I don’t generally write here about products or to promote things. But when I find something I really like, whether it’s a book, a website or a lipstick, I like to share what I’ve learned because I always enjoy hearing when someone else has found a great bargain, a trusted product, or something that truly works. We women have probably all bought and tossed blush that was the wrong color, foundation that was too light or dark, and wrinkle cream that didn’t perform as promised. From time to time, you may find me writing here about a product that I’m excited about, a website I enjoy or a bargain that I’m geeked about (because I do so love a good bargain!) I’m not paid to do any of those things. I’m just sharing the information love. Continue Reading
I had some talented guest writers this week. Hopefully you learned a lot and were entertained, as was I. To round out the week it feels only appropriate that I would share what Christmas looks like in my family. Growing up, I was the youngest of four children and I wasn’t close in age to my siblings (my siblings being 6, 10 and 12 years my seniors). But somehow it worked and my parents made sure of it.
Christmas was always a magical time for me growing up, thanks to the thoughtfulness and careful planning of my Mom specifically. Her gift was making people feel like a million bucks, special and treasured. So when a holiday rolled around, it was her time to shine, and she did it magnificently. Continue Reading
I first met Laurie about 15 years ago when she and her husband were youth pastoring at the church we attended. Laurie led the Moms’ Group and my daughter who’s now almost an adult was two years old then. Laurie is a wife, mom, blogger, speaker, singer, friend, missionary, and a beautiful soul who loves the Lord. And she’s funny. This is a great piece and I’m honored that Laurie is writing for us today! You can read Laurie’s blog (Living a Laughable Life and Other Things I’ve Learned) at http://laurieyost.blogspot.com/
Families all over the world are steeped in their Christmas traditions. Year after year we count on things happening the same way and when they don’t it seems to throw off the schedule. There are just some things that shouldn’t be changed. I grew up in a family where Christmas day was always spent at either our house or my grandparents’ house opening gifts and eating ham, mashed potatoes, salads, rolls, etc…. Tons of time was spent getting the meal ready and tons of time was spent cleaning up. For families that enjoy being in the kitchen that much it was fun but for me I wanted to be sitting and watching a football game, or slouched on the couch like my grandfather with my pants unbuttoned just a bit to ease the pain of what we’d just eaten. My lot in life, because of Christmas tradition, was going to be in the kitchen doing dishes and cramming leftovers into mismatched Tupperware. Could this really be what Christmas had to be?
I ended up marrying a preacher. Those of you who spend much time in the church will know that the holiday season is a busy season whether it’s children’s Christmas programs, ladies’ teas, handing out food to the needy, or getting ready for the Christmas Eve service. By the time we get home from the Christmas Eve service we are exhausted. We decided early on in our marriage that Christmas day was going to be spent with just our little family at our house so that we didn’t have to cart the children to every relative for just that one day. We didn’t like the idea of saying, “Here’s a few new toys but just get a glimpse of them quickly because we are leaving in 5 minutes to do the relative runs.” Nope, we decided that Christmas would be our day to sit together and open gifts slowly as a family and enjoy talking about why we gave a certain gift to a certain person, eating cinnamon rolls, drinking coffee and enjoying the gingerbread/Happy Birthday Jesus cake that Zachary would always make.
But then it would always come to the dinner; that loooong exhausting dinner. When you have young children, you’re tired anyway but the thought of cleaning up after a big meal that you’ve taken hours to prepare doesn’t sit well—especially on Christmas day. So we changed tradition. My husband said one year when the kids were young, “Who says that we have to have a traditional Christmas meal? We are tired from all of the ministry of the past weeks and our goal is to truly enjoy this day celebrating Christ’s birth, so let’s get pizza.” “PIZZA!!! Are you serious? On Christmas you want to eat pizza?” “Yes,” he replied and have fancy root beer and throw a sheet on the living room floor and eat it like a picnic.” “Oh my, that seems almost sacrilegious. Can we DO that?” And then he said the words that were music to my ears. “Honey, we can make our own Christmas traditions and this can be one of them. You won’t have to be all day in the kitchen and we all love pizza so why not?”
