Today Advent officially begins! Advent means "coming," and it begins four Sundays before December 25. The Advent season gives us four weeks to look back and remember the Old Testament's anticipation of the coming of a Savior and the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus' birth. We also look ahead in anticipation of Christ's second coming.
People all over the world celebrate various holidays and observances instituted by men to honor heroes or religious beliefs, but as we enter the Christmas holiday, I'm reminded of the seven observances (feasts) instituted by God found in Leviticus 23 in our Old Testament. God instituted these annual feasts as a way for His people to remember who He is, what He had done for them, and how they could honor Him. They were also God-given opportunities for parents to tell their children, their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren the stories of His faithfulness to His people. The feasts were not only meant to be celebrations of remembrance, but also foreshadowings of the coming Savior.
When I study God's purposes behind ordaining celebrations to be kept by His people, I inevitably find inspiration and vision for the creation of our family's celebrations and traditions. I want to make sure the traditions we practice help us remember God's faithfulness AND point us to Christ. During Advent, we remember the prophesies and the events that led up to the fulfillment of God's promise of a Messiah, and we pray, filled with hope, for the fulfillment of another promise...that He will come again!
With that as our starting place, we pull out our Advent box the weekend it officially begins. This box is supposed to be FUN! It's full of books, puzzles, and activities.
Over the years I add to our books. My two favorites for small children are the Read and Share Christmas Angels and What Child Is This?
We also have various nativity puzzles and a children's nativity set that the boys play with and can use to act out the Christmas story as I read.
It never seems easy to find fun affordable Christmas activities with a Christ-centered focus. When I find them, I stock up. Right now Target has Nativity stickers in their dollar section! Post Christmas sales are great for refilling our Advent box with new books, stickers, paint crafts, coloring books, etc. I also include in the box our traditional Christmas cookie cutters, Christmas music cd's and dvd's.
If you come into our house at Christmas, you'll also find snowmen, reindeer, and even old Saint Nick, who is quite a hot topic among many Christian parents. I know amazing people with strong convictions which I appreciate on both sides of the discussion "to include or not include Santa" in your family Christmas, and I think you must follow your conviction. It's always healthy to discuss and share our convictions because it keeps us all thinking about why we believe and practice the things we do so as not to fall prey to doing what is simply easiest and normative. Keeping in mind though that convictions are not scriptural mandates to be guilted upon others (Romans 14), and in the body of Christ we can lovingly agree to disagree on the nonessentials, such as Santa Claus.
Right now for us Santa Claus is a part of our family Christmas. Key word being PART, a small part. Most of our time is centered in conversations and activities surrounding the birth of Christ because our traditions naturally lead us toward that end. However, I think because God is the creator of all, we can find Him and His purposes most anywhere! Instead of cutting out all "cultural" Christmas traditions, we first try to see if we can find Christ in them. The ADVENTure of Christmas is a wonderful resource. I've found it very helpful in my endeavor towards embracing Christmas fun in a way it keeps our eyes on Jesus. Author and former actress Lisa Whelchel gives a guide on how customs such as hanging lights on the house, wrapping gifts, decorating the Christmas tree, and yes, even Santa Claus, can all relate to Jesus' birth.
We enjoy reading the best-selling Legend Series. The Legend of St. Nicholas introduces us to the original St. Nicholas and how giving gifts is to remind us of the greatest gift of all.
(There are several thoughtful Christian blog posts out there on whether or not to include Santa in your Christmas traditions. I appreciated a friend of ours and teaching pastor at a local church, Andy Savage, writing "Is Santa Claus coming to town?")
Making and using an Advent Wreath and reading The Advent Book each evening are two of our very favorite Advent family traditions that keep us daily making much of Christ.
Traditions are unique to families, and it's always fun to share ideas. I have friends that love using a Jesse Tree each Advent which is a beautiful Advent experience that brings understanding to the family tree of Jesus. I've put that one in my back pocket for another day because sometimes adding another GREAT tradition might not be the BEST thing for our family in that season. As we grow, some "little years" activities become sweet memories, some new ideas come along, and some things seem like they're gonna be traditions that stick for the long haul. My prayer is that the Lord would help me keep being intentional and thoughtful in creating and cultivating celebrations and traditions that are fun for our kids and naturally keep pointing their eyes to the story of Jesus.
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