Category: Christmas

Do you find yourself distracted by all the lights and decorations of the modern Christmas season? I know I do. It takes a concerted effort to cut through the barrage of jingling bells and roasting chestnuts to get to the Biblical account of the virgin birth and the incarnation. Our family has had to come up with different ways to make sure that we remember the true reason for the season. 

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is reading through our customized advent calendar. Sixteen years ago, Lydia and I bought an advent calendar with little boxes that are pulled out and turned around to complete a Christmas picture. The picture has nothing to do with the Biblical account, but the verses inside the boxes certainly do. 

Each box has a piece of paper with a verse written on it. The first day is titled “Light – #1” and it has Isaiah 9:2, “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Inside the box there is also a little object that connects with the verse. The first box has a little light bulb from a string of Christmas lights. The kids always enjoy passing around the object as we discuss what the verse means. 

Every day our family reads from the advent calendar it helps us turn our minds to the fascinating details of Jesus’ birth. We read about the Roman census that forced Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1). We talk about the prophecy of Isaiah that predicted the coming of Christ (Isaiah 9:6). We also read passages that point to the reason why Jesus Christ came to earth. One of my favorites is day twenty-three because it describes Jesus as the Good Shepherd who “lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11). We have found it is important to always talk about the cross when we talk about Christmas because if Jesus had not died on the cross and risen from the dead, then there would be no reason to celebrate Christmas.

This year I added a few verses to one of the days. I added Luke 2:8-20 which describes the shepherds seeing the host of angels outside of Bethlehem. After they rushed to the city, they found Joseph and Mary and they told them what they had heard from the angels. Verse eighteen says, “And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds.” I looked up the original Greek word for “marveled” and I discovered that it means “to give careful thought to, consider, ponder.” 

As I think about how our family celebrates Christmas I want to make sure we take the time to marvel at the Christmas story. We need to reflect on the Biblical account so that we understand what took place, but we also need to meditate on it so that we realize how it has impacted our lives. My prayer for our family is that we would take the time to marvel at Christmas and I hope you and your family will do the same. 

Have you ever wondered about the origins of our Christmas tree traditions? It is a fascinating story and one that I hope will encourage you to keep your focus on Christ this holiday season. 

I became interested in Christmas traditions when my wife and I were first married and we had to decide which traditions we would bring into our yuletide celebrations. Someone gave us a copy of Ace Collins’ book Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas and we have been using that as our textbook ever since. 

In his research on Christmas trees, Collins found that the first people to bring trees into their homes were actually Scandinavian people from the modern countries of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The reason behind domesticating wild evergreen trees was that during the Middle Ages the people were deeply superstitious and they thought there was special power in the trees that could stay green during the harshest days of winter. By bringing the trees into their homes, they were able to find “hope and strength” for the long winter months. 

In the seventh century, a monk by the name of St. Boniface, was sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in the region of modern day Germany. Many people living in this area of Europe were also superstitious and they believed there was something special about evergreen trees. St. Boniface was able to use the evergreen tree as an illustration of God to the people in the region. He described how the God who created the evergreen was more powerful than the tree and he used the three points of the tree to point to the reality of the triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

Later during the middle ages, many Catholic Churches would install an evergreen tree in front of the church during December. They were called “paradise trees” and would explain the story of Adam and Eve to children. It wasn’t until 16th century that fir trees became known as Christmas trees. Many people in the small country of Latvia had developed a tradition of putting a small fir tree on a table in their home during the Christmas season. The idea became popularized when it was introduced to European royalty. 

It wasn’t until later in the 16th century that the Christmas tree tradition as we know it became established. I found it fascinating that Martin Luther, the great pastor of the German Reformation, is said to have started the tradition of putting lights on an indoor Christmas tree. He tied candleholders onto the evergreen branches and then lit candles in them. He taught his family that the tree “represented the everlasting love of God.” Unfortunately, many homes were caught on fire because of this dangerous tradition, but the idea of putting lights on a Christmas tree was established. 

The Christmas tree tradition was introduced in America during the revolutionary war, but it didn’t catch on until around the time of the civil war when Americans saw the tradition become popular in England. In 1851, a business man named Mark Carr, realized that people would pay for pre-cut Christmas trees. So he took a huge sled and brought trees to the citizens of New York. People loved having a fresh tree in their home and so the tradition took off. 

Collins’ writes how in the 1880s, “Christmas trees were so popular that many worried the seasonal rush to obtain them would make fir trees extinct.” That is when artificial trees were made to keep up with the demand. 

There is still a strong debate today about whether a family should use an artificial or a real tree. Understanding the history of Christmas trees reminds us that the form of the tree is not what is the most important. It is the symbol behind that tree that matters. For our family, we love to talk about how the tree represents the Triune God and how the lights point toward Jesus Christ, who came to take away the sins of the world. John 8:12 makes it clear that he understood this when he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

My prayer is that we would all take the time to carefully consider the Christmas traditions we keep and make sure that we are keeping the focus on Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.