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Hubby and I did what many of you probably have done. We merged Christmas traditions our parents use to celebrate.
When hubby and I first married we had to dicker through treasured traditions our families had. His parents set up the Christmas tree the night before Christmas.
Oh, no. Uh huh. As resident female and leader in setting the mood for the season I insisted we get the tree by no later than December 5.
"Fine," he said, "but the tree had to be a blue spruce."
My parents always had a scotch pine. The long needles made hanging ornaments easier. BUT this was not a deal breaker for me. He got the blue spruce, and I got December 5th. On to the next compromise.
As newlyweds, we attended Sunday School Christmas parties. It was there that we found some great traditions to include in our own celebration. One was an advent log, and the other was treating Christmas like Jesus's birthday party.
Once we had children, the advent log because a huge hit. The kids loved lighting the new candle each night, hearing the Bible story, praying, then blowing out the candle. The first night only one candle was lit. The second night the same first candle plus a second candle was lit. And so on until Christmas day.
For Jesus's birthday party, we added birthday deco to Christmas decorations. We made a birthday cake. And the gifts under the tree were all from Jesus to whomever. Christmas morning we'd read the Christmas story, sing happy birthday to Jesus, open the presents from Him, then eat birthday cake. What fun!
My chefy daughter has done some research into Eastern European Christmas customs for her cooking class. Come back next week and I'll share some of those.
In the meantime:
#1 Please share a Christmas tradition your family has enjoyed. This is where we learn from each other!! And God loves to see what we're doing for His Son's celebration, too.!
2. Please sign up for my free newsletter if you haven't already. I am giving my first Christmas short story to everyone who signs up. I have not automatically placed any of you on the list...I wanted to respect you. BUT I REALLY WANT TO GIVE YOU THIS STORY. Please take a moment and sign up for the newsletter in the right column. No spam...I promise. Just fun and a great story gift.If you've been around, you probably have figured out that I focus on the needy in many different ways. This Christmas story is about a young man who has lost his memory and has to solve a mystery. His neighbors sense the problem and help him make a memorable Christmas.
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