The Christmas season is the perfect time to establish family traditions! As our world continues to change at a rapid pace, traditions provide strategic opportunities to make positive impacts on our families. Traditions remind us of cherished memories, they keep relationships together and strong, and they have a grounding effect on us. Traditions take time and commitment, and dare I say, sacrifice. Yet their benefits outweigh their costs as we reevaluate our priorities and choose to slow down our frantic schedules for something truly worthwhile.
Most importantly, traditions (especially during Christmas) give us a natural way to communicate and pass on our hope in Jesus Christ. Traditions establish our legacy of faith by connecting our children to our values who will in turn, pass them on to their children and so on.
Here are some ideas on how you can impress faith into family this season:
- Take time to read the Christmas story (Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-20)
- Share stories of what God has done in your own life.
- Have a family game night. Good fun and conversations will follow!
- Create Christmas cards to bless and encourage your family and friends.
- The Christmas Angel: A Christmas Tradition
Reflection Questions:
- How can you make your Christmas celebration bigger and better this year? What new memories can you create?
- During your many Christmas traditions, how can you ensure that your attention still is focused on the Gospel message?
- Outside of your family, whom do you have a relationship with who needs to hear the real story about Christmas?
