Editor’s note: In a year when families will not gather in our homes, perhaps celebrating instead by phone or online, I thought it might be somewhat uplifting to remind others of the great times we enjoyed in years past. Those were the opportunities when we could hug, hold hands, and celebrate the blessing of togetherness…opportunities many will miss this year, including Helen and me. The post below is one that I shared with readers four years ago. I felt it worthy of a rerun.
“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” 1 Luke: 35
When our two boys were very young, we had a handmade wall hanging on with a Christmas tree sewn onto the fabric. The Christmas tree had 24 pockets containing a symbol of the Christmas season, such as a star or a small elf that could be pulled from a pocket and pinned to the tree. Every year on the first day of December, the tree came out of storage, and our boys fought over who would get to pull the first surprise from that day’s pocket. They alternated every day after that, and neither boy would dare miss a turn on his day as the designated “puller.” It was a delight to witness the fun.
Some of the most cherished aspects of the Christmas season are the traditions, which seem to begin as simple events, repeated a second time, then enhanced and repeated once more. In a relatively short number of years, an event created to entertain or amuse or pass some time until we exchanged gifts or enjoyed a meal becomes a treasured tradition.
One year someone in my wife’s family gave everyone a well-intentioned gift of some packaged baked biscuits that were so hard they were inedible. Most of the family members politely thanked the giver and then quietly sent the gift out with the spent wrapping paper. Unnoticed was one member of the family who saved his package of biscuits. The next year he rewrapped them and placed them under the tree at the family gathering to be opened by a clueless in-law. We howled with laughter when the recipient removed the wrapping and began a new tradition. For years after that, some unsuspecting family member received that same rock-hard package of biscuits as it passed from one person to another. This tradition ended when someone sent the biscuits to my son, serving with the Army in Kosovo. Legend has it that a very grateful goat enjoyed them on Christmas morning.
However, the one tradition that I remember most fondly began with my mother-in-law, a devoted Christian and probably one of the most joyful people I have ever known. Every year as the family gathered to celebrate Christmas, “Grandmother La-La” would assemble all her grandchildren around the Christmas tree. Before a piece of candy was eaten, or a stocking emptied, or even a pigtail pulled, she would have them sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus as she held their tiny hands and joyfully smiled at her flock as only a proud grandmother can. She would then thoughtfully and thoroughly explain to the little ones (and remind the rest of us) that the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, was the real reason for the season.
Over the years, our family created some new traditions and discarded a few as well, but I always felt that a birthday song for our new-born Savior was one of the most sincere and loving ways to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas. Now that we are scattered far and wide at this time of the year, it is difficult to repeat this tradition, but it is one that I’m certain they still remember.
Happy Birthday, Jesus. Traditions come and go, but, in 2021, may we remind ourselves daily that you are God’s great gift to all of us.
If anyone has a favorite tradition for the Christmas season, please share it with us in the comments below. Until next time, Helen and I send best wishes for a blessed and very Merry Christmas to everyone. Thanks to you all for Easin’ Along with us.
