Traditions of Christmas: Good News By Vic Dove
“Oh give thanks unto the Lord for He is good.”
Psalm 107:1
The Christmas season is filled with many traditions. And, if you will do some research you will find most of these traditions such as gift giving, Christmas trees, certain flowers, candy canes and singing carols are Christian based.
For example, Christmas trees… Why do we put up trees and decorate them in our houses this time of year?
Well one story puts it this way. The first person to bring a Christmas tree into a house, in the way we know it today, may have been the 16th century German preacher Martin Luther. A story is told that, one night before Christmas, he was walking through the forest and looked up to see the stars shining through the tree branches. It was so beautiful, that he went home and told his children that it reminded him of Jesus, who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas. The Fir tree with its triangle shape also represented the Trinity, God the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
Another example is the Poinsettia or the Christmas plant. This legend or story goes something like this.
There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked to the chapel, sadly, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up. Pepita’, he said “I’m sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves Him will make Jesus Happy.”
Pepita didn’t know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus. As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the ‘Flores de Noche Buena’, or ‘Flowers of the Holy Night’.
The shape of the Poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent his purity.
Both of these traditions represent the basic reason for the Christmas season, God and His Son Jesus Christ. So just maybe this year when you see a Christmas tree or a beautiful bright red Poinsettia you will say thank you God for the greatest gift of all Jesus. Let’s put Christ back in Christmas this year…
Shoulder to Shoulder
Bro. Vic
