Christmas Traditions

After ladies meeting at church last night, I came home to see a sweet sight…my kids camped out in sleeping bags around the Christmas tree; it’s twinkling lights reflecting in their peaceful faces.

That is one of our family Christmas traditions Thursday nights during advent. We watch a Christmas (or faith-oriented) movie, eat popcorn, and they sleep in front of the tree. Last year even my husband and I did, just to be good sports, but our aging frames needed a better mattress. The picture was complete with our dog (yes, that dog I love and hate) curled up at the feet of her favorite child – waiting to see if I would let her stay. One wise mother told me to make sure you look at your kids sleeping every night, kiss their heads and pray over them – it will restore your heart to them after a day of hassles over homework, messes made, conflicts resolved. It helps with that dog, too.

Since our kids have really only lived in Jordan, they’ve never known an American Christmas. My husband and I have taken traditions from our own families, and made up others along the way. Here are some of ours:

* We set up the tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Although I mourned the loss of real pine trees, dragged through snow and filling the house with that unmistakable scent, I love having a tree up for a month with no needles to clean! But we found an alternative: Natural Looks pine scent in the oil burner. My husband got some Glade Pine Scented Air Freshener once, but I couldn’t get over the correlation with the bathroom! I enjoy my sister’s tree-search vicariously: she and her family go up into the snowy mountains on horseback, pick a tree, and pack it home on a mule with sleighbells ringing!

*We have a Santa-free Christmas. I know that sounds extreme, but we remember how hard it was to discover Santa wasn’t real, feeling almost deceived. Combined with the bad theology of the Christmas song “He (Santa) knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good…” it gives attributes to Santa that really only belong to God: All-Knowing, All-Seeing, Omnipresent.  We do tell the story of St. Nicholas when the subject comes up. We try and keep the decor  Christ-centered, although I am hard-pressed to find where plastic pine and red ribbons fit my ideal!

*We adopted the Jordanian custom of setting up a Nativity scene around the base of the tree. Baby Jesus is hidden until Christmas morning, and he is found first and rejoiced over before we open gifts. The kids don’t see the presents until Christmas morning. This way there is no counting gifts, shaking, or temptations to open a corner and see what is inside.

*I was given a set of Christmas dishes, and at the start of Advent, we use these dishes instead of everyday ones. We also eat by candlelight every night, which lends itself to longer dinner conversation. Then my husband reads to the kids at the table.

More later…my great husband needs the computer. Thanks for visiting!