Putting Christ back into Christmas!
The following is the information that was made available to those who participated in this mini class at homemaking.
"Christmas is more than trees and twinkling lights, more than toys and gifts and baubles of a hundred varieties. It is love. It is the love of the Son of God for all mankind. It reaches out beyond our power to comprehend. It is magnificent and beautiful. It is peace. It is the peace which comforts, which sustains, which blesses all who accept it. It is faith. It is faith in God and His Eternal Son. It is faith in His wondrous ways and message. It is faith in Him as our Redeemer and our Lord. We testify of His living reality. We testify of the divinity of His nature. In our times of grateful mediation, we acknowledge His priceless gift to us and pledge our love and faith. This is what Christmas is really about."
- "A Season of Gratitude" - President Gordan B Hinkley
- Ensign (December, 1997
"Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than things. To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable and becomes the Spirit of Christ."
- "Christmas Gifts, Christmas Blessings" - President Thomas S Monson
- Ensign (December 1995)
"What a gift it would be to received at Christmastime a greater knowledge of the Lord. What a gift it would be to share that knowledge with others. To that end may I encourage you not only to read the biblical account of Christ's birth, but to read and share with a nonmember acquaintance that Book of Mormon account of Christmas Eve in America and Christ's personal manifestation following His resurrection. Give them or lend them a copy of the Book of Mormon, even your own copy if necessary. It could bless them eternally."
- "Keeping Christ in Christmas" - President Ezra Taft Benson
- Ensign (December 1995)
How to bring Christ into Christmas
Family Activities
- Prepare Advent Calendar
- Make a Christmas book, filled with spiritual stories and poems, cards, pictures, stories of memorable occasions
- Spend quality time with friends and family leading up to Christmas
- Teach the meaning behind Christmas Decorations
- Make a gift to Christ - each family member write what they are grateful for in a box and read on Christmas Eve
- Hold a special Christmas Family Home Evening and read accounts of Christ's birth in the scriptures
- Start Christmas Day with scriptures and family prayer before opening presents
- Share stories of own and ancestor's lives on Christmas Day
Gifts from the Heart
- Chose thoughtful and meaningful gifts, not the biggest ones
- Leave letters or notes instead of gifts, expressing how much that person means to you
- Plan for a debt-free holiday
- Give gifts that require personal sacrifice rather than gifts of convenience. "It's the thought that counts."
Demonstrating the "Pure Love of Christ"
- Bring peace and joy into other's lives in simple ways
- Go caroling to friends and neighbours
- Write down what acts of love or service could be given to others and pray about them
- Give anonymous gifts (12 days of service)
- Invite others with no family closeby to join yours for dinner
- Prepare Christmas dinner for someone who would appreciate it
- Visit people in Hospital on Christmas Eve. " For what you do unto the least of these my brethren, you do it unto me."
Reality Check
- We should "love our neighbours" all year round
- Christmas is a season, not just a day - create excitement and enthusiasm in advance
- "Thou Shalt Not Covet."