Holiday Traditions

Have you ever stopped to consider your traditions?

I am a thinker so I often considered our family traditions.  Which ones will stand the test of time?  Which ones really aren’t important?  Which ones should we start to add depth and meaning to our holidays?

Moving has really brought to the focus our traditions.  After living in the same house for 10 years and starting our family in that house all of our holiday traditions were centered around what we did there.  Bo and I both LOVE the holiday season.  We love everything about it…being with family and friends, the food, the lights, the music, the decorations, giving gifts, and remembering the long expectant child.  We started our Christmas celebrating as soon as we could.  Usually we would go out the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving to get a Christmas tree from the woods with my dad.  We started the holiday music while shopping Friday morning and would go to Locomotive Park after we got the tree decorated.  We would light the holiday candles of the advent as we prepared our hearts for the coming.  Sometime in the season we got together with family and friends and made TOO many Christmas cookies.  Christmas Eve we would spend with Bo’s parents and brother’s families opening gifts and eating our laid back family meal.  With kids underfoot it has always been a time of excitement and joy.  And of course every present chaos was started with the reading of a Christmas story by one of the grandchildren.  Christmas day would start off with stockings outside the kid’s doors that we opened in Mommy and Daddy’s bed.  Than after mom got her shower and everyone was dressed we would head downstairs (to a tree that somehow in the night got buried by presents).  We would take turns opening gifts until the tree was empty and the arms filled full.  Usually around lunch my parents and grandpa would join us for Christmas dinner.  We would light the last Advent candle and read the Christmas story while enjoying Jesus birthday cake.

As I reflect on these traditions I have truly missed some this year…This year it’s a fake tree in the corner decked out in homemade paper ornaments.  There was no holiday baking party and with traveling we won’t have the surprise of presents (they saw them get loaded in the car).  I don’t know how Christmas will play out, but I do know that there will be no Papa and Nana this year or Christmas dinner at our house.  In some ways the only thing that will be the same is Christmas Eve party, but this time we just have to load up the gifts and take them out to the trailer.

I often wonder what will be different next Christmas.  Will the house we buy have stairs for the grand entrance?  Will we still go to the woods to get a tree?  Will we travel next year? Or will someone visit us?  One thing I do know traditions that last are the traditions that count.  We will always do advent.  And at least for a few years all of our children will be home for the holidays. 

What traditions do you treasure this year?  What one do you hope to start for next year?  What traditions do you need to let go of?

Merry Christmas friends! 

May your holiday be bright and full of Christ this year!