Meaning of Chrismas

The Christmas season can be a wonderful time of family togetherness and goodwill, but the spirit of Christmas often gets lost in the rush to buy gifts and go to parties. You can easily teach your children about the true meaning of the holiday, though, by discussing the holiday's origins and planning appropriate activities.

Things You'll Need
Craft Supplies
Christmas Stories

Steps

1Step One
Discuss the origins of the holiday. What you tell your children will vary depending on your own religious background and spiritual attitude.

2 Step Two
Look for an age-appropriate book about the Christmas story, or ask your clergyman or clergywoman for some suggestions.

3 Step Three
Take your family to church or Sunday school, or whatever form of worship fits your personal belief system. Many churches lead up to Christmas with sermons and lessons on the meaning of the holiday, and often provide a range of family social activities that keep with the true spirit of Christmas.

4 Step Four
Try to "de-hype" and simplify Christmas. Meet with your family members, and ask them to help find ways to accomplish this goal, while still having a Christmas that will be fun for everyone. There may be compromises involved, especially at first.

5 Step Five
Encourage your children to look beyond their own Christmas desires. Ask them to choose a toy to donate to a children's charity, or have them help you choose groceries and deliver them to the local food bank.

6 Step Six
set firm Christmas spending limits for the whole family to follow. This will help your children save their money, and remind them that the true value of a gift doesn't depend on the cost.

7 Step Seven
Help your children make gifts and cards for family and friends rather than buying them. This reinforces what you've taught them about positive, responsible gift-giving.
8Step EightDe-emphasize television. Christmas programming often has little to do with the true spirit of Christmas so be selective about the shows your family watches, and try to mute or turn off the commercials.

9 Step Nine
Emphasize family, tradition and togetherness. Whether or not your family is particularly religious, you can create many beautiful, spiritual Christmas traditions together, and give your children lots of happy memories of the holiday season.

Tips & Warnings
Borrow or buy a book that describes Christmas traditions in different countries and cultures, and ask your children to choose a few customs or recipes that they would like to try. This will help your children understand that Christmas can be celebrated in many different ways, and that no single way is the best.

Nativity scenes ' either store-bought or homemade ' are a great reminder of the origins of Christmas, and children love setting them up and talking about them
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If you are trying to simplify Christmas, don't just go "cold turkey!" Try to work the true meaning of Christmas into your family's lives one step at a time so your children don't suddenly feel deprived or let down.

Remind your children that the true spirit of Christmas is something that doesn't go away at the end of December ' your family can spread joy, peace, love and charity throughout the year
http://www.ehow.com/how_5888_teach-children-meaning.html


What does Christmas mean? Presents, right? Tables heaped with food, crackling fireplaces, hot cocoa and 1/3 of the living room rearranged for a decorated tree? Lots of traffic to and from the mall, the Salvation Army ringing their bells on every street corner, and half a year spent paying credit card bills? This, unfortunately, is what Christmas has come to mean for many of us, today.

But, Christmas has a much longer and richer history than the meaning that has developed over the past 50 years. We'd like to take you back, and remind you of the real meaning of Christmas. The word, "Christmas" is a shortening of the Christ's Mass, the celebration of Christ's Birthday. Most people already know this (even if we do tend to forget it in the holiday rush), but why is December 25 the chosen date?

Was Jesus really born on December 25? Most theologians and historians would say not. Their take is that He was born in the Spring. The early Church had many different dates for the celebration of Christmas, the latest being January 6. So, why was December 25 chosen? Nobody knows, but there are some pretty good theories.

In ancient Rome, year-end celebrations were given to Saturn and Mithras, their pagan gods of the harvest and light, respectively). These celebrations involved a lot of noise, wine, and food, and they could rival the most exciting college dorm party out there! There was also the Yule, celebrated in northern Europe at the same time, also dedicated to the harvest, also being quite the popular party.

During the rise and expansion of Christendom, the Church realized the futility of disallowing one of the most anticipated celebrations of the people they hoped to convert. There was nothing, however, to stop them from adding another celebration that might distract some of the revelers from their pagan parties. So, Telesphorus, the second Bishop of Rome (125-136 AD) declared that public Church services should be held to celebrate "The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour." In 320 AD, Pope Julius I and other religious leaders specified 25 December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The result of this realization and distraction was that, gradually, Christian ideas seeped into the pagan celebrations, and some of the pagan ideas seeped into the Christian. From this melting pot of celebrations and ideas came the Christmas traditions we currently have, throwing the biggest party of the year in honor of the most important event, which, in Christianity, is the Christ's Mass.

Hopefully, you have learned something new from this page on why we have the traditions we do. We also hope that you don't let the traditions overshadow the real reason we celebrate this holiday (note: "holiday" is another shortening, from Holy Day). While you are enjoying your paid day off from work, spending time with friends and family, and getting frustrated on your way to the mall, please, take an extra moment and devote some time to our most bountiful God for the greatest gift of all: His only Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
http://www.johnsonstreefarms.com/xmasmeaning.htm



DEVOTION
The Real Meaning Of Christmas
By Martha Noebel

CBN.com - It's that time of year again. December has come and with it all the joys of Christmas. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the gifts under the tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, turkey dinners with family and friends, snow in the yard, stockings hanging in the living room, and shouts of "Merry Christmas" to those who pass us in the streets? Is this really Christmas?

For many people, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don't have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family, and friends. Many are saddened at Christmastime when they think of their loved ones who will not be able to come home for various reasons. Turkey dinners may be only a wish and not a reality for some.

Yet, Christmas can be a season of great joy. It is a time of God showing His great love for us. It can be a time of healing and renewed strength. You see, Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew this was no ordinary baby. The prophets had told of His coming hundreds of years before. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special child.

Luke 2: 4-19 says:
"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Why did He come? Why did God send His son to this sometimes cruel and hard world? He sent Jesus to us so that one day, He would grow up to become a very important part of history. His story (history) is one of truth, love, and hope. It brought salvation to all of us. Without Jesus, we would all die in our sins.

Jesus was born so one day the price could be paid for the things we have done that are wrong. The Bible says that all have sinned. We are all born with a sin nature. We do things that do not please God. Through the sins of Adam and Eve, we have all inherited that sin nature. We need to have that removed. The only way is through Jesus. Jesus came so He could die on the cross for ALL of our sins. If we believe that Jesus died for our sins, we can ask Him to come into our hearts and forgive us. Then, we are clean and made whole. We can know that heaven is a place where we can go to when this life is over.
"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong." I John 1:9

We can truly be happy at Christmas! No matter what may be happening, we can know that we are His children. We then become sons and daughters of God. Heaven will be our home one day.

Look at Christmas in a new way this year. This is the year to invite Jesus into your heart. You will then have a "Merry Christmas." The joy and peace you will receive will last all year as you look to God for all your needs to be met.

Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! Rejoice
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