This December, I’m slowly making my way through Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year by Beth Kempton (2019). Even though we don’t generally have what most might consider a “Big Christmas,” I’m still feeling the pull to simplify ~ to do less, to buy less, to reflect more. In Chapter 1, Kempton presents The Five Stories of Christmas that focus on faith, magic, connection, abundance, and heritage. Today, I’m thinking about faith, and she asks the following question for reflection as it relates to Christmas:
Which parts of your faith connect to Christmas the most, and how do you feel when you think about them?
The Bible tells Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, and of course with every other child born in the 1960s – even if we went to church every Sunday, -we still remember it best from the Peanuts episode that aired around 8:00 p.m. once during the month of December and may have been followed by Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at 8:30. We watched an exasperated Charlie Brown ask what Christmas was all about on our channel-knob television with the fine-tuning dial and rabbit ears in the days before remote controls. For me, the part of my faith that connects to Christmas is the story of the Nativity.
Here is a story from a previous blog post about the Nativity Set I mention below in my poem below~ it’s a special family heirloom, and I look forward to unboxing it each Christmas season. This is the way my faith connects to Christmas as I ponder it deeply, because it connects past, present, and future in one defining moment in history and puts it all right in the manger. My mother may not still be here in the present, but because of the past, I can count on seeing her again in the future. That’s Christmas!
Nativity Nonet
the nativity is the reason
we celebrate Christmas ~ before
she died, my mother gave me
a Nativity set
to span the ages
generations ~
past, present,
future:
faith
On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate faith a 10 on its level of importance to me at Christmas.
Common Threads 
Oh Kim! The post about your mom and daughters in Dahlonega, Georgia made me cry. I am so glad you have the Willow Tree nativity help you keep faithful and I’m sure your mom is smiling down upon you every time you unbox that set. And she knew that. It was her way of staying with you!
That Charlie Brown portion is my favorite. I’m a little older than you but I looked forward to that Christmas cartoon every year. I’m sad they stopped showing it on good old regular channels.
I hope you and yours have a very happy and healthy Christmas. And I’m adding Kempton’s book to my growing pile.
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Thank you so much! I never thought about it as her way of staying with me, but that even makes it more special – a sweet way of bringing that trip and our fun times to the forefront every Christmas! I am truly loving the Calm Christmas book, and the author has a website that is fantastic, too, at dowhatyouloveforlife.com and it makes me want to read more of her books. Thanks for reading and commenting!
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I haven’t gotten the nativity out yet but your post makes me want to do it today. When I got married , my mother gave me a Fontinini set that she added to for years on my birthday. It’s not an heirloom yet but it will long outlast me.
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I just read your post last year reminding me once again that we have so much in common. We were in that very square last Christmas and I can see the memory you shared.
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That’s right! I remember that you and your family made a trip to Dahlonega. It’s my favorite little town in Georgia – maybe tied with Blue Ridge for the win. The place where this was purchased is no longer in business. It’s now a Beer/Books place, something like Gold Mine Brews or a name along those lines. In its day, it was a toy and gift store like no other. I was sad to see it go. If you ever come back to Dahlonega for a visit, I’m two hours away and can meet you at Montaluce for lunch or dinner!
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