Holiday Traditions

SkyMoms Family Traditions

From Lisa:

Holiday  traditions  are  a  part  of  every  family  system.   You  might  not  think  the  menu  for  Christmas  dinner  is  a  big  deal  until  you  DON’T  have  a  dish  your  kids  have  grown up  eating  on  Christmas  Day!  Wow!  You  would  think  Santa  didn’t  come  at  all!   We quickly  find  out  what  our  traditions  are  as  our  kids  get  older.   A  tradition  is  something  we  do  over  and  over  and  over  again. 
 

It  reminds  me  of  the  story  my  friend  Susie  Hawkins  tells  of  the  young  bride  who  was preparing  her  first  ever  Thanksgiving  dinner.   As  she  was  preparing  the  ham,  she called  her  mom  and  asked,  “Mom,  why  do  we  cut  the  ends  off  the  ham?”  Her  mom answered,  “I  don’t  know.  My  mom  always  did  it  that  way.”   Curious,  the  young  bride thought, “well,  I’m  going  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  this.”   She  called  her  grandmother  and asked,  “Grandma,  why  do  you  and  mom  always  cut  the  ends  off  the  ham  before cooking  it?”   Her  Grandma  replied,  “I  don’t  know  why  your  mom  does  it,  but  my  pan  wasn’t  big  enough, so  I  had  to  cut  off  the  ends!”
 

Well, some traditions we  pass  down  have  true  meaning , and  some  are  just  passed down!  Whatever  the  case,  traditions  are  necessary  to  feel  a  part  of  the  community we  call  family.   I  love  to  say,  “In  our  family  we…”  or  “Well,  the  Clarks…”  Whether  my kids  like  the  edict  or  not,  they  do  feel  a  connection  to  the  family unit.   It  builds self-esteem  and  confidence.

One  tradition  in  our  family  includes  decorating  for  absolutely  EVERY  holiday!  We  try  to  celebrate  anything  and  everything.   The  year  our  oldest  daughter graduated  from  high  school,  she  begged  that  we  leave  the  Christmas  tree  up  in  the playroom.   It  was  a  pink  tree  full  of  tiaras  and  boa’s…so  much  fun!  So we decided that  we  would  start  a  new  tradition.   We  left  the  tree  up  until  she  graduated  and added  Valentine’s  hearts,  Easter  bunnies  and  some  shamrocks!  Yes,  the  neighbors thought  we  were  strange,  but  it  was  right  for  us.  Other  traditions  include  “Happy Birthday,  Jesus!”  parties  and  reading  the  Christmas  story  before  we  open  gifts.   We have  also  kept  the  gift  giving  to  a  minimum  (and  the  reason  for  the  season  to  a maximum!)  by  giving  3  gifts  to  our  children,  just  like  Jesus  received.   They  know  that every  year  they  only  get  3  gifts,  so  they  better  think  long  and  hard  about  what  those gifts  will  be.

Recently,  Linda  Paulk,  Sky  Ranch  CEO,  and  I  were  sharing  some  of  our  favorite
family  traditions.  I  asked  Linda  to  send  you  a  holiday  greeting  and  share  some  of the  Paulk  Family  traditions  with  the  entire  Sky  Ranch  family…

From  Linda:

Dear Sky Ranch Family,

Let’s together, celebrate the reason for each season!  My prayer for your family is that every Christmas be filled with His presence and joy as you share the love of our Savior.  Enjoy a special time with your family that is full of tradition.  If you do not share many traditions, that’s okay because it is never too late to start a tradition.  It becomes a tradition when you start it! 

Our family has enjoyed many traditions over the years. Christmas is by far when we share many of our favorite traditions. I’d like to share a couple of these traditions with you.

“The Greatest Gift of All”

Take an empty box and decorate it beautifully with gold paper and a wide ribbon, use a glue gun to glue a Nativity Scene to the top of the box (you can purchase a nativity scene attached to a manager, wooden or other material at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or Wal-Mart). Place a card about the size of a 4X6 picture on the box. You can decorate the card however you wish with a border of some sort…for example, a gold threaded border.  Once you have done this, print in script or calligraphy “To all who receive” on the card. 

This “gift” is the first gift under our tree and remains the only gift until Christmas.  The gift represents the “Greatest gift of all”. Although it appears that the gift is empty, the gift is actually the most valuable and meaningful gift of all as it represents the gift of salvation that we have in Jesus Christ that is free to all who will receive it. 

“Happy Birthday Jesus”

Since the first child was born in the family, the Happy Birthday Jesus Cake has been a tradition in our home for Christmas helping to reinforce the TRUE REASON FOR THE SEASON.

Up until the youngest child at our annual family gathering no longer believed in Santa Claus, Santa himself would deliver the Happy Birthday Jesus Birthday Cake on the Eve of Christmas.  Santa would come into the house with the cake and everyone would sing happy birthday to Jesus, blow out the candles and listen intently with wide eyes as Santa Claus would share all of the symbolism of the cake. 

Today, the tradition remains, but Santa Claus no longer joins us for the Christmas Eve gatherings.  One family is designated each year to make the cake and lead the tradition.

The cake is a Chocolate Cake made with cherry filling inside. It is frosted with butter cream frosting, decorated as noted below:

Chocolate Cake – This chocolate cake symbolizes our sin nature through and through.
(Romans 3:23 and Isaiah 53:6)

Cherry Pie Filling – The red symbolizes the blood of Christ shed for us. (Ephesians 1:7 and Hebrews 9:22)

White Cream Icing – Symbolizes the righteousness of Christ without blemish which covers up our sin.  When we put it on, God sees our sin no more.  It still does not change our basic nature though.  The cake is still chocolate. (Romans 4:24 and Isaiah 61:10)

Decorations On The Top Of the Cake –

1. Place a star for Bethlehem, Christ’s birthplace.  (Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:1-6)
2. Place an angel to symbolize the herald of Christ’s birth. (Luke 1:26-38, 2:8-20)
3. Place 3 red candles on the cake.  The number 3 symbolizes the trinity.  (John 14,  John 1:15, 10-14, 18, Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7, Isaiah 6:8)
4. Place evergreens around the cake or cake plate to symbolize the eternal life we have through Christ.  (John 3:16, 1 John 5:11-12)