As we enter into the Advent season and prepare our hearts for the celebration of Christmas, I am mindful of the fact that our consumer driven culture began these preparations in earnest a month or two ago. Christmas displays began appearing in stores and product ads began counting down the days until Christmas. Christmas music has been playing in the stores and Christmas specials have already started airing on network TV.
In the church where we emphasis the real reason for the season, our timetable is a bit different. We begin Advent, the season of waiting, four Sundays before Christmas (Nov. 29th this year). In this time, we reflect on the first coming of Christ in expectation of His second coming. Then on Christmas Day, we begin the season of Christmas. While mainstream culture wraps up Christmas and moves on to the next big ticket item, we in the church linger with Christmas for 12 days culminating with Epiphany in which we celebrate the coming of the Wise Men.
In my home, we try to keep a faith perspective in the midst of a cultural season. We typically decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. We do Advent devotionals as a family and light Advent candles or a Christmas count down candle. Christmas morning, we read the Christmas story and add baby Jesus to the nativity before opening our Christmas gifts. We then leave our decorations up and celebrate Epiphany on Jan 6 by reading of the coming of the Wise Men, placing them in the Nativity, eating oriental food [the kings came from the Orient, after all ;] and opening one more gift.
I wonder what are ways that you or your family work at keeping Christ in Christmas. Are there particular things that you do or have done as a family? Perhaps there is something new that you might begin doing this year? Share your ideas so that we might continue to grow together this holiday season.
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