Christmas is such a beautiful time of year. I don’t like the cold but I love the idea of curling up in front of a fire with a hot cup of java and enjoying the ambient of a lit Christmas tree and candles and hanging out with family. There is nothing like it.
Within this past year Peter and I have been evolving and changing into simpler people. Simpler than we were. We just don’t care about the same things as a lot of our society does. Material things are meaningless to us. Yes we each have our wish list of some things that would be nice to have but there is not much that we really need and we are ok without it. We want to live even simpler than we are.
I do love shopping for loved ones and finding the perfect gift but I’m realizing a lot of times I would just buy something in order to have a present for someone even if its not something I’m sure they would like. What a waste of money that is. I am trying to be purposeful this year. I love the idea of making things for people and I already have some ideas for next Christmas. I do enjoy getting presents too that’s for sure but who doesn’t and if you say you don’t I just can’t believe you.
That was a little bunny trail because that was not at all what I was going to write about. Anyway. Christmas. I wanted to share what we believe about Christmas and what we plan to teach our children. Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of Jesus birth and how he came to this earth to save us all right? That’s a good thing to celebrate and for those that do so as unto the Lord that’s great. But we believe as Christians we are supposed to celebrate Jesus’ birth every single day of our lives. To acknowledge who He is and what He did for us and in our words and actions show praise and thankfulness to Him every day. Not just once a year. I have also heard that Jesus wasn’t even born in December and that the story of the three wisemen is only half true because they came a long time after he was born. The history is all mixed up and I don’t even really care about little details like that but why should I tell that story to my kids when I know its not correct? I will simply go right to the bible. Christmas isn’t mentioned in the bible. It’s a man-made holiday probably with good intentions but has since gotten out of hand.
I want to look up more info on the history of Christmas and how the Christmas tree was started and candy canes and all that stuff. That kind of stuff has nothing to do with Jesus and he couldn’t care less about stuff like that. There is nothing wrong with them don’t get me wrong but I just wonder why we all do what we do? So many of us just do things because our parents did it or its what everyone else did. Well I want to know why and have an answer for my kids when they ask why we do what we do.
As for Santa, we are not telling our kids about the north pole, the naughty/nice list, or coming down the chimney and making them believe in something only to find out its not real. A friend made a good point and said she told her kids about St. Nick and how he’s a nice old man who helped children who didn’t have much. I like that. In the future if my kids want to sit on his lap at the mall that’s fine but we’re not promoting it.
So as my husband says “Christmas is all about the presents”. That’s why we as 25 and 27 year olds are still excited about Christmas Day. The food and family and festive traditions are fun too! You may think that is a selfish perspective but think about it. Why do you do what you do? What makes what we do on Christmas a celebration of Jesus birth? Hmmm????
To sum it up, we love Jesus and are so thankful for His birth, resurrection, and salvation and we praise Him for that every day!! We do not believe Santa Clause to be an important or worth while thing to share with our children but will probably tell them the story of St. Nick. We do not celebrate Christmas as a Christian holiday but as a fun and beautiful time of year with silly but harmless traditions just like other holidays!!
You and I were meant to be sisters, Keni :) I can't agree more with what you have said here! Christmas to me isn't really about celebrating Jesus' birth - for all the reasons you listed. We should celebrate Jesus every day. To me, the Christmas season and holiday is about the traditions.... the tree and the presents and the memories with family and friends. The more time goes by, the more wary I am of what our culture (even our Christian culture) tells me I should be or do (like make Christmas all about Jesus' birth). I'm with you - Let's just look to the Bible for what it actually says, and - yes - live more simply!!!
ReplyDelete