Are we getting too commercialized at Christmas these days? Has the magic gone – particularly for children – due to being too focused on getting the latest gadgets and trends as gifts. While the hype is still there, for many children the traditions are being eroded in a world where the true meaning of Christmas is no longer so obvious.
The following Christmas traditions are important to ensure that meaningful Christmas customs continue, and the next generation of children grow up holding onto that lovely festive spirit that has proven so important and grounding for the older generations.
Attending Midnight Mass
Midnight mass is celebrated in churches and cathedrals across Christian countries on the night before Christmas, specifically to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is believed that Midnight Mass started in 430AD under Pope Sixtus iii in the Basillica of St Mary Major, and this custom has continued for many centuries since. Communion is performed – a ritual where church goers celebrate the life of Christ by symbolically consuming bread and wine as part of his flesh and blood.
While it may be too late an hour for many smaller children, allowing them to stay up later on this one occasion is not only an exciting and memorable occasion, but will ensure their exhaustion when they get home, so that they crash out in time for Santa’s visit!
Putting out a snack for Santa
Of course, before you head out to Midnight Mass, make sure you put out those snacks for Father Christmas. As you await Santa’s nocturnal delivery down the chimney with his great big bag of Xmas gifts, including Jellycat toys, model trains and sweets and chocolates, it would be rude and churlish to forget leaving some much needed refreshments for him and his reindeer. A shot of whisky, a warm mince pie, and a crunchy carrot (for the reindeer) is all that’s needed to make sure Santa has to energy to propel his way around the globe before dawn.
Some films are only for Christmas
Have you ever watched Home Alone, It’s a Wonderful Life, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or the Sound of Music at any time other than at Christmas?
With so many available screens (TVs, laptops, tablets, etc) distributed among various members of the family, rarely do parents and their children sit together to enjoy some family entertainment. Christmas should be a time when these divisions are set aside, and parents can insist that their children sit and enjoy what used to be a typical Christmas or Boxing Day afternoon. Viewing essentials include a roaring fire, a box of Quality Street chocolates, and a bowl of easy peel satsumas.
Queen’s Speech
For 70 years the Queen’s speech was a firm fixture on Christmas Day afternoon. Across the United Kingdon, families would finish their turkey lunch and figgy pudding in time to gather around the television and watch the Queen give her annual Christmas message. This tradition is being continued by the recently crowned King Charles III, and will no doubt become as firm a fixture in the afternoon’s schedule as his mother’s message.
While it may not be the watching fodder for many smaller kids, it does give a sense of consistency and continuation, as well as a framework to the day’s proceedings. As they grow up, children will look back at these afternoons with affection and emotion, with the presence of other family members who may no long be around.
It is essential for families to protect the magic of Christmas for their children and their grandchildren. There are so many important and charitable values wrapped up in this festive season that to lose it would be the loss of so much of what makes life so full of colour and texture.
