Creating Meaningful Christmas Traditions

Guest post from Mary Clendenin

Christmas is a wonderful, but very busy time of year.  There is so much to do that we often lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas.  In our home, we have established some traditions that will help us have a Christmas that is focused on Christ.  Two ways that we do that is to celebrate Advent and the Jesse Tree.

We didn’t grow up celebrating Advent.   I thought Advent  was something from a long time ago or that denominations other than our own did.  A few years ago I started researching Advent and am glad I did.  Last year was very traumatic for us and when Christmas came, I wasn’t even sure how to celebrate.  The two things we continued was our Advent Wreath, stories,  and the Jesse Tree.  The boys weren’t sure there were going to be gifts or fun times, but they counted on these two things.  Each year, they name these as their top two favorites at Christmas.

What is Advent?

Advent means “coming” and is a time of spiritual preparation before Christmas.  It is a celebration of the birth of Christ in the First Advent and  the anticipation of His Second Advent.   Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve.  Advent challenges us to celebrate God’s gift of love through Jesus in the midst of the commercialism.

We celebrate Advent using a wreath, devotional, and story. The candles are lit on Sundays, after we have a special meal or snack.   We read from the book, A Family Advent: Keeping the Savior in the Season.  It has a short devotional, fun facts, and family activities.

 

The Advent Wreath:

Traditional wreaths made from evergreens that form a circle symbolize the promise of eternal life through Christ.  I was glad to find an Advent wreath last year at the store, because I couldn’t get one made.  Don’t stress about making the perfect wreath.  If it is easier to purchase a wreath, do so.  Christian Book Distributors has a big selection of wreaths.

 

The Candles:

We use three purple candles, one pink, and one white candle.  Depending on which devotional you use, there are different representations for the candles.  In ours,  the purple candles represent Hope, Peace, and Love.  The pink candle represents Joy.  The white candle is the Christ Candle.  One candle is lit each Sunday (in addition to the previous week’s candle).  On Christmas Eve, we light all the candles and have a special time of worship.

 

 

Advent Stories:

Last year, I found a series for Advent that is set in the time leading up to Christ’s birth.  They are adventure stories told through the eyes of children as they anticipate the birth of the Savior.  It corresponds with the lighting of the Advent candles.  The stories are suited more for older children and we read one each year.

The Jesse Tree

This is a wonderful approach to get your kids to get involved in Advent.  The Jesse Tree is based on the verse Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”  It begins at Creation, goes through the Old Testament stories that point to the birth of Christ and ends with His birth.  Some devotionals begin when Advent starts or on December 1st and ends at Christmas.

What you will need:

Devotional  — We love Ann Voskamp’s Jesse Tree Devotional.  It is beautifully written and so meaningful!  It uses a devotional, scripture, and a call to action based on the reading.  I was glad to find one from Feels Like Home for younger children.  Both are free resources and have beautiful printable ornaments. Some devotionals begin when Advent starts or on December 1st and end at Christmas.

Tree — Use a branch in a pot, make one out of paper or felt, or use a small tree.

Ornaments — I always envision making ornaments, but that hasn’t happened yet.  Instead of stressing about it and wanting the perfect ornaments (as I have in the past),  I bought ornaments one year.  That was stressful too, searching for the ornament for the devotional.  I decided to use the ones in the e-book.  I printed the ornaments, mounted them on cardstock, and punched a hole for the twine.  MUCH EASIER!  It is also a great activity to include your kids in after doing the reading.

We read one devotional each day as we put an ornament on the Jesse Tree.  Not only are we counting down the days to Christmas, we are learning more about the Bible, major characters and events leading up to Christ birth, as well as reading the story of salvation.

The Advent Box

A new addition this year will be the Advent Box (a type of Advent calendar).  I have been wanting to purchase one for a while, but they are always expensive.  I finally found one on sale.  Traditionally, they are used for filling with candy or gifts each day to count down to Christmas. We are going put a piece of paper in each drawer with a special thing we can do for others, together as a family to celebrate, or to prepare for Christmas.   There may be a little treat in there!  Something like this could also be done on a simple homemade calendar.

A good resource book for moms to help your children find Jesus in the Holiday Traditions is The ADVENTure of Christmas. We enjoy many fun activities from it.

I hope that you will have a wonderful Advent season as you prepare your hearts and focus on Christ this Christmas.  Don’t get too overwhelmed with all that there is to do, even in the good things.  I have done that before and didn’t end up finishing what I started.  It is better to choose one tradition than trying to do so many that nothing gets done well.  {Trust me, I know.}  Whether you use an Advent calendar, wreath, box, Jesse Tree, or something else, I hope that you will be able to develop a tradition that focuses on the true meaning of Christmas, in the midst of the fun activities to celebrate Christmas.

What meaningful traditions do you use in your home to focus on Christ?