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Thoughts On Christmas Eve
The day before Christmas is filled with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation. From the mundane to the sublime, Christmas Eve is the deep breath before the big reveal.
Culmination of Advent
On Christmas Eve, many families attend church services to celebrate the fulfillment of prophecy represented by the birth of Jesus. In ancient times, the new day began at sunset so celebrating on Christmas Eve was the equivalent of what we now celebrate as a sunrise service.
Nowadays, a Christmas Eve service is one that helps us transition from the preparatory season of Advent to the celebratory season of Christmas (yes, all twelve days of it). Our church typically concludes the service by lighting candles, dimming the lights and singing Silent Night. It’s really stirring and it absolutely sets the tone for recognizing Christmas as the birth of Christ and all of the hope, peace, joy and love that comes with it.
Hopes & Fears
Christmas Eve is also a looming deadline for parents and retailers. As the last possible shopping day before Christmas, stores will reserve some extra-special promotions to keep the shoppers flocking in until the very end of the day.
In fairness, a lot of people are victims of their own procrastination but some are savvy shoppers who keep their eye on the best buys of the season. It’s a weird symbiosis of crafty businesses and desperate shoppers that make the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping season last until the very last moments of Christmas Eve. In most families, it’s desirable to already have the shopping done and the gifts wrapped by now but some people thrive on the adrenaline rush of getting those last-minute deals.
For kids, there’s the anticipation of which gifts Santa is going to bring them and the anxiety that they might have been relegated to the naughty list. They’re often too excited to sleep, so it can be beneficial to parents and children to establish a tradition for Christmas Eve that will help everybody wind down peacefully.
A Christmas Eve service can help to put family members into a contemplative state of mind. Afterward, coming home to watch a favorite Christmas movie or listen to a reading of a favorite Christmas story can help get everybody “settled down for a long winter’s nap“.
Last Minute Preparations
When you finally get the kids settled down, there are a few last steps to attend to. Getting into a Santa state of mind is helpful to stacking those treasures under the tree. All the time you’ve spent shopping for these treats and wrapping them in colorful paper is almost a waste if you don’t stack them up with care. Throwing the presents under the tree helter skelter is no way to proceed. Presentation is half of the treat of presents.
The magic of a generously stacked pile of gifts is part of giving your kids an awesome Christmas. Give some thought to the arrangement. Do you want to give each child a stack of their own to tackle or do you want to mix them all together so that they can share in the fun of calling out names and passing presents among them?
After the presents are all stacked under and around the tree, there’s the matter of eating the cookies and drinking the milk. Setting the scene for a visit from Santa Claus is almost as much of a treat as the presents. Don’t forget the stockings. We hang our stockings from the kitchen chairs and stuff them with little treats “and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there’s always one stupid old satsuma“.
Wrapping It Up In A Bow
When the clock strikes twelve, it’s finally time for the Twelve Days of Christmas. You’ve done everything you can to prepare for Christmas and it’s time to settle down and get some rest. Hold your beloved tight in your arms and share a kiss before sleeping. Tomorrow’s the big day and you’ve earned some rest so, sleep in heavenly peace.