This post is part of the Home-Spun Holiday blog carnival being held at Mentoring Moments for Christian Women. I’ve written two posts for this carnival.The things we do just for fun are on Counter-Cultural School, and this post is about two of the things we do to focus on Christ’s birth during the Christmas season.
Our family tries to have family worship daily, and during the Christmas season this time is very special. Each night the boys take turns being the Advent helper, lighting (and blowing out) the candles, reading The Advent Book aloud to the family (which tells the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke), and choosing what Christmas hymns will be sung that evening.
We still do our Jesse Tree, mainly for the benefit of our youngest son, Cal. Then my husband shares some thoughts about our Scripture passage for the evening. These times are, for us, the highlight of the entire season. In fact, it was our celebration of Advent that eventually led us to begin daily family devotions all year long. You can read more about that here.
Every year on Christmas Eve, each person prepares something for our family Christmas program. Last year our boys read the Christmas story from Luke 2. My husband and mother-in-law taught us a Norwegian Christmas carol from their family tradition. My step-father sang, my mother recited some Scriptures she had memorized as a young girl, and my brother-in-law led us with his guitar in singing Christmas carols. My sister read a poem, and I shared a devotion I had written for the occasion.
One year, our oldest son sang O Come All Ye Faithful in Latin. That was the year when everyone was supposed to prepare a musical number to share. Afterward, we gathered around the piano and sang Christmas carols together, and then I played Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. Every year is a little different, but it is always memorable.
What are the simple things you do to make the season special for those you love? If you write a post about it, please join the carnival at Mentoring Moments! It will run from December 6-12th.
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