Someone once gifted me handmade Christmas decorations with the words joy, peace, hope, and love carefully stitched across the front. Growing up in a family that had many Christmas traditions, I was familiar with candles, angels, and tinsel but never decorations that were words. Shops then and now lean more towards snowflakes, reindeers, and Santa Claus, so I didn’t expect to see words there.
It got me thinking. From a Christian context, I wanted to know why these four words and why not a bunch of others: like faith, grace, Jesus?
It wasn’t until I started to research Christmas traditions that I discovered why we use these four words and why they are so significant at this time of the year. Do you know why?
These words are connected to the tradition of Advent. Some Christian churches who follow a liturgical calendar include this season called Advent, in the lead up to Christmas Day. Advent is the Latin word for coming, arrival and birth. Evidently, this season is one about remembering the birth of Jesus Christ and because he has already come, the anticipation of his second coming. What I had forgotten was those four candles on the Christmas wreath in my childhood church, represented these four words. Sure, wreaths have roots in folk traditions of Northern Europe, but the symbolism of each of these candles is worthy of reflection. And the message behind these words is timeless. I don’t know about you, but I believe everyone is seeking joy, peace, love, and hope. I am and do. Who better to find that, than God with us-Immanuel- Jesus Christ?
The reality is that if I possess any of these qualities at all, they seem to disappear when I get caught up in the expectations of Christmas celebrations and the end of year wrap-up. Hope might be the most tenacious, or then again, it has possibly morphed into wishful thinking. Joy is the first to go, as I press on to meet the expectations and demands I place on myself this season. Love of self and others is hanging by a thread, especially on a day when I dare brave the hustle and bustle of the shops in our summer heat. Peace: well that went out the window when Joy walked out the door.
I am calling joy and peace to come back into our home and asking love and hope to stay. I am planning to start this with new Christmas decorations. The tired me, was going to skip them this year, and start fresh when my first grandchild is on the scene in 2021. Besides, it was all feeling too hard to decide what I needed to spend money on; especially when I don’t particularly want Santa Claus or reindeers as centerpiece. I want to reclaim the spirit of Christmas; and I have decided to give it a name; or names. Centerpiece this year is peace, hope, love, and joy- in no specific order, and established in Jesus Christ- God with us.
Photo by Alexandra Fuller on Unsplash
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