It's Tradition! - Part Two

Memories, Traditions and Reflections
of the Past and Future
Christmas 2001
Written by Miss Amber Moeller

Christmas 1996

Ah, Christmas! A time especially set apart to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As my family grows older, I have been cherishing more and more each Christmas that we are together. The Lord only knows how many more Christmases we will have together before we start to get married and move away, or who knows what else could keep us from being together for Christmas.

Hallmark had a Christmas card commercial on a few years back where a man was walking through the snow to reach a certain spot on top of a hill. Once there, the man opened a card from his daughter. It was the first Christmas that the young woman was away from home and wasn't able to take the walk with her father up to the top of the hill on Christmas Eve to look over the valley below where the little town sat. The commercial reminded me of years to come when I shall be away from my mom, dad and siblings at Christmas time, but I shall have a new family, a new life to live, new traditions to make for my own children (should the Lord so bless) to look forward to.

This past year our family has had many new changes and the future will be bringing more. This will more than likely be the last Christmas where we are all living at home. I'm saddened to think about it, but I've known for a while that it was only a matter of time before our family would spread out and start new lives. I will eventually be leaving to start a family of my own. Things can change so quickly. I wish I had cherished every moment we had together more than I did, but there is still time to do that. I look forward to cherishing the years ahead of us as we all begin to start new chapters in our lives. I believe we will always be close. Even if/when thousands of miles separate us, our hearts will be united.

As I reflect on the past and listen to Bing Crosby singing Christmas carols, I'm reminded of the many happy Christmas memories with my family. I love to sing praises to our Lord for all the blessings and provision that He has given to us this past year. My family is something that I praise the Lord for every day that I live. The Lord has placed me in a loving family that dearly loves each other and would do anything to help each other and protect one another.

The holidays can often be a time when we get so stressed and busy that we lose sight of what Christmas is all about.

"Remember Christ our Savior,
Was born on Christmas Day,
To save us all from Satan's pow'r,
When we were gone astray."
~ from "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"

To keep the holiday season from being too stressful, my mom and I have found that our month is more relaxing and peaceful when we purchase all our Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving. That way we have the whole month of December open to entertain, relax, do holiday projects, etc. We don't have to fight the crowds in stores, and it ensures that we can find the gift that we are looking for for each person on our lists. Also, if we need to order a gift for someone, we don't have to worry about it not arriving in time for Christmas.

Over the years, my family has made some special traditions. The first, and one of the most special, is finding our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. For Christmas one year, when my siblings and I were 4 - 8 years old, my mother told us a story. It went something like this:

"There once was a little Christmas tree. He was very plain and homely, and year after year no one wanted him. He was always over-looked for all the handsome trees that stood around him. He began to lose all hope of having a home of his own, but he prayed to the Lord. You know the desires of my heart. When it is your timing, bring someone to love me. It was nearing Christmas Day when a little poor family came to the forest. Their little girl looked at the homely Christmas tree and called to her parents, "What about this little tree, Daddy?" Her father and mother weren't sure what to think about the tree. "It needs some love, Daddy. May we take it home?" The little tree couldn't believe his ears. Does someone really want to take me home?! "All right, my Scooterbug." So they took the little tree home and decorated it, then stood back to see what it looked like. They were all surprised at how radiant the tree was. The little tree was so happy. He raised his arms up to the heavens and praised the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness."

So after my mom finished the story, we went out to the woods and looked for our own little homely Christmas tree. We came home with a very homely tree indeed, but we couldn't wait to give it some tender loving care! The tradition stuck. We didn't know it at that time, but my parents couldn't afford to buy a Christmas tree. We had gone through some difficult times and yet my parents wanted us to have a special, happy Christmas. It wasn't until years later when my parents told us that was how the tradition got started.

That story was precious to me when I first heard it, and is even more so now. The story and tradition now remind me of the blessings that the Lord has provided and given to us. The Lord has abundantly provided for our needs. We are not rich where money is concerned, but we are rich in that we have each other, a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs, clothes on our backs, a reason for hope, and Eternal Life (Matt.6:25-34), which is a lot more than what a lot of people have in the world today. The Lord is faithful to provide for our needs if we are faithful to die to self and follow Him.

"The spirit of tradition is so much more than the simple urge to repeat a pleasant experience. Tradition helps us keep our feet on the ground, helps us feel the connection between where we have been and where we are going, between those who have gone before us and those who follow after...But there is more. The spirit of tradition also helps us understand--and celebrate--who we are, to be thankful for the gift of life and for the people God used to give it to us....After all, the memories of tomorrow are being shaped by the traditions we create today."
~ taken from "The Spirit of Loveliness" by Emily Barnes (page 148, 149)

My family and I now go to the Christmas tree farm giggling and laughing at who can find the "ugliest" Christmas tree (we have found some real winners!). It always surprises us at how pretty they turn out! When my grandparents came for Thanksgiving this year, we went to look for our tree that evening. It was the first time that they had gone with us as we picked out our tree. I'm not sure that they were impressed with our little Charlie Brown tree, but they haven't seen the finished product yet. =) It turned out to be one of the prettiest trees that we have had.

The night that we decorate our tree, we have a meal to fit the occasion. It consists of: two kinds of cheese (usually Colby and cheddar cheese), summer sausage, crackers, cut apples, Cream Cheese Apple Dip, ginger ale and egg nog blended with vanilla ice cream (yum! yum!). We usually have the same meal for New Year's Eve when we invite a family over for snacks, to play games and ring in the new year with us.

Sometime during the month of December, I like to have a small Christmas "Tea" and invite some of my friends who live nearby. We usually enjoy refreshments, fellowship and do some kind of activity. What we have enjoyed doing in the past is: making taffy, cookies, Christmas ornaments, and this year we made Christmas garlands. The first year I had my Christmas Tea, I actually gave a tea party for two of my friends and their mothers and my mother. That is how my gathering came to be called a Christmas Tea. I would love to carry on the tradition long after I marry someday.

This year I have started a new, personal tradition. For the month of December, I have decided to read Christmas stories. "A Midnight Carol" by Patricia K. Davis and "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens are just a couple that I am reading this month. If you have any great Christmas stories, I would love to hear about them.

Up until our move from northwestern Iowa to Illinois (1997), my siblings and I had never awakened in our own beds on Christmas morning, or even been home for the holiday. We would travel four hours to where my grandparents lived. Now, we have been enjoying making new memories of Christmases at our home with my grandparents and my mom's brother's family coming to our home for dinner. We enjoy a dinner of Ham Balls, Potato Casserole, Corn Pudding, Orange Salad, cranberry sauce, a bread of some kind, a dish or two that others bring, then Pumpkin Squares for dessert and Hot Winter Punch.

Christmas morning at home was a new delight to us, not only getting to open presents on Christmas Day, but getting to share the memory of all of us gathered near the tree and around my father to hear him read the story of Christ‘s birth. I remember how blessed we are to be a loving, close-knit family living in a Christian nation where we can freely celebrate Christ, worship Him, and proclaim His Name.

"Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."
~ Rev. 7:12

Let us remember to celebrate His greatness, goodness, and mercy today, tomorrow and forevermore. Many blessings to you and yours this holiday season and the coming new year.

« Return to Musings