Keeping Christ in Christmas: Traditions, Decorating, & the great Santa Claus debate

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Caroling, delicious goodies, stockings, It's a Wonderful Life, multi-colored lights, pine trees...all of those things instantly bring to mind Christmas. In the Christian culture there is a wave of movement towards not celebrating that wonderful holy day...some Christians are starting to become a little green & hairy (like a particular Grinch) about celebrating a 'pagan' holiday, & I can well understand their concern. Christmas in this day & age is more about the unwrapping of gifts & the pouting of lips when one doesn't receive the present one was hoping for. It's about greed & anger that comes when he has more gifts to open than she does.  It's become about how much money is spent, & who has the greatest light display.It's about stress & financial strain. It's about chaotic & weary traveling from one party to another. The day given to celebrate Christ has become all about celebrating us...oh yes there are a multitude of reasons for believers to be concerned with continuing on in the Christmas tradition. For the reasons listed & so many more, some believers are opting out of a secular self-centered day. There's no tree, no presents, no goodies, no lights, no Christmas movies, no caroling....there's no Christmas, & while I understand the attempt to make a stand, I must say that I have wondered what the repercussions of that stand would be.

When children, who have been denied the joy of Christmas, grow up, will there be resentment? Will there be cynicism? Will there be doubt? Will they have a stoic, impersonal, wrathful view of the Lord? Perhaps not, but my fear is that if we cut off acknowledgement of every single event or day that should be Christ-focused but isn't, then we will become a joyless people...a believing people yes, but a people devoid of joy. My fear is that in an attempt to shield our children from secularism that we will make it all the more attractive. I can only imagine what a child who only observes Christmas rather than experiencing it will one day do when left to their own devices. Rather than eliminate the celebration of holidays, (which by the way derives from holy-days) my perspective is that we should celebrate them in abundance...in the way that they were meant to be celebrated, with Agape (Selfless) Love. Let's keep the "Christ" in Christmas, as the saying says. Let's redeem this holy day & make it as it should be. We are indeed supposed to be a 'peculiar' people, set apart, but I do not think that means that we simply don't do what the world does, I think it means we do it in the right ways. Below are some Christmas traditions & ways to keep them in a Christ-centered way.

Decorating:

"A cheerful heart is good medicine,

    but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength."

Proverbs 17:22

I have noticed within my own family that the manner in which we keep our home has an impact on the emotional environment. For example when our home is messy & unkempt, a feeling of chaos & unease reigns. My children do not behave well, & my husband cannot relax. The opposite is also true. I derive great pleasure, & truly feel a burden to set the tone for our household. In the Spring I decorate our home with light & airy colors. I set out flowers & in general create a feeling of freshness...my husband comes home & breathes in deeply & truly seems refreshed. In the Fall I deck our home in all things Autumn, & in Winter with Snowmen & warm afghans...the reason being that it creates an aura within our home an atmosphere of newness with each season. Many times the Lone Ranger has told me that our home feels like an oasis to him, that he does not need to go away on vacation because our home is a refuge. This is not so much a credit to me as it is as the verse above states, 'a merry heart is good medicine" & the decorating of the home presents a feeling of...well Merriness! It creates a sense of excitement, & for this reason I say decorate!  Set the stage for the "reason for the season." Nativity scenes, Scriptures, Christian Christmas sayings, & etc. are simple ways to create a holiday environment with directed focus. 

Traditions: 

The continuation of traditions, to forming of new ones are wonderful ways to provide your family with a sense of stability & of solidarity. You determine what those traditions are & what they are about. Be certain that as you perform an annual tradition that you always describe the meaning behind it. Christmas trees, wreaths, candy canes, mistle toe, & even gifts all have Christian explanations & origins...educate yourselves on them & teach them to your children. Can some of these traditions be explained in pagan ways, absolutely. They can most certainly also be explained in a way that is Christian. Those things are only pagan in meaning if we do not explain them, & explain them with a Christ-focused reasoning! Christmas traditions can also be utilized to teach your children about practicing selflessness. Teach them the joy of giving. Teach them how to serve. This year the Lone Ranger & I will begin a tradition of Advent countdown. Each day will have an activity for the Darlings, an act of service, & a Scripture. We want our girls to know that part of Christmas is learning to be like Jesus...to be selfless. (I'll be working on this Advent Countdown & will share it with you when it's completed). I am passionate about traditions within my family...I feel as though they create a sense of identity & unity for the Darlings & that when we center those conventions upon Him, their identity is found in HIM!

Here are a couple of websites that give the meanings of age old Christmas traditions & also ideas for some new ones.

