Traditions Old and New

Christmas is over, the New Year has come and gone, and January is in full swing. It's a time for reflection on the past and readying ourselves for the future. One of the things I'm constantly re-evaluating is our family holiday traditions. Since this is our first Christmas away from all our family and friends, I thought another look at what we do as a family to celebrate was in order.

Four years ago I started making cute little indestructable felt-covered magnets to use as Jesse Tree devotions for Advent. Each day a magnet is added to the fridge to tell the story of Christ's geneology and all of creation waiting for His birth. Prior to this season, I had 12 of the 25 magnets completed. Since we needed to take our "show on the road" so to speak, I had to hustle to finish the set (which I managed to do, on December 24!). Our children have enjoyed playing with theses felt pieces and doing a simple chant to remember all their names/meanings.

Christmas Day has another interesting tradition in our home. We don't do the stockings/Santa bit, instead opting for a manger that is filled with gifts on Christmas morning. This reminds us of the precious gift Jesus' incarnation is. This year Steve hid the manger (out in the garage) so the kids could be like the shepherds searching for the Christ-child. If you ever do anything like this, learn from us and DON'T use real hay in the manger in the house. Little kids track it everywhere and really make you feel like you live in a barn!

This was our first year celebrating Epiphany. It started with a discussion Steve and I had about the 12 days of Christmas, and whether they start on Dec. 25 or 26. (the answer to that varies!) We had a shortened celebration this year marked by the wise men from our Nativity set journeying across our home, each day getting closer to the manger. Tonight, being Twelfthnight (yes, Shakespeare's play is named for this), was our grand feast and celebration! The wise men finally arrived, we feasted on spicy foods and spice cake (spices come from the East, like the magi) which was shaped & decorated like a crown. We talked about the eternal King coming and being a light to all the world. During the week we smelled various spices, read stories, and drew pictures of the wise men and their gifts. (Owen's picture was most puzzling: it included the bright star, several asteroids crashing into the moon, a comet, and a SPACE CACTUS)