It was settled. Pizza was going to be our new Christmas tradition. The day before we order from the best pizzeria in town a few half-baked pizzas. (and yes, we always have to tell them 2 or 3 times that we want them just half-baked). On Christmas day we stick them in the oven and cook them the rest of the way. We buy our fancy root beer and spread a sheet over the carpet and have our Christmas meal. The first year we did it the kids were just small and they loved it. We were having a picnic for Christmas!! Now that two of the kids are in college and one just starting high school they know that when we celebrate Christmas day together it will be with our tradition: the pizza pie. I think at this point if I dared bake a ham that I would be looked at as a traitor. So this Christmas, pizza it is. I’m happy to say that I can’t wait for the clean up.
I’m always interested in how others live–how they operate in their daily lives, how they celebrate. Today I’ve been blessed by this piece written by my guest blogger from over at http://annaangela.com/ Pay special attention to the contrast between the observance of Christmas and treatment of elders in the Philippines compared to what we sometimes experience in the U.S. Take a few moments to watch the special video she created…
The streets were dark and so were most of the houses. There were no street lamps to guide the way for the rag-tag group of carolers. There were no strings of twinkling lights to beacon us to the more welcoming houses. So onward we went, house to house, ringing one doorbell after another. I stood in the darkness with my neighbors and friends, singing my heart out, one Christmas carol after another, hoping for a kind soul to give us some money. The ones who usually did had one thing in common. They had a parol.
The parol (or paról) is a Filipino Christmas lantern made of capiz shells. It is star-shaped, colorful, and bright. Most of them can be plugged into an electrical socket, and the twinkling lights dance and shine. The parol symbolizes the star that led the wise men to baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
I don’t know if there’s a correlation between generosity and Christmas displays, but I remember looking forward to the houses with a parol hanging above their front door. Those houses opened their doors. Those houses listened to the carols. Those houses gave a bunch of kids singing off-key warm smiles, holiday greetings, and a couple of bills.
We had a parol. I loved sitting on the porch and staring at the lights bursting in intricate patterns. When my family immigrated to California, we didn’t bring our parol. It was too big and delicate to travel with our belongings. That wasn’t the only tradition that changed.
Christmas in the Philippines brought neighbors together. We drifted in and out of each other’s front doors. Children visited the elderly to give them a “mano po.” It is a sign of respect where you bring the back of an older person’s hand to your forehead and say, “Mano po,” translated to, “Your hand please.” It is also a gesture of receiving the blessings of the elders, and around Christmas, the elders also gave the blessing of money.
As a historically Catholic country, most people went to mass on Christmas Eve, and then back home to eat a feast, first as a family and then as a community. Neighbors traded dishes, and then someone would pass around the firecrackers and Roman candles.
Firecrackers are mostly illegal in California, and rag-tag caroling is intrusive. There is no open door tradition and neighbors barely know each other. There is more formality about Christmas: party invites, plate settings, and perfectly decorated trees and houses. Also, though a historically Christian country, most people forget what Christmas is really about.
We could all use a parol, bright lights that point to Jesus.
A few years ago, my parents went to the Philippines for a vacation and returned with a parol. I love staring at it. It gives me the warm feelings of Christmas that children get so excited about. It reminds me of family, togetherness, and the Love that sent Jesus here on Earth. That made me realize that a parol is really only a decoration if we don’t know what it means.
Christmas in California doesn’t have that homely, organic, and grounded feel of community, at least not in my community. And it’s true that most of us move at lightning speed with so much to do in so little time. Yet there are many bright lights here that point to Jesus.
Of all the traditions that have changed since I’ve moved to America, I love that the best. I’ve become part of a body of believers that may not know the neighbors on our street, but we do our best to help our neighbors in need.
We have carolers who come together every year to raise funds for missions. Our Children’s Ministry send shoeboxes to Operation Christmas Child every year. We have a ministry that brings the church to the elderly in homes and assisted living because they can’t come to the church.
And there are many other ministries and organizations that do the same and more. I’ve noticed that about America. We can be very good at getting together to help our neighbors, whoever and wherever they are.
What I love about having lived in two different countries is integrating cultures together. I love the apple pie sitting next to the pancit. The parol shining next to twinkling lights. Exchanging dishes with the one neighbor we know best, and helping neighbors around the world through missions and ministries. Giving and receiving blessings not just to and from elders, but to and from everyone, whether in gifts, in wisdom, or in acts of kindness.
The spirit of Christmas, the Love that sent Jesus, crosses cultures and boundaries. This Christmas, let us all become parols. To neighbors on our street or to neighbors we’ll never meet, let us become the bright lights that point other people to Jesus.
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