I’ve been thinking, “Is it really Christmas when the family is not present?”

This was the first Christmas where our kids weren’t at home on Christmas morning. 

We have probably had a longer run at Christmas time than many families. But still, it seemed a little off not waking up to a house filled with our children.

And it’s not like there are little ones running around. Our kids are grown and live in other cities.

But still, part of me thinks that at Christmas you revert back to the days when you were all together all the time … maybe because it was tradition, and traditions are hard to let go of. 

There’s nothing wrong with making new traditions, and we have done that over the years.

When we lived in Edmonton, we would have a Christmas Eve meal at the revolving restaurant atop the Chateau LaCombe hotel. When we moved to Kingston we realized they didn’t have a revolving restaurant. For that matter, Kingston and all its restaurants close at about 6 pm on Christmas Eve.  

We needed a new tradition.

We started having a family fondue after the Christmas Eve service. That became our new tradition. It was an easy switch; the family was still all together.

This year things were much different.

There was no one getting up early. There was no dragging anyone out of bed to open Christmas stockings.

On the other hand, there was no “wife saver” brunch thingy that Lily used to pre-make that we never really appreciated.

But this year Lily and I were not really excited to restart an old tradition of doing Christmas with just the two of us. Those first four Christmases were many years ago. 

Back then they may have been special, just the two of us, but we’re not sure we are ready to go back to that. So we decided to stop time for one day. 

Our kids arrived later and much later on Christmas Day. So we had our Christmas on Boxing Day. That’s the new Christmas for us … well, at least for this year.

John Lennon sang the words, “So this is Christmas.” … Yes it is. It’s not what it was, not what it should be, but this is what it is.

The day after we got up, opened stocking and presents and later had Lily’s side of the family over for a meal. 

It’s like Christmas Day came one day late. 

In all that shifting and adapting, I realized that really to me Christmas is all about family. Family has replaced the central focus of the day.

There is nothing wrong with family, but this day – Christmas Day – is about the birth of Jesus. 

The idea of any birthday is to focus on the one who is celebrating his or her birthdate. I’ve come to realize that I’ve replaced that focus with my family. 

I need to rethink Christmas from the ground up. 

Here’s the thing: We celebrate Christmas because it marks the time God sent his Son, Jesus, to us. The reason we celebrate the birth of someone who is not part of our family is because of what He did. Jesus grew up and died on a cross to pay for our sins. Then He rose from the grave and offers us forgiveness for our sins and a relationship with God. Just as we have a connection with our family members, we can all have a connection with what Christ did for us. We just need to take Him up on His offer and put our faith in Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What Christmas tradition do you need to rethink or make next year? Leave your questions and comments below.

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