I thought I would start off December by sharing some of our Christmas traditions... I plan to share a different one each Monday until Christmas.
At our house we celebrate Jesus' birthday rather than focusing on Santa Claus. We do not "do" Santa Claus... instead we focus on the fact that Jesus' birthday is coming soon and we make preparations for His birthday celebration. You should hear some of the responses we get when we tell others that we do not do Santa. Some people think it is a wonderful idea and others think we are absolutely crazy and our kids are really missing out... well, my kids absolutely love Christmas, and they know what it is about and whose birth we are celebrating, that of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, they still get presents, we all get presents at Jesus' birthday party, and yes, we still have a Christmas tree. (These are things people have asked me about.) My boys do know about Santa, how could they not, he is everywhere this time of year. They know that he is make believe and not real; and, I am thankful to say that he does not consume their thoughts. They know that the real meaning of Christmas is Jesus Christ our Savior being born here on earth.
We have never had our pictures taken with Santa (think of all the time and the tears we have saved by not having to stand in that long line to see the man in the red suit!) We do take family pictures in front of our Christmas tree and in front of our cross and manager that my husband so lovingly made me to display in our front yard. And we have a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas day, complete with candles! We all gather around the cake, read the Christmas story, sometimes acting it out with our nativity scene, and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. It is a precious time and I just love seeing my boys get all excited about singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, it is priceless!
I would love to hear your Christmas traditions! Leave a comment and let me know your favorite!
And on a totally unrelated side note, my kids have never eaten at McDonald's either and people think we are crazy for that... I do not think they are missing a thing...
Posts
8 comments:
Love how you do Christmas... I don't think you are crazy at all. Great way to teach them about Christmas and what it is really all about!
Sweet Tricia -
And on another completely different note - You won the first book.... Yes you did!
So, send me your mailing address so I can send it to Megan DiMaria. I know I have it in my directory - :)
it's funny how worried people are that our kids are "missing out" because we don't "do" Santa and Halloween. My kids (well, the 6 and 9 year old, the others are too young to respond much) roll their eyes and make gagging noises if you ask them if they feel they are missing out on something.
Amazing how they see how "empty" those artificial celebrations really are, because they know the depth of celebrating something authentic, eternal and REAL. A person, who loves them and pursues them, was born in a manger for them, went to the cross for them. Santa and Haloween indeed. Two things I know we WON'T be celebrating in heaven, so we see absolutely no need to celebrate them here.
They may not "consume" a child as many parents are quick to point out (they don't let their child be *consumed* by these things), but they will inevitably *distract*. I'm all about keepin' our eyes on the one worthy of our celebration and not bothering with distractions.
Love you!
I loved reading about a few of your family's Christmas traditions. I completely understand your reasoning not to do Santa. It definitely keeps the focus on Christ.
We did celebrate with Santa as our son was growing up, but always placed much more emphasis on Christ. I love the idea of a birthday cake for Jesus.
Blessings,
Tracy
My family and I don't do santa either, and I definitly know what you mean by the comments and most from family, But I Do Not feel like my children are missing a thing, if fact they are enjoying something way more precious than santa, They are rejoicing over the Gift of a Saviour. Can't get much better than that. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Hope you guys had a blessed Thanksgiving. Brandie
You're on a blogging roll!!! Just don't let the boys let the cat out of the bag for my boys!! Of course, we do place more importance on Jesus and we also tell him about how Saint Nicholas took gifts to the poor people and that he does it because he wants to celebrate Jesus' birthday.
I am so happy when someone mentions the real meaning of Christmas. I completely agree...wondering if you would care to give me your thoughts about my post today. I'd appreciate it! Thanks!
CountryMom
http://citymomcountrymom.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html
Well, I don't think you are crazy at all. I think it is neat that you are teaching your children at a young age about the true meaning of Christmas.
Believe it or not, but we do not have any photos with santa with our son either :)
The last couple of years we did not have a Christmas tree, but a wreath with the big candle in the middle...
Thank you so much for sharing your traditions with us.
Blessings to you and yours.
Post a Comment