Tradition!

This week on the American Christian Fiction E-loop, writers are talking about their Christmas traditions and where they originated. This idea has prompted me to blog about some of my own Christmas traditions; old and new.

Each year at Christmastime my family participates in a variety of conventional and even a few unconventional celebrations. Our first Christmas tradition we’ll call Chinese Light Night! This is the night, usually a Friday or Saturday night just before Christmas when our family eats Chinese food (the restaurant must have dumplings) and then travels around town to one or more of the beautifully decorated neighborhoods around Houston. This is followed by Starbucks! Why Chinese food? It’s in honor of what the family had to eat in the movie, A Christmas Story after the Bumpus Hounds ate their Christmas turkey. I know, it’s silly, but it’s meaningful to us. Oh, as an added bonus, this year we all wore our footie pajamas in the car…and in Starbucks.

Our second Christmas tradition (in the past) has always been a silent communion service the Sunday evening before Christmas Day. This was a beautiful celebration of the partaking of the body and blood of Christ performed in complete silence. This year was different. Not in a bad way, just different. The service took place on Christmas Eve, officiated by our new minister. He preached on “God’s Indescribable Gift.” The sermon was followed by the second-most interesting communion service I’ve ever attended. The customary cup of juice and cracker was replaced with a self-serve, disposable juice and wafer cups. These were amazing, but difficult to open. Note: When casually asking ex-military named Bubba for help opening something, be prepared to have a knife pulled on you…in church! I would elaborate on my first, most interesting communion, but that would require another blog entry.

Our third and newest Christmas tradition was our celebration of Advent for the first time. This beautiful time of preparation of the Second Coming of Christ was a wonderful way to begin the Christmas season.

Of course we have many more traditions, but just like Christmas, this blog must come to an end. Until next year, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!