| | At Ladies' Night the subject of celebrating the holidays was brought up. The women shared many interesting ways that they celebrate.
Our family has enjoyed many special activities during the holidays starting with.........
Reformation Day which is a relatively "new" holiday for our family. We have only been celebrating this for a couple of years now. In our earliest years, when our oldest children were babies, we celebrated halloween. Through a series of events and conviction from God we moved fom celebrating Halloween to celebrating a Fall Festival with our church family instead. Our church family consisted of people that we knew would not give our children blades in their apples or poison in their candy. We also liked the fact that a "Fall Festival" celebration excluded "scary" costumes.
November brings Thanksgiving. This holiday has traditionally been one that we have celebrated with just our immediate family. Working off and on as a family putting together a very large puzzle, usually takes us most of the day. Cooking, baking and enjoying food preparation (and the aroma thereof) are also enjoyed by all during the day. Usually our meal consists of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, salad, green beans, lima beans and/ or corn, dressing, homemade whole wheat rolls, pumpkin pies, and pecan pies. Most years we have put up a banner on the dining room wall inscribing the words. . . "I Am Thankful For. . . which every family member from the oldest down to the youngest is allowed to draw pictures and write thoughts on. The Pilgrim's and Indian's First Thanksgiving story is usually read or acted out with handmade costumes or puppets. During the blessing for the meal we have traditionally put a few kernels of corn on each person's plate. As each kernel is dropped in a small basket which is passed around the table, a blessing is also spoken.
The day after Thanksgiving we answer some Family Discussion Questions to help us prepare our hearts for the season.. . . .
- The one thing I really want to do at Christmas this year is ______. We then discuss whether each request could be honored and how.
- What are some exciting activities we can do together as a family? In which activities would we like to include others?
- How can our family reach out to others in need this Christmas?
- How can we best share the holiday preparations? (shopping, baking, cleaning, etc.)
- Are we carefully choosing commitments this season so we can remain relaxed and joyful?
- Are we giving presents that meet a need, encourage growth, or show our love?
- Do we need to forgive someone this Christmas?
- Are we taking time to listen for God's voice this season?
The House of Kent is written by each family member. This newsletter contains articles and photos of highlights our family has enjoyed during the year. We send these out to friends and family instead of Christmas cards.
We start our December holidays with each child making their own Gingerbread House. These special creations are exhibed in a prominent place in our dining room and used as decorations throughout the month. On Christmas day the decorations are allowed to be nibbled and eaten.
An Advent Calendar is put up on a wall. Each pocket is labeled with a number from 1-25 and holds either a paper with a listed special activity for the day or a piece of our manger scene. Our wooden (touchable) Nativity Manger is prominently displayed in our living room. The manger pieces are taken out one at a time on the days listed on each pocket and are added to the Nativity Manger. The last pocket (Number 25 - Christmas Day) holds the precious baby Jesus manger piece.
Each day in December the youngest children, with an older child's help, make a tree ornament with The ABC's of Advent. These homemade ornaments not only correspond with the alphabet, but also with an aspect of the story surrounding Jesus' birth. For example - A is for Angel, B is for Baby Jesus, C is for City of Bethlehem, D is for Donkey, E is for Evergreen Tree, F is for Family, etc.
An Advent Wreath with Candles is lit the 4 Sundays before Christmas along with special devotions and hymn singing as we prepare our hearts for the coming of baby Jesus.
Sometime between Thanksgiving and December 1st we put each family's name in a hat and become a Secret Angel to the one we draw. Kind deeds are done in secret until Christmas day when each person's secret identity is revealed.
On December 13th we celebrate the holiday St. Lucia's Day. For this holiday the children make saffron buns together around the night of the 12th while the story of St. Lucia is told. On the morning of the 13th, all the children dress in white. One daughter dresses as St. Lucia with a wreath of candles on her head. At dawn the children prepare a tray of saffron buns with hot tea and/or coffee. They sing a song as they walk in procession to serve their parents who are still in bed. On occasion, they have also had the treat of being able to serve their grandparents in bed.
One evening during the season our family has traditionally gone Christmas Carrolling in our neighborhood. Sometimes we have taken the children on a hay ride as we drove around. We purpose to only sing Christian Christmas hymns as a testimony to the real reason for the season. Christmas cookies are often given to these neighbors after the songs are sung. Last year Jonathan accompanied us with his guitar as we sang, which was a special treat.
Sometime during the month our children, along with their cousins, like to prepare a special Christmas Concert and Drama to present to their grandparents and parents. Sometimes a meal prepared by the children has also accompianied this concert and drama. As our children have gotten older, these concerts have become more elaborate. They are always anticipated and pure delight to see.
Around the 23rd of December the Virginia Orchestra and some solo singers present a Sing-A Long Handel's Messiah evening. Our family likes to join the other 100 or more people who attend to become the "choir" for the night. Everyone attending as the choir is split into sections Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass as they come in to take their seats. A worshipful and glorious evening is had by everyone as the songs "For Unto Us a Child is Given", the "Halleluiah Chorus" along with others from the Messiah are sung and played.
December 24th is a special night at out house as we celebrate an Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner together. The symbolism in this meal is wonderful. Our table is covered with a white tablecloth which reminds us of the white cloth Jesus was swaddled in at the manger. A centerpiece of 3 braided breads with a large white candle through the middle represents the Trinity, and Christ, who is the bread of life and who came to us as the light of the world. Before the meal the family gives extra hay and feed to the animals in the barn, reminding us how the animals surrounded Jesus at his birth. The meal consists of 12 dishes, each representing the 12 apostles. Hay is placed under the table as a reminder of the manger Jesus slept in. After the meal is over, the children are allowed to crawl under the table to find the hidden candy that has been scattered inside the hay.
Christmas Eve children also put out their homemade Christmas Stockings that were made for them the first year they entered our family as a newborn or as an adopted child.
Christmas Day baby Jesus is taken from the Last Advent Pocket and put gently into the Manger. In remembrance of sending Jesus as our perfect gift, and of the wise men giving baby Jesus gifts, our children are given money in their Christmas Stockings. Each child is given $2 for each year they have lived. Hence our 4 year old is given $8, our 7 year old is given $14 and our 20 year old is given $40. Sometime during the day we light the last Advent Wreath Candle and open the Bible to tell the Christmas story. Secret Angel identities are revealed and thanked as well as Gingerbread Houses being nibbled on. Our meal is different each year. Sometimes we have ham and sweet potatoes, sometimes turkey and the trimmings, or sometimes goose or even roast beef. Assorted cookies and other sumptious desserts are of course also included in the meal!
But. . . . . . there have also been Christmas' that we have gone off the beaten path and done something totally different than the above activities!
One year some of us went to Sweden to celebrate Christmas with Uncle John and his family "Swedish" style.
Some years we traveled from one state to be in another state with family on Christmas day.
And this year we plan to spend a week or two in Florida as we not only celebrate Christmas but also my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary! This year will be the biggest and best family re-union we have ever gone to as we plan on visiting with Aunts, Uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc.!!
All in all, our Christmas days are relaxed, edifying and joyful with many meaningful memories of being together as a family throughout the years. . . . . . . . . .
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| | Posted 10/16/2006 11:07 AM - 28 Views - 2 eProps - 2 comments
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