Christmas morning is always met with great anticipation.
Once everyone wakes up.....
We were woken up by a call from Kirky and Jilli
then rolled back over and went back to sleep.
Hurricane and Underfoot slept in until about 7:45.
Before leaving the bedroom, we have family scriptures
to discuss why we are celebrating Christmas in the first place.
Then 3 Kings made their
appearance to the Hallelujah Chorus.
Handel's Messiah has been part of Christmas since growing up.
The 3 Kings aren't Santa.
When we began our family,
we discussed if Santa would come to our home.
He doesn't.
Since Sweetheart served a mission in Spain, we opted for the 3 Kings.
They brought the gifts to Jesus.
And since we are celebrating the birth of Jesus,
they are a part of our celebration.
They come on Christmas Day
and not on Three Kings Day (Day of Epiphany on January 6.)
It works for us.
The Kings bring 3 presents:
a gift of wonder, a gift of meaning, and a gift of usefulness.
Each gift has a purpose.
Heather L. shared with me a document that her sister-in-law prepared.
We have taken from that and adapted it to our own Christmas.
"Gift of Wonder"
(wrapped in gold-color wrapping)
This
gift is a gift that would tickle and delight- A wanted toy, a fun new outfit for a
teenage daughter, sports equipment…
A Gift of Wonder is wrapped in Fun!
Gold - The metal of Kings and symbol of a Celestial world
because of it's refined purity.
Gold for the King of Kings
“Gift of Meaning”
(Wrapped in red/burgundy-color wrapping)
The gift has meaning and expresses great affection. - A beautiful
book, a quilt, a special doll, an heirloom, childhood mementos, a planned
outing with a family member (ie theatre tickets), an adventure to create a memory, framed pictures/photographs, letters from the heart…
A Gift of Meaning wrapped from the Heart!
Frankincense is used in making incense burned on the temple altar
and is a symbol of prayers arising connecting God and man.
Frankincense for the Mediator between God and man
“Gift of Usefulness”
(Wrapped in green-color wrapping)
The gift is to look
at your loved ones needs and choose a gift that would be truly useful
or needful—A new jacket/coat, skill development, hobby supplies, bedding, food storage
items, items for 72 hour kits… Use this gift for something practical yet
worthwhile.
A Gift of Usefulness Wrapped for Enjoying!
Myrrh is an aromatic gum to make incense,
perfume and ointment for embalming.
Myrrh for the body that would be buried for us
******
When we are in public, people will ask if Santa is coming.
The boys respond that he doesn't come to our house.
The shocked or confused reactions are interesting
when the boys say no.
Then people's faces soften and listen to the boys response.
The boys explain that the 3 Kings come
because they bring 3 presents instead of 1.
******
Our Christmas celebration was wonderful!
Underfoot
asked and asked to go shopping with is OWN money. On Monday before
Christmas, he FINALLY got to go shopping for his brother. He was
thrilled with the
chance to buy gifts for family members. He wanted to be very generous
and was. He tried to find the perfect gift for Hurricane. It was his
first
experience in buying with his own money.
1 comment:
That is wonderful, thanks for sharing!
Post a Comment