The
Christmas season has arrived, and I find myself thinking about my most
cherished memories from every Christmas prior. As a mom, I find it important to
pass along as many of these treasured traditions to my children as possible.
As I was
thinking about this, I was wondering if I had successfully passed down these
traditions to my children. I decided to ask all of them a couple of questions
to see if I had, in fact, done so.
But…before
doing so, I asked myself, “What is most important to me at Christmas? What are
my most cherished memories at Christmastime?” I then purposely texted my
daughter, instead of calling her, to allow her a moment of unhindered thought
before answering my questions since, in her mind, it was going to be out of the
blue, “What do you think are the most important aspects of Christmas for dad
and myself? What are your most cherished memories of Christmas as a child?”
Later
that evening, I also asked my boys these same two questions as we were eating
dinner. I think in hindsight, I would have asked the boys while each of them
were alone – only because I think they purposely gave us differing answers from
each other and I’d like to see if any of them came up with the same answers.
Where are
our priorities for the days and weeks leading up to the Nativity of Christ? Do
we get caught up in the decorations, gifts, and activities of this time of
year, or do we focus on the birth of our Savior? Are we telling our children
one thing, Christ is most important during Christmas, but really saying
something entirely different with our actions?
The
traditions we pass down to our children will stay with them for a lifetime. It
presents a sense of staying connected with family who have passed away. It’s a
way of keeping alive our cherished memories as we also teach our children about
their faith and heritage.
Growing
up, my parents primarily taught us through their actions. One of the traditions
my parents did at Christmas was to attend Liturgy before opening any presents.
In this, they taught us that the focus was on Christ, not on the gifts under
our tree.
They also
taught us that emulating Saint Nicholas’ giving was far more important than
receiving nice gifts for ourselves. My brother has memories of taking a
Christmas meal and gifts to a family with zero food in their home. I have fond
memories of going to the grocery store and picking out food for a family I
often babysat for who had lost their baby a few days after a full-term birth.
These actions have a way of softening your heart and filling you with a desire
to continue helping others into your adult life.
When we
think about where we place our priorities at Christmas, did we find that our
children showed us that we place them somewhere other than on Christ, or did we
successfully lead by example? Have we taught our children to blindly give a
small donation or gift to an abstract “poor person” each year, or are we
letting them see for themselves the beaming faces of those we helped?
Let us
continue on our journey to the feast day of the Nativity of Christ by leading
our children through example. Let our children learn through our actions where
the emphasis should be placed during this Christmas season, instead of from the
commercials on TV and the displays at the stores.
By Jennifer Hock
Source: http://myocn.net/children-reveal-true-priorities-christmas/
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