November 12, 2009
Last week, I began a series of Heartland Focus broadcasts examining the holiday season from a child’s point of view. I shared with you the thought that holidays can be a welcome break from routine, a time to celebrate family traditions, and also a unique opportunity for Christian witness. I suggested that holidays provide a unique “teachable moments” for children as to what is important and what is not, especially as they reflect our Christian heritage. I suggested that holidays provide unique opportunities for Godly witness in our community and within our extended families.
Having served as an educator for several decades, I can assure you that children appreciate routines, order, and things that they can count on. Holidays fall into that category. You may find that your children are even more excited about family traditions than you are, and woe be to the parent who forgets to follow the holiday routines that your children and grandchildren having been looking forward to since last year at this time! That being true, there is never a better time than now to establish new, meaningful traditions tied to the holidays, while still retaining things worth keeping from generations past.
Christian families have available a dimension to holiday celebrations that others may not: an opportunity to be a witness to others, especially for celebrations that come out of our spiritual heritage.
Perhaps there are ministry activities that could be tied to the season, such as doing the shopping as a family for “Operation Christmas Child” and preparing to send a gift to children overseas. Older folks in nursing facilities may have a special need for outreach during a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas that your family could offer, even if it is as simple as bringing specially decorated cookies to the nearest nursing home. Neighbors may be surprised by a small, homemade gift basket sitting on their doorstep that expresses the love of Jesus from your family to theirs.
I recommend a mix of old and new, when it comes to holiday activities. Keep the traditions from the past that remain meaningful, but do not be afraid to break out of the mold and establish some new holiday activities that are unique to your family. I would strongly advise listening to the celebration ideas of your children, and then incorporating their ideas as best you can. Talk about the traditions from the past, and what meaning they still hold. Taking the time to integrate the past with the present and future will help knit the generations of your family together.
That being said, I also recommend that you not involve your children in activities that hold no meaning for them just because “we have always done it this way.” Perhaps a grandparent can help explain the “why” behind the tradition. If your children are going to pass a family keepsake tradition on to their own children, knowing the heritage behind it will make it meaningful and more likely to be passed on to the next generation.
Our broadcast today is sponsored by our good friends at the Buena Vista Ski Resort who invite you to join them in celebrating 60 years of wintertime fun at their ski season open house on Saturday, November 14th from 10 until 2. Free passes and discounts on gear will be available.