New tradition

Our Christmas was wonderful, and I'll post pics of it later. However, I wanted to share a new, very special tradition that we started this year. I saw it on a friend's FB post, and at the last minute we decided to implement it.

Christmas evening after everyone has enjoyed the day of giving and receiving, we turned out ALL the lights, lit a few candles and ate dinner over candlelight. We ate food that may have been eaten in Christ's time (flat bread, cheese, grapes, olives, etc). We discussed the Nativity and the sacredness of the day. We discussed the rejoicing in heaven the shepherds heard, and how we were among those rejoicing. We discussed the gifts of the Wise Men, along with their symbolic and practical meanings (from a New Era article in the Dec. 2011 issue). I explained the birth of my own kids and how special they were, and how even more special was the birth of our Savior. I also discussed how scary it must have been for this young girl to be away from home and be delivered by a man who was not a physician. I told them how excited I was to tell everyone they were born, and how Mary must have been so excited to show off her son to the shepherds. We discussed the star and the significance of the Wise Men watching for and following it. Etc.

The kids loved it! I was so glad, and I hope the distinctness of it makes it especially memorable for the kids. I was going to buy nice square wooden plates to use, but it was too last-minute and pricey. (I still plan to, but I'll have to save up. :)

We're going to do the same thing at Easter and discuss the Resurrection. I'm already looking forward to it! I love implementing new traditions that will help my kids feel the true spirit of the holidays and feel this one is an awesome one to start. (By the way, Becca is annoyed that we're starting all the "good" traditions as she's getting ready to move out ... We'll continue to do our best at it. ;)