Christmas Traditions

I didn’t grow up with many traditions. Certainly none based in the birth of Christ. But I loved the ones I shared with my mother. So when my daughters were born, and I’d found my way back to my faith, I started creating our own traditions with a little help from those childhood memories. Here are a few of our favorites.

Every year my daughters and I light our advent wreath. It’s a tradition I fell in love with at our church when we lived in Memphis, and it’s now a part of what we do every Christmas.

Traditionally, the Advent wreath has five candles. Four purple or blue candles (sometimes the third or fourth candle is pink) and one white center candle. It’s always a challenge to find the perfect center candle for the Christ candle. Our Lord and Savior deserves only the best.

Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” So appropriate. And I just love the way each candle counts down the time to our Saviour’s birthday. I’ve heard and read several interpretations of the wreath. Here are few of my favorite aspects:

* The green of the wreath represents the eternal life we have in Christ.
* The circular form of the wreath represents the unending love of God.
* The purple of the outer candles represents the royalty of royalty.
* The white of the center candle represents Christ’s purity. (This candle is optional, by the way, but is my favorite.)
* The flames represent the light of God coming into the world through his Son.

I love the symbolism of this wreath. The four Sundays before Christmas each represent hope, joy, love and peace, in that order and each represented by a candle. For us as a family, it’s a time to stand around our wreath and light the candles each week and review how these four elements can only come into our lives through Christ, who is our true light. Then the tradition culminates with the lighting of the Christ candle on Christmas day. I love the symbolic representation of the lit candles to the light of Christ.

Both my girls were born in December, so it’s a very special (and extremely busy) month. This tradition and an Advent Christmas tree quilt I created have helped my girls and I count down the days each December, and put a special spotlight on their birthdays as they share the same birth month as their Savior. This connection has been especially sweet.

They each have a pocket with their name on it (Jesus too!) and each pocket has an ornament to hang on the tree and a treat. My inspiration for this was a calendar my mother had one year when I was very young. Each day had a Hershey’s chocolate kiss so naturally, we use kisses as well. My girls take turns each year as to who gets to hang the Baby Jesus ornament on the top final bell.

Another tradition I did when my girls were young was the Jesus cake. We even held a birthday party one year and sent out invitations. Typically, the Jesus cake has three layers. Chocolate to represent our sins, the red layer represents the blood of Christ, and the green layer represents our growth in Christ. The white icing symbolizes the purity of Christ and our forgiveness, which makes us “white as snow.”

When I made this cake I used marzipan (died yellow to symbolize heaven) and used cookie cutters to make twelve hearts to circle the edge of the cake and a yellow Star of David for the center. Candles placed in the center of each reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world. Here are a couple links that have recipes and more detail.

http://www.squidoo.com/birthday-party-for-Jesus
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/cmascake.html

And one final tradition that is where it all started for me. The nativity scene. My mother and I bought this set at Sears when I was 18. Every year I bring it out. It’s the oldest of our traditions. When we lived in Europe, one tradition there was to hide the Baby Jesus for the children to find Christmas morning. How special and symbolic of the historical account of those seeking Jesus and of our spiritual search for Christ.

What are your Christmas traditions? What have you found to mean the most to your family? I pray this Christmas brings each of you fresh joy and restoration based in the most precious gift of Salvation given us by our Lord Jesus. Merry Christmas!

*Birthday cake picture courtesy of Squidoo.com

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