Journeying Through Advent with Children

Even before the calendar says November, the images and sounds of the commercial Christmas season can be seen and heard on television and in the marketplace. Commercial Christmas has borrowed many of the symbols of Christmas while forgetting the meaning connected to those symbols. How do parents, grandparents, and teachers in the church present Christmas to the next generation amidst the chaos?

First, choose to have a Christmas season instead of just a day. What do you need to change to make a season that encompasses what really matters?

Second, evaluate and reevaluate your usual Christmas mode of operation. Make a "have to" list and "it would be nice to" list.

Third, determine what is important to you and your family. Ask your children "What is your favorite Christmas tradition?" Strive to have opportunities to share teachable moments and establish family traditions. Approaching Christmas as a season remembering Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany as times of preparation, celebration, and manifestation relieves some of the pressure of everything having to happen on one day and also adds meaning.

Advent is a time of preparation. Starting on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, Advent ends at sundown on Christmas Eve. The length of Advent is determined by what day of the week upon which Christmas (December 25) falls. Advent ranges in length from 22-28 days. Counting down the days or acknowledging the Sundays of Advent is a great way to prepare for Christmas Day.

Keep it simple. Check online resources such as Adventexperience.com and adventconspiracy.org. It doesn't have to be complicated or expensive for children to delight in the season. Talk about the symbols of the season, sing the songs, read the stories, and share your memories. Use everything as teachable moments. Sunday School teachers, establish traditions with your students. I am amazed when my students say "last year we did such and such," and it is spoken with the authority of tradition.

I have noticed that when our children are too young to help with decorating, baking, and other preparations, they want to do so, and when they are older and able to help, they don't necessarily have that desire. Ask them anyway. Make it important. The top of the box that held the nativity set at my house said, "Odd years, Emily. Even years, Meghan." Before it was labeled, my two girls argued about whose turn was it to set up the nativity. This has become very significant part of our tradition.

CHRISTMAS is a time of celebration. Christmastide on the liturgical calendar is sundown on Christmas Eve until January 6 (Epiphany). Read the biblical accounts of Jesus' birth. I am beginning to think that saying Christmas is Jesus' birthday diminishes the importance of the event. The birth of the Messiah is more than your average birthday celebration. Think of ways to express the coming of the Messiah to your children with awe and wonder. Stay focused on the real story of Christmas.

In the fall of 2001, after my husband, Bruce's, death in the line of duty on September 11 at the World Trade Center, people asked me, "What are you going to do about Christmas?" This resulted in a puzzled look from me as I responded, "No matter what has happened, Jesus was born, and that is always worth celebrating." Times exist in our lives that it can make it difficult to celebrate, but the truth of Christmas is always worth celebrating.

EPIPHANY is a time of remembering the manifestation of God in Jesus. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Epiphany is "observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ." This holy day is observed on January 6.

The story of the Magi often bears little resemblance to the biblical account as it is shared in children's stories. The wise men didn't arrive on the night of Christ's birth. The biblical account (Matthew 2: 1 -12) states they went to the house and while three gifts are noted in the text, the number of wise men is never revealed. This is a great opportunity to discuss with your children or students the biblical account and how your basic nativity set is a representation of the event.

I recently approached some young people I encounter in my daily life and asked this question "When you think back on the Christmases of your childhood, what is the first thing that comes to mind?" Their responses included:

• "My mum often went to Christmas Eve services with green hands from the food coloring in the family Christmas cookie recipe we'd have prepared before church."
• "We always got a new stuffed animal on Christmas Eve."
• "There was always family, lots of family."
• "We always opened stockings first."
• "Every year my parents videotaped us going down the stairs."

The words "always" and "every" were common. This made me smile. For my own daughters, "always" might actually mean it happened once but to them it seemed like every time. I think that is what we need to remember as we encounter another Christmas season. What do we want the children to always remember about how we prepare for and celebrate the birth of the Christ?

How does the manifestation of God as Jesus change my life everyday?

"Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!" Luke 2:19-20. (TM)

My prayer is that when the Christmas season is finished we, like Mary, can ponder these things and the children can be praising God.

Ann Van Hine's passion is telling the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of our Lord and Savior. She is Kids First coordinator at Warwick Valley Church of the Nazarene in New York. She also volunteers at 9/11 Tribute Center leading tours and speaking to school groups.

Holiness Today, 2013

Please note: This article was originally published in 2013. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.