Celebrate: To Observe a Notable Occasion with Festivities

“They will celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”

(Psalm 145:7 NIV)

Come with
Eternal Hallelujahs!
Lauding
El-Shaddai!
Bring loud
Rejoicing
And
Tambourine!
Enter in!

One way to welcome Christmas is to celebrate. As the years go by, and as our family has grown up, our celebrations have transformed. As a young wife and mother, I wanted traditions to observe that would be just ours. Advent piqued my interest as it was a new tradition for me.

I remember making my first Advent wreath out of greenery, votive candles arranged in a wreath form and a single candlestick for the white Christ candle. My husband and I lit the candles each Sunday and read from Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration. Later when the boys were big enough they would fight over who got to blow out the candles. We did the crafts and activities that went along with the readings.

A couple years ago, each one of us took a Sunday sharing a Scripture and devotional thought. The last year or two it has been harder to gather together. And just when I think that some traditions have been outgrown, I find out that my twenty-one year old son still wants a chocolate Advent calendar to count the days until Christmas.

In a moment of feeling “better” from my cold, I ran around town this afternoon to find him one. But they were sold out. Not to be discouraged, I came up with an alternative. I found chocolate foil wrapped ornaments. I decided to pull out our little tabletop tree and decorated it with the candy. I had another little tree, which I decorated for our twenty-three old, so he won’t feel left out.

I have a sweet little arrangement on the buffet. It’s starting to feel a little more like Christmas around here. I also dusted off the Christmas music, which is playing in the background even now. It’s time to celebrate! Let the festivities begin!