Traditions for Christmas
What do you do for Christmas traditions? Are they something passed on from your family or something you simply liked? For us traditions are a mixture of both of them. Traditions are something that helped to make memories for our children that we continue to build every year.
At the beginning of December we celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas. It’s a celebration that helps us to remember the meaning of Christmas. For those who don’t know St. Nicholas was a bishop from present day Turkey, during the Roman occupation. He gifted money, time, and toys to children and their families. He did this in memory and love of Christ. St. Nicholas is also the original basis for whom we describe as Santa Clause in our modern day.
My husband’s family read about St. Nick during advent but did not celebrate the modern day, Santa. My family on the other hand participated in Santa and fed into the magic. It was hard for me for some time to accept that the two could be combined. I wanted our children to enjoy the magic while still being more knowledgeable of our faith. This year we began a new practice of setting our shoes out for St. Nick to gift a few chocolate coins and fruit into them. Our personal explaination is that God gifts him the ability to visit us twice in the month of December to be gentle reminders to celebrate God’s Love.
With Christmas gifts we do try to keep some semblance of control on “Santa’s” gifts. We try to keep it to the idea of something to read, something to wear, something they need, and something to do. This goes for all of our kids and us. Although I will admit, “Santa” does skip my husbands and my something to wear sometimes. Our something to do is typically a family game also, that way the kids get used to sharing.
Sharing is something that ties in with one of my favorite traditions during Advent. I love to spend time baking with my kids and on my own. Christmas cookies, although not my favorite to bake, are the easiest for me to share. I love making breads with my kids, they seem to have a bunch of fun rolling it all out and watching it all come together. It is also a warm activity to do with everyone. We, as a family, tend to make caramel rolls together at least once during Advent. It goes quite well with chili.
Traditions around Christmas help build family ties. They are the magic in every season. I would love to hear what your family traditions are in the comments!
