Matt and I have been talking about the whole Christmas thing. I wrote a post last year about the pagan origins of Christmas, after finding out things I don't know if I am glad that I found out or not. The reason I am not surewhether I am happy that I found it all out is because we are still processing it. We are ready to give up what we are called to - as in all things - but we want to make sure we are doing it as to the Lord. It isn't a matter of belief or disbelief, it is a matter of discernment. It is a matter of taking a stand on God's foundation of something we have barely scratched the surface on. It is not a matter of not wanting to be weird or not wanting to be different. It is a matter of not being overzealous and throwing the baby out with the bath water instead of seeking Him in this area.

It is important to us to teach our children in the ways of the Lord. It is very important. That does not make us perfect or even completely doctrinally accurate, and I don't want to give the impression that we think we are. We are just a couple of thirty-something parents who love the Lord and were raised on a diet of Christmas each year. And, I love the twinkling white lights on the outside of a beautifully-set house just after a snowfall. I also love the smell of pine boughs, and decorating the tree was at least one tradition I did every year... that and Christmas dinner. I remember fondly the pictures from eight years ago my nine-month pregnant belly in the pictures of decorating the tree about a week before Hannie arrived. Sweet memories. And I think Christmas cards are beautiful. I even like making Christmas cards with the rubber stamp sets we have. Eric said tonight that we should send Christmas cards. They are fun and warm and well-wishes of love from family and friends. Who doesn't want to get that in the mail?

One down-side to not celebrating is that this is just the natural time we get our children what they need for the year. Not that we can't still ge them what they need that's on sale at this time of the year regardless. We can. This is just a good shopping time, Christmas or not. ;)

But all of those beautiful things pale in comparison to serving God fully. And, is celebrating Christmas or not celebrating Christmas serving God fully? We know some of the answers to that question, but not all.

So, we are processing all of this. We are more concerned with reading the story of Jesus' Birth in Matthew and Luke. We want to establish family traditions based on the Bible and what He is doing in our own family. We also do not want to step into rituals that are meaningless year after year when there may be a more excellent way.

I was not going to even post on this topic this year, because, like homeschooling and home birthing, it is a controversial topic that sometimes causes loving people to become angered and resentful in talking about. I do not want to anger or embitter anyone in this, nor do I want to argue, for you see, we are still on this journey, learning for ourselves.

Robin Sampson posted an excellent post on this. If you would like to read further on this, you can read her article about it, which happens to also be named To Christmas or Not To Christmas, hahaaa. It includes their 'evolution' of Christmas throughout the years, which I found interesting. I would like to do that, just as a record for our family.

Other "To Christmas or Not" posts:

Not Your Average Christmas : AKA Why We Don't Participate