the lives of others. For this night (okay so it actually took ALL DAY) we decided on a family who could use some Christmas cheer, got presents and wrapped them, and then in the cover of darkness left bags of food and gifts on their porch. This is also a cherished tradition of ours, but again by sifting the focus we made it about the true Christmas story instead of 'Sub-for-Santa'. While we were picking the gifts and treats I tried to help the kids really think about each person in the family and what they would enjoy the most. And it was so exhilarating for Natalie, Caleb, and I to run up to the porch and then as fast as we could back out to the car where everyone else was waiting to drive away. A scene from a nativity story movie flashed into my mind of Joseph running from door to door asking for help and to find somewhere to shelter them while Mary labored with the baby.
This tradition also has a special place in my heart because I honestly can't think of a Christmas growing up when someone didn't anonymously bless our family with gifts of some kind. Those people were listening to the Spirit and saw ways to make a real difference for us so often. How can I not pay that forward?
The next figure is the Angel. The tradition for this night is to go caroling, to sing praises and spread good cheer! We practiced some songs and made cookies to take to our neighbors and to our babysitter Abby and her family. You guys, Seth was so adorable singing every word of Picture a Christmas in his little voice complete with hand motions. Jenna was super cute too and luckily Caleb and Natalie will still happily participate. And Kent is oh so dutiful too. The man is an angel in real life for going along with all these traditions!
Neither of these pictures are great quality, but the memory in them is sweet to me.
After that is the Shepherd. Of course the symbol is the staff, but in the book it is also a candle. We lit candles and sat around the table, each with a real striped candy cane. We talked about how the shepherds came to see Jesus as soon as the angels told them about Him. The tradition for this night is to recall and discuss times during the year that we recognized Christ leading us along in our lives, and how we can acknowledge Him by telling others about how His light has blessed us. The sharing I remember most were from Caleb and Kent. Caleb told us about a time right before we moved from California when he felt the Spirit telling him to invite our neighbor to church. Even though he was nervous and we were all getting into the car to leave, he walked over into our neighbor's yard and asked him to come with us. It was so sweet to see that he realized that was the kind of spiritual experience we were supposed to share- being lead to do something and to shine the light of Christ. Kent talked about being lead to this job switch, and to finding this house for us to live in, and what a blessing it has been for us to get to be together more during the day. He said it was all the simple things like eating breakfast together and seeing school projects and just being part of the flow of the family that he didn't know he was missing out on by having to be away from home so much before. The Spirit was so strong in that soft light from the candles that smelled of cinnamon, and with the taste of peppermint from the candy canes...it was magical!
Then afterwards of course Kent taught the kids how to lick their candy canes into deadly weapons. =o]
Then come the Wise Men. Their symbol is the star. On this night you are supposed to go to see Christmas lights, but we ended up going to see the lights at Thanksgiving point with Kent's parents while they were here so I didn't want to go again. I thought of doing an astronomy night, but the forecast was too cloudy. Then I had the idea of going on a Christmas walk- a journey like the Wise Men who followed the star and then went home another way after seeing Jesus. He has that affect on people. We change course after meeting Him, and have to keep course correcting with each encounter that follows.
The Christmas walk was a hit! We got all bundled up and tried to find snow that no one had walked on yet. We got to see ONE star. =o] We had a great time in the crisp clean cool evening air just laughing and playing and being together!
Jenna got stuck and Kent had to rescue her and dig out her boot. Classic!
Just my set of footprints in the snow, walking back home a different way than we came.
The second to last figure in the nativity is the Lamb. I changed the tradition for this night from the one suggested in the book. You are supposed to make a Tender Mercy Tree with little scrolls, but I thought this would be better for us. Here is what I wrote on fb: My brother Jonathan got to spend the night with us on Friday before heading home for Christmas from college, and he got to participate with us in one of our Christ-Centered Christmas traditions. He is such a tender hearted guy. It was the night of the Lamb figure from the nativity set, so we all took turns saying a tender mercy we have received because we are following Christ while holding this cute lamb stuffed animal my mom gave us. I'm so grateful we got to hear the tender mercy he shared with us. All of the answers were super sweet actually. Then we gathered around the Christmas tree and said a gratitude prayer, mentioning each one of the things that was said at the table. It was such a special night.
There are a few of the tender mercy stories that stand out in my mind. I should have written them all down that night! But Natalie's tender mercy was that she didn't get shingles again. When we asked Seth if he felt a tender mercy recently he solemnly nodded his head and whispered "Baby Jesus". It's like he could feel it was a special time for talking reverently! My tender mercy was that we finished our food storage and home storage before the end of the year, even though we had so many other expenses with the move and putting in the yard. Jonathan said his tender mercy was getting to help a girl who had just gotten in a car accident by giving her a blanket from his apartment because she was cold. The mood was just perfect for feeling the Spirit of Christmas!
The last, and most important person, is the Christ Child. On this night we did the special tradition of the Jesus Stocking. I handed each person their envelope from the stocking, with all the cards in it from past years' gifts to Jesus written on them. Then we handed out new cards and a pencil to each person, and we all wrote something down that we are going to try to give or do. I hope with all my heart I can give my gift to Him this year!
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