Christmas Traditions: Past and Present
Growing up in a Mormon household, Jesus was a big part of our Christmas celebrations. (Yes, Mormons believe in Jesus.) Also, growing up as an American child, SO WAS SANTA! I’m so thankful that my parents figured out how to make the secular and the sacred on the same team for Christmas. I never felt torn between the two. I loved listening for sleigh bells just as much as I loved hearing my dad read from Luke, Chapter 2, on Christmas Eve.
We lived in the heart of Mormon Land and one of my favorite traditions was making the trek to the temple in Salt Lake and see the lights on what the locals call Temple Square. We would bundle up and gaze in awe at the millions of Christmas lights that adorned every branch. In the middle of the square, there was a recorded loop of the story of the birth of Jesus with life size figures of Joseph and Mary, the shepherds, and the wisemen that would light up when it was their turn in the story. The same recording played every year and I loved knowing which figure would light up next.
Taking my own children to see the lights on Temple Square in 2012.
Along with making paper chains to countdown the days until Santa arrived, and writing letters and baking cookies and wrapping presents, we had a special manger set up in our living room. The idea was to do something nice for someone in the family (preferably without them knowing) and each time a good deed was done, we could put a piece of straw in the manger. One year my mom got an actual hay bale that was set up on the porch. This was amazing, and also incredibly messy. It was a one and done thing with the real hay. Anyway, the goal was to have the manger full of straw and ready for baby Jesus on Christmas morning.
With my own family, I’ve also tried to follow my parent’s lead of the magical and spiritual. It helped that my mom and dad sent us our very own manger a few years ago to continue the tradition of serving each other. My kids didn’t get why I was wiping a tear when I opened up the box, sentimentality doesn’t exist under the age of 15, they’ll get it someday. And a few years ago, I began having a ‘shepherd’s dinner’ on Christmas Eve. We pretend we are shepherds just like the ones who might have seen the angel the night Jesus was born. We sit on the floor with scarves on our heads and have a simple meal of bread, cheese, (I don’t recommend sheep cheese by the way...just trust me on this) olives, and kabobs and talk about what it might have been like to live 2000 years ago and be witness to such a night. My kids are 7 and 5, so this conversation lasts about 3 minutes, and the rest of dinner we talk about Santa, but it’s something.
The first night of sheep cheese...don't do it.
Because the story of a man who brings gifts to every child in the world because he loves them (we don’t do the naughty or nice thing here, we try to be good just cuz) fits right in with the story of a baby who was born to bring love to everyone. At least that’s how it goes down at our house!
Whatever Christmas traditions bring you love and joy, I wish you a stocking, or manger, or both, full of it all. Merry Christmas dear friends and readers!
