Ahhh, Christmas. It is the most wonderful time of the year. Until this year, I have considered Thanksgiving to be my favorite holiday. I love the thought and concept of celebrating and sharing thanks and reasons to be thankful. Now, I am not sure I can choose between Christmas and Thanksgiving. I guess that is why many people refer to the Holidays as their favorite time of year. This year has changed my view on the Christmas season and it is now at the top of my list.
My favorite part of Christmas has always been the overall meaning behind it. Sure, I like the gifts and more than that I love giving gifts, but I have always found the most signifcance in the fact that God gave us his most important gift, Jesus, at Christmas. What ressonates with me is that anyone, no matter your station in life, can receive this gift and the reward is eternal. What a great thought. To this day, I still get chills of joy and amazement when my father reads the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve. I have always loved it and this a tradition we have started with our son.
We have been teaching The Boy the true reason behind Christmas much more this year. We are talking more about the story of Jesus' birth and why he was born. It is phenomenal that even at the tender age of 2 that he gets it, mostly. While adults can understand the harder concepts of sin and salvation better than a child, The Boy still knows that Jesus loves him, that Jesus is God's Son and that Jesus lives in our hearts.
On top of the reason behind Christmas, The Boy is just much more into every aspect this year. He understands what month we are in, he loves the decorations and he isn't as afraid of Santa Claus as much as he was last year. We put up our Christmas decorations this past weekend and The Boy was so excited he could hardly stand it. The Husband would say the same was true for me as I made him get the tree out on Friday night after dinner...there was no way I was waiting until Saturday morning. With shared enthusiasm, The Boy and I decorated and played and sang carols. He kept asking if he could turn the lights off...we were showered with the repetitive question of "is it time to turn of the lights yet?" He got excited to see the ornaments with his name on them and he eventually stood in awe of our little tree when the lights were finally turned off and the tree was turned on.
How can you not get excited when your child says, "I am so happy, it is Christmas time now. Let's sing jingle bells." Tis the season, enjoy it for all it means and for all the joy it brings you!
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