Christmas Tree: http://bible.org/article/gods-christmas-tree  (good for older children)

                           http://hollywoodjesus.com/tree.htm    (good for little ones)

Mistle Toe:  http://toknowhimjesus.blogspot.com/2009/12/christian-origin-of-mistletoe-love-it.html

Wreaths: http://www.holidayinsights.com/xmas/wreaths.htm

Candy Canes: http://www.scoop0901.net/life/Candycane/story.htm

Santa Claus: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2004/nick.html

Gift Giving:  http://www.gotquestions.org/Christmas-gifts.html

New Ideas:     http://www.themotherhuddle.com/christ-centered-christmas-traditions/

Goldilocks, who is wise beyond her years, asked the Lone Ranger & I why she gets gifts on Christmas when it is Jesus's birthday...good question! This spurred us on to create a tradition of our own. In our home Jesus has a big birthday party just like every other family member. On a separate day from Christmas, we are having a birthday party. Jesus even gets a birthday theme (I love to plan parties & to go all out for birthdays, so we can do no less for Him!)...this year His theme is "Under Construction." Hardhats, dump trucks, & etc. will make up our decor, complete with friends to come & celebrate with us. The littles will get to create a "gift" for Jesus that we will place under the tree & will hear a little devotional about how God is always "working" in our hearts. Worship, goodies, & birthday cake will make an evening focused on Jesus birth.  While the Darlings are little, we are hoping this separation will provide our girls with an easy understanding of a day that truly belongs only to Jesus. 

*I recently discovered an awesome alternative to "Elf on the Shelf"! Set a manger under the tree & each night place a Mary & Joseph somewhere in your home (explain to your littles that they are 'traveling' to Bethlehem), steadily moving them closer to the tree each night. Every morning have your littles search for Mary & Joseph, even giving them a turn to move them. I think we will do this with the Darlings! Now I need to find a cheap & unbreakable nativity set :o)

To Santa Claus of Not Santa Claus: 

This is a somewhat sticky issue for many believers. I have no interest in swaying anyone one way or the other, but I will simply share with you our personal conviction on the matter. As the Lone Ranger & I approached parenthood, we began discussing & praying about our stance on the Santa issue. Part of us wanted to foster the innocence & excitement of childhood by embracing the idea of Santa Claus, while still another side of us could not deny that it was misleading. It was in fact a big deal to us because Christmas was a big deal to us. We deeply wanted to do the right thing. Here is our personal conviction. We will not lie to our children. There is a danger in leading our daughters to believe in things only to discover that they are not real. We want the Darlings to love, believe in, & serve a God that they cannot see & most likely will not audibly hear... therefore we cannot encourage & then stamp out a belief in mythological beings that they cannot see & cannot audibly hear. In our family we do not do the Tooth Fairy. We do not do the Easter bunny. We do not do Santa Claus. We felt that if we were to encourage a belief in these characters only to one day reveal their lack of reality that we would place in jeopardy our authority & authenticity on truth...if that would cause our girls to doubt our trustworthiness on issues of faith...well to us it isn't worth it. When our girl's lose teeth, we will pay them for the tooth. Mommy will make an awesome fairy. When Easter rolls around, they wake up to a small basket of goodies, but our focus is the empty tomb. On Christmas morning the Darlings discover gifts under the tree...left in the spirit of remembering that Christ received gifts & indeed that HE is the greatest gift we can receive. Our girls are still small & only beginning to ask questions, but when they ask questions we answer them as truthfully & as simply as possible. We understand that they will not always understand nor grasp the deeper meanings, but we do make a point to be truthful. For example the other day Goldilocks asked if the sky was Heaven. The easy answer would have been yes, but deep but truthful answer was that Heaven is not the sky, but that it is a spiritual existence that even Mommy doesn't understand. Did she get it, not really, but she did understand that Mommy's answer would one day make more sense. I will not have to go back & tell her I was just trying to give her an easy answer. Back to Santa, we have plans in place to tell them the stories of St. Nicholas & to explain that people give gifts in honor of him....deriving it all in the name of Jesus. If you came to our home you would see a Santa or two, because we want to remind our girls to know about St. Nicholas, & we want them to be reminded that people are capable of Christlike behavior. We will not eliminate Santa Claus, but we will not build him up into anything more than he ought to be. We want the Darlings to enjoy the innocence of their youth, & we know that they will be excited to give & receive gifts regardless of who puts them under the tree. As I said I have no desire to sway you one way or the other, nor to bring condemnation upon your practices...this a subject between you & Abba. I merely wanted to share our revelation on the matter. 

Here are a few links to Focus on the Family's website with related Christmas topics, these are only a few of many many related topics:
Making Christmas Memories:
www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/holidays/making-meaningful-christmas-memories.aspx
Christmas Activities:
www.focusonthefamily.com/.../holidays/making-meaningful-christmas-memories/christmas-activities.aspx
Teaching Kids about Christmas:
www.focusonthefamily.com/radio?ID=%7BCD337C28-697B-4FEB-88E9-3345022C6445%7D
Meaningful Christmas Ideas:
www.focusonthefamily.com/.../holidays/making-meaningful-christmas-memories/christmas-ideas.aspx

I hope that this has been a good explanation of our heart towards Christmas & all that goes with it. We are determined to keep Christ in Christmas, & to do so not by conceding the day to the non-believing world, but to redeem it just as He has redeemed us! As we steadily trek towards this season, I pray that we will unite as the Body to restore the Joy & meaning of this Holy-Day. If you have any questions, need help moving in this direction please don't hesitate to ask :o)