Favorite Christmas Eve Traditions for Celebrating Christ
By Kelly Smith, Contributing Writer
Many years ago, my family received a Christmas card that rekindled my desire to strive to keep Christ at the center of Christmas. The card simply read, “Wise men still seek Him.”
It caused me to think about what it means to truly seek Christ. The story of the wise men became a turning point as I thought about how these men traveled such a great distance, and how they faced many obstacles and trials on their long journey. Yet despite the hardships and trials, they persevered to accomplish their hearts desire in seeking the King of Kings, and offering Him their worship and praise.
Like the wise men, we desire to seek Christ! As a result, my family’s Christmas celebrations have dramatically changed to reflect our passion for keeping Christ front and center – not only at Christmas, but each day of the year.
Since Christmas Eve is just a couple of days away, we thought it would be encouraging to share a few of our favorite Christmas Eve traditions for keeping Christ at the center of Christmas, and even more important, at the center of our lives.
More than a just a story…
Reading the account of Christ’s birth in Luke 2 is a classic family tradition shared by Christians across the world. Through the years, we’ve enjoyed acting it out, taking turns reading the verses aloud together, and best of all, talking about how this story of salvation personally impacts our lives.
Sharing how Christ has impacted your life transforms the story of His birth into more than just a historical account. It provides us with the opportunity to share the true significance of the birth of the Savior in a very personal way that builds faith and changes hearts.
That’s why one of our cherished Christmas Eve traditions is sharing how God has worked in our lives. We share our personal stories of salvation, and also reflect on the previous year, sharing how God has grown our faith individually and as a family.
We’d love to encourage you and your family to share how Christ has transformed your life too, so we’ve provided our family’s Christmas Eve Devotional as a free download for you and your family to enjoy. It’s truly a blessing to spend time together praising God and reflecting on how His amazing love has transformed our hearts and lives.
More favorite ways to celebrate Christ …
Strengthening our faith and building strong bonds and happy memories is one of the biggest blessings of Christmas! The following are a few more of our favorite Christmas Eve traditions that keep our minds and hearts focused on Christ.
Christmas Eve Services
What could be more joyful and purposeful in setting our hearts upon seeking Christ than attending Christmas Eve services? We love singing hymns, and gathering with our church family to worship Christ together. It’s also the perfect opportunity to share the love of Christ with our friends and neighbors by inviting them to join us for this special time to celebrate the real reason for the season.
Children’s Storybooks
Even though my boys are teenagers now, we still snuggle up and read The Crippled Lamb children’s storybook together every Christmas Eve. It’s become a beloved tradition that always leaves us teary-eyed and grateful for God’s perfect plan. This sweet story presents Christ’s birth from the perspective of a lame little lamb who comes to realize that God’s plans bring great blessings. We just love, love, love this precious book and can’t recommend it enough!
Family Christmas Movies
Another cherished Christmas Eve tradition is watching The Nativity Story together. This beautiful story of Christ’s birth shares what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph to embrace God’s incredible plan for their lives; while still keeping the focus of the movie on the amazing love story of God sending His beloved Son to bring salvation to the world.
