Every year, families all across the world gather to celebrate Christmas. It’s a time we honor the birth of Christ, Emmanuel – God with us. As believers, our task is remembering the reason we gather. But, with all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday, remembering can be difficult, and the real reason for the season can easily be forgotten. Families have plenty of traditions, and if you find yourself struggling to keep Christ at the center of Christmas, try adding one of the following traditions this year.
1. READ THE CHRISTMAS STORY
This one is simple. Just open your Bible to Luke 2:1-20 and begin reading about how Jesus was born. Do this at the kitchen table before having a prayer for Christmas dinner, or just before everyone open gifts. The idea here is to show your family that Christ is the reason for the holiday, and honoring Him means putting Him first. This is especially fun when children begin learning how to read. You can let that child read the Christmas passage for everyone as a way of celebrating their newly learned skill as well.
2. GIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION
Most people in the United States who have children don’t struggle with educational needs. Publicly funded schools means every child can have an education. But, this simply is not true for children around the world. As a family, you can visit HOLD the Children and read about some of the children around the world who need families to support them. Choose a child to sponsor for $30 a month and make sure your children know that by giving this gift, they are helping another child escape poverty.
3. WRAP THE BABY IN THE MANGER
A lot of families already have a nativity set. If not, you can buy one to establish this tradition. Set up the manger well before Christmas, but leave the baby Jesus out. Instead, place him in a little box and wrap it with a different color wrapping paper. Place it under the tree along with the rest of the presents. When Christmas day comes and everyone gather to unwrap their presents, the very first present to be unwrapped should be the baby Jesus. This symbolizes that He is the most important gift. You could also read the Christmas story just before opening this gift and placing Him in the manger.
The team at Mission Discovery is passionate about spiritual health and maturity, and we believe having a Christ-centered Christmas is an easy way to show children that a relationship with Him is the priority. We would love to hear about any traditions you have that keep Christ at the center of Christmas. Simply email [email protected] to share. Have a very merry Christmas.
