Adventures in Parenting

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Winter Wonderland

Jingle Bells

White Christmas

Those are some of the most requested Christmas carols of this season and they certainly bring a joyous Christmas spirit.

Yet, there is something missing in those titles…

What happened to the traditional carols such as Oh Come, All Ye Faithful and Joy to the World?

Have we left out something in our Christmas? Have we taken all the “religious meaning” out of Christmas?

Even if you are not a Christian, I think it is important to teach our children that Christmas has to do with the birth of Jesus. It would bring a sense of history, heritage and balance to the celebration. A good way to do that is to simply read Luke chapter 2 in the Bible. If you don’t have a Bible, simply go to www.crosswalk.com, type in “Luke 2” in the Bible search box.

If you are a Christian, you would definitely want to make it a focal point of your celebrations. Many Christian families do the Santa and stockings thing. I don’t have a problem with that unless it overshadows the emphasis on Jesus.

Here are just 3 simple ideas for remembering Jesus at Christmas:

1. Read Luke chapter 2 every day to count down Christmas. Doesn’t it get old after the 2nd day, you ask? What we do is we begin to leave out words and see if the kids know what to fill in. By day 20th, you’ve got practically the whole chapter memorized! Even preschoolers can do that. You can make it a game. As you read it each day, talk about one aspect of it. You’ll be surprised at how much you didn’t know about the Christmas story.

2. Have a non-breakable nativity scene that your children can play with. If you have one of those beautiful porcelain sets, make sure you put it up somewhere high away from little hands. I have a wooden set on the table that we can play with. You can talk about Jesus together as you play with those figures.

3. Download some Christmas hymns that may not get much airtime on the radio and use it as background music at home. Our kids may not understand the great theology expressed in those songs, but those are great hymns of the Church can be appreciated at any level.

Here are a few examples:

Away in a Manger
Oh Come, All Ye Faithful
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Angels We Have Heard on High
Joy to the World
We Three Kings of Orient Are
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
O Holy Night

What other ideas do you have?