Saturday, December 26, 2009

the day after ponderings


to me the transition between Christmas time and normal life is always a bit dismal. the thought of taking down the tree and boxing up the nativity is something i do not look forward to. no more nights hanging out in the dim light of the tree. and without that, Christmas music seems a little out of place.

we had a great Christmas. i read gage a child friendly version of the nativity story before bed. and for the first year we left a plate out for Santa. gage hasn't been old enough to really get into that before. he also told me for the first time ever that he needed to go to bed. but that he also wanted "to see Santa flying out there."

i think there is always the question of whether or not Santa should be a part of the Christmas traditions. i get that. it seems ever more difficult to uphold the true reason for the Christmas celebration. and if by eliminating the guy in the red suit, your children catch hold to the story of Jesus' birth and cherish it, then without doubt there is nothing lost in that.

my parents did such an excellent job of teaching us of Christ. not just at Christmas time, but all year through. the majority of our Christmas traditions centered around our Savior's birth. we had fun though with Old Saint Nick. leaving letters and cookies and teasing certain family members that he would fill their stockings with coal.

Christmas in our home was always fun, and always spiritual. can you really mix the two? i think so. and anyways, i kind of always felt that the jolly old man sort of embodied the spirit of Christ and Christmas. giving is what Christmas is about. our Savior Jesus Christ was the first gift. the best gift. our gifts to each other during the Christmas season are just a tiny speck of the love that has been shown to mankind by a gracious Heavenly Father through the gift of his son.

i do love Christmas. i am sad that it's over. at least all the fancy part of it. the songs, the decorations, the gatherings. i am happy though that the truest, purest and most simple part of Christmas is with me every day of my life.

3 comments:

Aunt Tiff said...

Thank you Ashley!!

Mary said...

I agree that Santa can represent the spirit of giving, especially if we remind our children about the relationship between our Christmas gifts and the Greatest Gift. I'm going to miss Christmas, too. But we still have the family party to look forward to on the 2nd!

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