I appreciate the wonderful comments on yesterday’s post. It is always fun to hear what you all think. I agree very much with Heather’s comment. Christmas trees are a wonderful symbol of Christmas and of the Light of the world. My attitude isn’t about the meaning of any of those things I don’t want to do. They all have beautiful symbolic meanings. My attitude stems simply from an acknowledgement that there is only a certain amount of time and I’ve become so much more aware of how little time there is. In order to simplify, my desire is to cut things back to the few symbols that mean the very most to me.
What I didn’t say yesterday that also impacts this decision is that a few days before Christmas I am going to be having surgery and will be in the hospital for a day. (It’s nothing serious. Just repairing things that having ten children damaged!) And anything that I put up now, will need to be taken down later.
But even if I don’t put up a tree, I’ve had one so many times before that all I need to do is close my eyes and imagine and it will be there (without any of the time or effort that a real one takes!).
But all this musing has made me wonder what your favorite parts of Christmas are? Please leave a comment for all of us to share telling us what you like most about Christmas and why. For me, your comments will be better than any decoratiosn I can put up.
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7 comments:
The loving feeling of this time of year for Christ, for my neighbors for my children etc. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
sigh... I understand. People like Heather should not be so bossy. :) I went to bed last night wondering if I sounded rude. I hope not. I love reading your blog. And I love your perspective. Even your post yesterday reminded me to take time to teach my little ones the most important part of Christmas - CHRIST. I hope your surgery goes well.
My favorite parts of Christmas... the traditions... the tender feelings when focusing on Christ... the lights...the sparkle in my children's eyes about all the miracles and magic of BELIEVING... having time with family. (and I should add... the traditions of food. we love to have Scandinavian Fruit Soup and orange rolls this time of year. These traditions remind me of grandparents and family memories when I was a child. Love that!)
Take care! and Happy Christmas!
My family focuses on service during December, and I enjoy spending time dreaming up people to serve and ways to serve them. I shoveled my neighbor's driveway the other day. It felt GREAT...and I realized that this is the feeling I enjoy most about the Christmas season.
I've scaled down our Christmas decorations to only what will not make things feel cluttered in our house. My kids and I really love the garland around our banister with white lights on it. We love to sit in the living room with the lights off and enjoy the white lights and decorations on our Christmas tree. We have several olive wood ornaments and an olive wood Nativity from the Holy Land that are special for us. We also read from a Christmas story and the scriptures, as well as singing a Christmas song each night in December. The only thing I have left to put up is our large Nativity scene that goes in a nook in our family room. Sometimes I leave that up all year around. And as I was looking at the pictures of Jesus that are hanging on my wall, I was thankful again for a season that is all about REMEMBERING Him and all that His birth brought into the world. Merry Christmas to you and best wishes for a speedy recovery from your surgery. :)
To me, my favorite parts of Christmas are being with family -- laughing, playing games, singing songs, baking treats, visiting old and new friends... anything and everything that focuses on strengthening the relationships I have with the ones I love :)
WE will be there after Christmas, so I can help you put away the decorations! My favorite part of Christmas, is giving, and remembering what Christ gave us.
What I love about Christmas is the love it generates in so many different ways. From dear and precious family to total strangers, the love and kindness that is demonstrated is what I think is truly Christlike love. I wish it continued the whole year, but the fact that we can as a culture do it anytime shows we have a real ability to love and care for others. I also love your sweet Talena and her sincere desire to make sure you have some of the special trappings of Christmas. I'm sure it will help your recovery to be able to look at your favorite things and bring back wonderful memories. I hope your surgery goes quickly and your recovery isn't too long, but most of all, I hope you have a beautiful holiday as we celebrate the birth of the Savior, and reflect on what that all means in our own lives.
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