"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and
she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and
placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for
them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” -- Luke 2: 4-14
As a child Christmas was all about giving and receiving gifts and spending time with family and loved ones. Santa left a special present for me under the tree on Christmas morning. But through the chaos of it all my parents made sure I knew the true meaning of Christmas was about the birth of Jesus. I always believed it. Never doubted it.
Jesus was born into the world to teach people how to live correctly and then died a brutal death on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven and we could have eternal life in Heaven. Jesus died for each and every one of us. I don't know anyone who could love us more than that.
And still, I've passed on many of my childhood traditions to my children. We leave a gift from "Santa" under the tree and exchange other gifts. We allow them to have fun picking out what gifts they want and then tearing open each present on Christmas morning but we teach them that the best gift of all is the birth of Jesus. He is the reason why we celebrate Christmas (and Easter) and that is what this season means to me.
Loved your post...my daughter (4) has been hearing the Christmas story at school and she comes home, every day, telling me all about Mary's journey and the shepherds and the Wise Men....it's beautiful, that she's learning all about the most important story of all...
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's great your daughter is learning about it at school. My son did as well when he was in preschool but now that he's in public school they don't teach about God at all. But we teach them about it at home and they learn also at Sunday School at church.
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Great post Dawn, I love knowing that others out there are teaching their children the true meaning of Christmas :)
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