Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Christmas vs Yule

I was raised in a house where we celebrated Christmas.
Throughout my childhood & adolescent life, I went to church. Through college I tried to find a church that I wanted to attend regularly, but I did not succeed.
I've been attending the same church for the past (almost) three years. Even being a regular in Sunday School.
My current series of lessons in class has really brought forth a reoccurring thought to me. I'm not sure that I believe all of this stuff. Parts of it- yea. But some parts, big parts-- I might add, Nope.

So, here is my dilemma. Do I keep "celebrating" Christmas with my kids, or do I research more into other belief systems & their holidays? How can I help my kindergartener understand what & why-- when I don't even have the answers.

I LOVE decorating a tree & having lights, I LOVE the idea of giving gifts-- Do I just start calling our celebrations something else? Kind of in reverse of what happened when Christian Holidays were plastered over the existing ones? Reverting back to the old days?
But what about Christmas Music-- I LOVE me some Christmas music.

I want my children to be able to choose their own beliefs, and not just slide along the accepted way. But I don't want them to have a stigma attached as they progress through school age.

If anyone has any pros or cons-- or ideas-- I'm open to reading them.

3 comments:

dinah34 said...

i always just tend to stick with the basics. God is Love. Advent is Peace, Hope, Love & Joy. Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men. Christmas is the Birth of Something Good.

I hope that helps.

Mardi said...

Do some research! I am now doing the Yule celebration. Mostly because my three grown and married sons and their wives all have divorced parents who have remarried. That means there are eight parental families that the young families feel duty bound to divide their time and efforts to. Christmas Day and Eve are in high demand. Nobody else has even considered the Solstice but me! Happy Day! This year I am designing a scavenger hunt for my grandson, that will educate him (and the rest of the family) to the history and rich traditions of the season that countries all over the world have contributed to.

PS ...I was drawn to your blog because I have a wonderful and colorful tin fish on my kitchen wall!

Anonymous said...

I've written a blog post on our family traditions and how we celebrate both Yule and Christmas. Check it out here: http://td365.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/yule-be-comin-round-the-mountain/