Does your family have traditions? I am becoming more keenly aware that we have traditions that my husband I didn’t even know we had! Last summer, as we were headed to a local lake (more like a pond) to swim, and after everyone was packed in the van, the dialog went something like this:
“Oh! Where’s the ‘Second Chapter of Acts’ tape? We have to listen to it when we go to Lake Elmo!” My response? “We do???” Everyone piped in, “Yes! Don’t your remember? We always listen to it when we go to Lake Elmo.”
Another instance: While butchering our deer this year, our son ran to the computer to put on “Dad’s music play list on his Real Player….because, apparently, it is tradition. We also learned that when we cut up deer, pizza has been the normal fare, so pizza it was. We are making memories as we do these things together.
We have never been a family with a lot of tradition. Oh, we bake cookies and enjoy certain foods on particular days, but the kids have clung to things that we had not considered. Honestly, it really does make things special.
Years ago, my husband laid down the “rule” that there was not to be any Christmas music listened to, played, or sung until December 1st. The idea behind this was to keep Thanksgiving and Christmas special, respectively. Consequently, the kids now have created the tradition that whoever can stay awake long enough, turns on Christmas music at the strike of midnight. This year was rather humorous: At the strike of 12, I awoke to alarms of music going off all over the house playing different Yule greetings. When I got up at 5:30, I heard the softest, most welcoming Celtic Christmas music. It was so sweet and it reminded me of how these little things mean so much.
As I think about what the kids grow up remembering most about this holiday season, their father’s and my prayer is that they remember foremost why we even celebrate. What is this all about? Just to make warm memories that will fade away? We celebrate not an infant and His birth, but rather, we celebrate with thanksgiving and praise that our awesome God loved us lowly sinners so much that He made Himself into a man to be the ultimate sacrifice for us! Where would we be without His love for us? What joy we should all have for this glorious thing! We should celebrate Resurrection Sunday with such vigor!
May this season, however you celebrate it, leave you and your children with fond memories of a great Savior and His unfathomable love and sacrifice for us.
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Christian Moms
We have found the same to be true. There are things we do that we just do. I don’t know when we stopped having big parties for most birthdays and just started doing a favorite meal and small cake, but it sure is less stressful and more memorable!
We have always stayed up and welcomed in the new year -even before we were up so late!
Amanda always turns on her player to soothe the Littles in the late evening and we hold them ’til they fall asleep.
I think knowing and remembering these things is so important to our families. Thank you fro reminding me! One thing we have gotten out of doing is scrapbooking. that is something I sure hope to get back into!
What a great post! There is only one tradition that I purposely have held onto, and carried over to my children. That is that we don’t put the Christmas tree up until Christmas Eve. It is carried down from my grandfather as he tried to raise 6 children on very limited money, and couldn’t afford a tree until that night. I doubt he ever thought it would become something special that we do, but it has. I am sure he is smiling down from Heaven!
Honoring Yehovah is the most important, and I think that is why I am trying to show my kids that it should be every day, not just once or twice a year. Holidays are nice, and can be exciting, but to have that excitement of Yehovah all year long is such a blessing.
Thanks for sharing
I wish that no Christmas music could be played anywhere before Dec. 1st! Love the story of how all the alarms went off at the stroke of midnight! Wishing you all, way “out there”…a very Merry Christmas!