Inspired by other homeschooling families and their dedication to a faith-filled family home and school life, O and I decided to put more effort into enriching our own faith and one of the ways to do this is to have meaningful Christmas traditions. Last Christmas, we made sure we put emphasis on Christ being the center of and the reason for all the festivities. As both of us grew up with very limited appreciation of our faith, we both vowed to try our very best to nurture in our son the love for deeper and meaningful things. We know that it may take a while for this practice (strengthening of our faith) to become instinctive and we will certainly encounter challenges along the way but that’s how it is and should be. Taking the path of Christ is not easy but the rewards will be way beyond what we can imagine.
Our Nativity Scene which we bring out every Christmas season. This year, after the holidays were over, we decided not to put away the Mary, Joseph and Jesus pieces anymore since they are such a lovely sight.
Our first time to make Jesse Tree ornaments. It was difficult to catch up with the bible readings especially on the days approaching Christmas what with all the activities happening. Next Christmas, we promise to do a lot better. Overall, for first-timers, I think we did OK. Some readings we had to supplement with videos so that Q will understand the stories better. He loved the stories! This was a new experience for all of us but one that is most rewarding.
We had a birthday cake for Jesus and focused our attention on His birth amidst the revelry.
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Our wreath. We didn’t have the time to make an Advent wreath. O and I felt that an Advent wreath was more special so we agreed that we will definitely have one next Christmas.
Our table centerpiece. We kept the Santa images to a minimum and instead had more decors that added to the divine atmosphere.
We had a wonderful time preparing for Christmas and celebrating it. One of the main goals we always have is to make our son’s Christmases special and memorable. Before, this often translated to awesome gifts and such. He turned 5 last year and watching him grow into this little person made us realize that we want more for him. More than these fleeting awesome things. We want him to have more in life – different from what society these days consider as “more”. We want him to have more of the spiritual than of the material. We hope that by observing more meaningful religious traditions (not just during Christmas) together as a family, we will be able to set a strong foundation for his faith and in so doing, enrich his life and ours.
You cannot please both God and the world at the same time. They are utterly opposed to each other in their thoughts, their desires, and their actions. -St. John Vianney
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