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Christmas Traditions
"For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2: 11).
Dear Brothers and Sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Tradition is not a popular word these days, and yet, all of us have certain "traditions" that we hold sacred, especially at Christmas. It is Christmas that we celebrate, at least that is the traditional term for the time between December 25th and January 6th, even if the world around us seeks to force the term "holidays" on us so as not to offend anyone. Most families have certain traditions that they follow either consciously or unconsciously as they prepare to celebrate the time of Christmas.
For example, you probably have a tradition with regard to picking out a tree or trimming it in a certain way. Maybe you have a tradition of Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma's, or a traditional time that you go to church and then open presents. When you think about it, maybe the term "tradition" is not so unpopular after all. What are your Christmas traditions?
Both of us ended up discussing our family Christmas traditions the other day. As pastors, our families have had to adjust certain traditions given our appointed tasks at this time of year. As we were talking, Pastor Loughran brought up a very interesting tradition of his father's family that began during the depression when they lived in Brooklyn, New York.
John, Tess, and little John (pastor's father) Loughran, inspired by God's gift of His Son Jesus at Christmas, had a tradition of picking one present from under the tree that would be given to the children who lived in an orphanage down the street. The way their tradition worked was that the present was selected, opened and then returned to the store for a refund or exchange so that suitable children's presents were then purchased. Since this was at the height of the great depression, many of the children who lived at the orphanage did not otherwise receive presents. Interestingly, despite the poverty of the time, pastor's dad would always remember this family tradition fondly, especially when he recalled the year that his mother picked what ended up being her long desired pearl necklace as the give-away gift. Despite the value of the gift, they still followed through on exchanging this gift for something to give to the chil
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