Develop a family tradition this Christmas

Yearly, we look forward to indulging ourselves in the Christmas festivities. But the regret is that this beautiful and enchanting season always seems to appear and disappear in a flash thereby making us to wonder if Christmas came at all.

Christmas comes alright, and we always have evidence that we do enjoy the moment. What with all the gifts, relaxation and the happy times spent with family we have not seen for a long time. But we can still get more from Christmas by putting in more-giving ourselves instead moaning that we have little to give in terms of physical presents or receiving them.

Think of giving your time this year, and you may be surprised that you are happier than in all the years you have been lavished with presents or have given them out yourself.

Christmas still remains a time of giving, but in a time when cost of living is so high, we could perhaps lay emphasis on goodwill, good cheer and happiness. Think how to give and get these without breaking your already slim bank account. You may have to consider these suggestions.

Organise Family Events
We have been doing this of course and for a long time with organisations putting together events like concerts and Christmas carols. Families do too. But make it your own family tradition. Inform your friends or neighbours that you have decided to hold a Christmas play in your own very compound and the title is Away in a Manger, the children in your neighbourhood will have fun when you get them to act in the play.

Besides, Away In A Manger has a lot of meaning in it. Jesus of Nazareth who had a comfortable home but was born in animal dwelling because the parents had to travel to take part in a census. One of these glaring lessons is humility. Another children’s favourite is We Three Kings. Start this year and the next Christmas time, many families would be asking to know the date because the children had talked about the play and the roles they played.

Get everyone involved. Decide who should bring which prop. You would be surprised the amount of interest you have aroused-like that daughter who you have always thought with a sinking heart that she was too shy to even speak up. But here she is playing, Mary mother of Jesus, so perfectly that it brought tears to everybody’s eyes. This period is purely for relaxation; make it count after the tedium of the past months. We have really had trying times, too, with monkey pox, the clamour for secession and military actions that may have left some people bereaved.

The consequences of insurgency have left many homeless apart from lives which have been lost. Come up with celebrations that cut across all boundaries. Give happiness and you will reap goodwill.

Carnivals
We love performance. It is in our fabric as a people. We love drama. Although we have carnivals going on in different parts of the country, only a few of us could have made it to the area. Start one in your neighbourhood. Insecurity, which we have witnessed in youth restiveness, insurgency, is borne out of the fear that we have lost the magic to survive inspite of the odds because of the poor state of the economy and the ever-rising cost of living.

Do your children really understand the real meaning of Christmas? Apart from stories they have been told, enacting a drama of the Jesus story at home drives home the point: Giving of oneself, humility and love- Jesus came as the Saviour and taught humanity to love one another. But when faced with a challenge, he chose death on the cross to prove that He was the Son of God who brought love to humanity.

I love this tradition I saw somewhere. A family holds a birthday party every Christmas Eve for Jesus Christ. They began the tradition because although the children enjoyed every bit of the festivities, but were still confused about what it meant. To help them understand the real meaning, their mother would bake a birthday cake, which was eaten by the family. Then all of them would gather round to think of the right present to give to Jesus. The presents resolve to be better as human beings. The idea was that each child gives himself as a gift instead of giving the gift. The family still maintains the tradition.