In a few days, Christmas will come, and then it will be over, and after all this, how will we be different?
What will this Christmas bring for you? Will it be just a repetition of the same routine of buying some gifts, exchanging them, opening them, and paying the bills? Will you go through these Christmas holidays totally unchanged? Rather, will you open yourself to living them in a new way that is deeper and more impactful?
This year, it could be different. This year, we could allow the experience of Advent and Christmas to change us. In this article, I would like to share some suggestions for an Advent and Christmas that is a fuller experience of Christian faith, drawing us closer to Jesus Christ and to one another.
Here are twenty ideas for having a more Christian Christmas:
1. Prepare spiritually for Christmas by making a good sacramental Confession during one of the communal Advent Penance Services in our local parishes. You can find the schedule on our diocesan website at www.sanangelodiocese.org.
2. Attend Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. After all, the very word “Christmas” means “the Mass of Christ.” Plan ahead for where and when you will celebrate the Mass of Christ. Arrive early to enter into a spirit of prayer before the liturgy begins. Invite a family member, friend, coworker, or neighbor to come to Christmas Mass with you. Of all the days of the year, Christmas is a time when people are more likely to be willing to join you.
3. When choosing gifts, think not only about what people want, but also whether this gift is really going to help the person who receives it — if it is going to have a positive effect in their life. You might even consider this novel approach to gift giving: instead of giving more “stuff,” make a donation to charity in honor of the person to whom you would normally give a material gift.
4. While making or wrapping a gift for someone, or in the moment of signing a Christmas card to them, pray for the needs of that person. Give thanks to God for their friendship and for their presence in your life.
5. When writing Christmas cards, choose to write significant words that could have a positive effect on the life of that person — words of thanks, reconciliation, and Christian faith.
6. When attending holiday parties in the community, choose to interact in a way that helps those gatherings to become moments of grace. For example, welcome a new person. Talk to the person who is lonely and shy. Say some words of affirmation. Let it be a time for building new bridges between people.
7. When attending family gatherings, be truly present to the people who are there. Listen to them, look them in the eye, put your phone away, and enter into real conversation. Come with an openness to forgive the resentments of the past and accept one another, just as Christ has forgiven and accepted you.
8. Invite to a meal in your home someone who has no one else with whom to spend Christmas, such as an elderly acquaintance, a recent immigrant, or an international student from a local university.
9. When you are with family members at Christmas time, sit down together and read out loud the story of the birth of Jesus Christ from the Bible. You could use either Luke 1:26-56 or Matthew 1:18-2:11.
10. Sing Christmas songs that actually celebrate Jesus, who is the reason for the season. Here are ten of the most popular Christ-centered Christmas songs: “Angels we Have Heard on High,” “Away in a Manger,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “Joy to the World,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Silent Night,” “The First Noel,” “What Child is This?”
11. Go caroling.
12. Set out a stocking for Jesus. Be creative in what you put in his stocking, such as notes of intercessory prayer, expressions of thanks, or words of love for him.
13. Set up a nativity scene in your home in a place that is accessible to the little children. Let them look, converse, touch, and use their imagination in rearranging the figures. A beautiful variation on this practice is to let the children make a nativity scene out of Play-Doh, talking about each character in the scene. Another creative alternative is a custom that began in France many years ago. You place the empty manger in the nativity scene at the beginning of Advent and add the little baby Jesus at Christmas. Meanwhile, during the season of Advent, you place a little basket or bowl with pieces of hay or grass near the nativity scene, and anyone can put a piece of hay or grass from the basket into the manger for each good action or act of kindness that they do during Advent, to prepare a soft and comfortable place to receive the baby Jesus.
14. With children, read Christmas books about Jesus.
15. Have a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Day. Bake a cake for Jesus with birthday candles. Let the children help in decorating it and in blowing out the candles. Sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus.
16. If you have some free time during the holidays, think of some things you could do with your time beyond simply eating, watching television, and shopping. For example, visit the homebound, the incarcerated, the poor, the suffering, or the sick. Take on some project to make a lasting impact in the life of some individual or family. Ask yourself, "Whom can I visit to bring them a little bit of the joy of Christ?"
17. Pack up some gently used items that you don’t use or no longer need and bring them to a local shelter or organization serving the poor.
18. Take a turn helping at a local soup kitchen, shelter, or program that delivers meals to the elderly. You could give the regular volunteers a break so they can spend some quality time with their families.
19. If you are married, set aside some romantic time with your spouse. Slow down and enjoy one another.
20. In this time of year, we see many beautiful lights decorating homes, businesses, and public places. When you see those lights glowing, remember the one whom they are symbolizing — Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Recall his words in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
You and your loved ones might think of other creative ways to add deeper meaning to your experience of Advent and Christmas. These are merely a few suggestions to get you thinking of how to live this season with renewed faith and love.