Traditions: Christmas Star

Guest Blogger Sarah shares her family's traditional Christmas gift to Jesus.

Christmas is a wonderful time for many family traditions.  When the kids were younger I wanted to find some way to get them thinking about the “true meaning” of Christmas.  In that attempt, we decided to give Jesus a present on his birthday and follow the example of the wise men in the Bible.  Our present to him came in the shape of a star.

We just made a simple star out of poster board and then cut up an equal amount of little poster board pieces to fill in the star.  When we first started this tradition the kids would color a piece of the star each time they did something nice for someone else.  As the kids got a little older and could start to write on their own, we would have them write out what act of service or nice deed they did and put it on the star.  The kids have always enjoyed this tradition and would often go out of their way to do nice things for people in the home as well as outside of the home.  If they did something at school they would come home and tell me what it was and then write it out.

Each year our family, cousins included, acts out the Christmas story on Christmas Eve.  We then use that star as our new star that shone the night Jesus was born.  On Christmas morning we read through all of the nice deeds everyone has done throughout December as our gift to Jesus.

 “Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him... And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2; 1-11).

Merry Christmas!