The Christmas Story Made Magical for Kids
With Christmas becoming more and more commercial, it's hard to imagine a world where Christmas is automatically associated with religion though it should be, especially for kids. It's a time for buying the latest toys, a commercial time which is reinforced by every advertisement on the TV screen. How then can you encourage your children to pass on to their children a memorable tradition that encompasses the story of Christmas? It's actually quite simple if the message gets over to them when they are young, and the tradition is made part of the family fun which surrounds Christmas.
In homes all over France, they may just have found the secret. Under the Christmas tree, or at least in the same room as the tree, the children construct the crib scene, using brown paper as a backdrop, and adding all the elements which make up the nativity. As different elements are added, the joy that they experience can be seen on small faces. It's a tradition to let the children make the nativity scene and to incorporate this into the Christmas celebrations. Buying the models of Mary and Joseph, the kings and the shepherds who visited the scene makes it fun, as well as incorporating the crib center stage, but the catch used by the French is a very clever one, which you can use at home.
As each part of the scene is added, the children have the story explained to them. The Kings with their gifts are placed into the scene, and Mary and Joseph who have traveled a long way and who found no place to rest take their places in the stable. An element of romanticism can be added by adding things like the star, and explaining to the children how the Kings used the star to guide them toward Bethlehem. It can be an exciting tale and one which they can associate with a very positive event in their lives.
They are already excited, and adding the Christmas story means that their experience is more complete and that it doesn't solely depend upon what the packets under the tree contain, or what's on the television. The fairy lights on the tree could be switched on at the end of preparing the nativity scene, and the children can be encouraged to collect little natural things such as leaves and straw to make the crib warm for the baby Jesus.
Other elements which could be added would be model sheep to explain to them how the shepherds came onto the scene, and a donkey or other animals added. They will have already had many of the stories from the Bible explained to them over their young lives, but this one experience can be made to mean something very special in a child's life, simply by involving the child in the story. When the crib is made and all the players in the nativity have been explained, the story can be related to the children who can wait in anticipation for the birth of Jesus. This is where the element of twist comes into the story in homes in France. The baby Jesus does not appear in the crib until the morning of Christmas, and before the children open up their parcels, the children are shown that Jesus has been born, and the lights on the Christmas tree can be lit with this announcement.
Every year, the same tradition reinforces belief, and reinforces what Christmas is really all about. Introducing children to that magic of what Christmas is about, apart from Santa Claus, helps them to see the bigger picture. It also helps them to recognize the value of the star at the top of the Christmas tree, as a guiding light which the Kings used to locate that stable where Jesus was born so long ago. This can be related to them as they put that wonderful star in place.
The best thing about reinforcing values such as this is that they become a part of the lives of children and they, in turn, remember those lessons from childhood and teach them to their children when they are little. There's something very lasting about the Christmas story, because it goes beyond all the wrappings and is still remembered even when the last little piece of turkey is eaten. Jesus was born for a purpose and a wonderful part of who he was will shine back in the faces of children who anticipate Christmas with a spirit of innocence only they know how.
Add a touch of Christmas magic by keeping the story very much alive and part of their lives, and by doing so, you enrich their memories with a warmth that goes beyond all the sparkling tinsel, and lasts in their hearts all year round.
