For today’s Marriage Monday, I wondered what if any family traditions you celebrate during the holidays. In Disciplines of a Godly Family, Kent and Barbara Hughes emphasize how “family traditions can resonate with the festival spirit in commemorating God’s goodness.” They tell of their tradition during Advent:
Early on, we began the tradition of lighting the candles of Advent, a ritual that emphasizes self-examination in preparation for the two comings of Christ, first in the Incarnation and second in final judgment. The highlight of our children’s days was the progression of nightly Scripture readings and the relighting of each candle.
We coupled this Advent tradition with a Jesse Tree — a barren branch symbolizing that Christ came from the root of Jesse (i.e., in the Davidic line) and that he grew up like a tender shoot from dry ground (Isa. 53:2). Each evening one of the children had the privilege of placing on the tree a construction paper ornament reminding us of a prophecy about Christ while the appropriate Scripture was read. It would be misleading to give the idea that we did this every evening without fail and that the children were always angelic acolytes. We recall a few fights about whose turn it was and tears when little fingers got too close to the flame. But imperfect as we were, these traditions wonderfully enhanced our children’s Christmas focus. And we cherish the memory of their beautiful, candlelit faces, luminous with a curious combination of impatience and wonder.
Meg and I are consistently looking for new ways to enhance time together with Andrew. This suggestion is helpful, although it is a bit too complex for someone of Andrew’s age (do we want little ones playing with fire yet). Nevertheless, traditions can be established that have deep abiding spiritual influence. That is the focus. We all remember something like putting up a tree or licking the beaters from the mixer. What spiritual traditions are we passing on to the next generation?