True Meaning of Christmas

Okay, so we were suppose to start back to school today after the Thanksgiving Holidays...but we are at my moms...so we will start tomorrow. This month begins a new unit for us. "Christmas." We will be studying the different customs around the world, what each symbol is all about and how it came to be used as a Christmas decoration, focus on giving is better than receiving and make some homemade gifts for others. But most importantly we will study the true story of Christmas. Each day will revolve around the coming and arrival of Jesus...I think we will do a Jesse Tree-this will be our family's first time.

As much as I LOVE the Christmas season...I am disgusted with how commercial and totally unrelated to the "birth of Christ" it has become. One of the most interesting things that I have learned in my research for teaching James is that the first Americans, for instance- the Pilgrims, did not really do anything to celebrate Christmas at all. They looked down upon all the festivities and decorating, etc. They actually ran out one new family that had recently arrived from Europe for decorating and celebrating...they called them the "Christmas family" in a derogatory way. That is so strange. Of course, as time went on, more and more families moved here and brought with them their celebrations from Europe...and it all led to what we know today. Well, this got me to thinking...maybe the early Americans were right in some ways. Maybe they knew what would happen as time went on. Maybe they saw how anything other than reading the gospel truth would take away from Christ's glory. I don't know, just something to consider....

I love celebrating the season...the lights, the songs, the decor...but now more than ever, I must remember that all this celebrating is for the newborn Christ Child who came to save us!

So...here is a cute clip to remind us all of what the true meaning of Christmas is all about.