Christmas Traditions

​What comes to mind when I say "Christmas Traditions"?  Do the thoughts of tree decorating, baking Christmas cookies, gift wrapping and attending Christmas service come to mind?  How about getting together with family and friends?  In my family, we have a tradition of hiding a small, toy bird in the tree every year for the children to look for.  Not all families celebrate Christmas with the same traditions and that is okay.  We all come from different families with different backgrounds and different traditions. At New Beginnings we strive to expose our residents to traditions such as decorating the Christmas tree or making Christmas cookies. Many of the moms at New Beginnings have never participated in these Christmas time traditions. 

 
Now, imagine if some of those well-loved traditions to you participate in where not there.  Could you go without putting up a tree?  How about going without the gifts for this year?  "It just wouldn't be Christmas without Uncle Jack around." Has that thought ever crossed your mind about a loved one who has passed?  Do you really believe Christmas has changed because things seem different?  How about if you lost your job or fell on hard times?  Is it still Christmas?

​The answer is simply "Yes".  It is still Christmas.  Just because something has changed, doesn't mean the true meaning of Christmas has changed.  The fact is that Jesus was still born part God yet part man.  He still lived the perfect life and suffered our terrible punishment for us.  We celebrate Christmas to celebrate his birth and the fulfillment of the prophecy.

​Where is the best place to celebrate such a joyous event?  Around a tree?  Opening gifts?  The best place to celebrate His birth would be in His house.  If you have not made going to church on Christmas your tradition, I urge you to do so for that is where we can truly celebrate.  For those of us who do make this our tradition, how blessed we are that no matter how much things change for us here on earth, we know that Christ was born, Christ has risen, and Christ will rise again in Glory one day to take us all home.

​
​May God bless you this Christmas.

​
​Christina Pritzlaff is married with two children.  She has completed Early Childhood 1 & 2 classes, Infant Toddler classes, and completed the coursework for her Associates degree in Child Development.  Christina splits her time between spending time with her family and working at New Beginnings.  In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her children, camping, fishing, reading, and doing counted cross-stitch.

​

---