“Creative Christmas Greetings and Holiday Traditions”
(Luke 1:5-60)
How will you greet people for Christmas this year? Will you do it personally, send a card, an email, a call, or maybe even a gift? What traditions will you continue in your family?
The Bible is full of Greetings and Traditions. In the Old Testament the word is Shalom which means Peace (in body and soul).In the New Testament it is the word Choira which means Be Happy or Be Well. The Christmas story in the Gospels is filled with greetings. Greetings says the angel Gabriel to Mary, Blessed are you calls out Elizabeth to her pregnant Cousin Mary And then we hear the other angels saying, “Do not be afraid”… which is a fitting greeting for so many wounded.
Creating holiday traditions and rituals can be good for your marriage as well as your family. Having special activities you do together can help you feel more like a team. It can also help you create memories for years to come. So how do we start?
Begin by looking at your current holiday traditions. Do you have any? Sometimes people don’t even recognize that what they do is traditional. Perhaps it is going to Grandma’s house on Christmas Eve or attending a holiday party. Take a look at what you usually do during the holiday seasons. Especially look at your own Christian Celebrations.
Also, take a look at the traditions that you had as a child. Which ones do you want to continue? Which ones would you be happy to let go of? What traditions does your spouse have? If there are traditions you don’t like or that have become stressful, remember that you can let go of some of them in your adulthood.
It’s important to honor the traditions from your past that you want to continue. It’s equally important to create new traditions as a married adult that are separate from your family. Having a tradition just for you and your spouse and your children is a healthy way to separate you from your parents.
Traditions don’t have to be elaborate. They also don’t have to cost much. Often it is the simple things that create the best memories. Whether you decide to bake cookies, look at Christmas lights, volunteer for a charity, throw a holiday party, or decorate together, remember that your traditions don’t need to be formal. So try to spend the holidays focusing on what is important to you and your family. Worry less about shopping, gifts and making things perfect. Focus on having special time together and enjoying one another’s company.
We need to learn how to give good Creative Christmas Greetings each year. Beyond the Christmas cards, or an occasional Happy Holidays, We could say “Do not be afraid” to our wounded, hurting world. We can say it in a variety of ways. Maybe with a “I’m not too busy, I can talk or Yes, I mess up at times also, but God can help., or even a simple Hi, punctuated with a smile. There is no better time than at Christmas to share the difference Jesus makes in our lives.
One Christmas day, I will stand before my maker. I will want to thank him for His special Christmas gift of His Son for me. I am sure I will be a little afraid, but I know His greeting will be warm and accepting. He promised it would be…Today is a good day to examine our own lives at Christmas and the way we Greet others, and maybe, just maybe we can learn how to make our Christmas Greetings and Traditions more creative and more effective this Holiday year.
