A Legacy of Christmas Traditions and a Link Up

 

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Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the brightly lit trees, the pretty decorations, Christmas baking and the snow falling on the ground. The two most important things that I love about Christmas are spending time with family and celebrating the birth of our Savior. Throughout this Christmas season, I will be sharing Christmas traditions that are important to our family, which I hope get passed down from generation to generation.

~Advent~

One tradition that our family takes part in every year is the celebration of Advent. The word advent refers to the celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ. Advent is celebrated for four Sundays before Christmas day. It’s a time to focus on the scriptures and celebrate Jesus’ birth.

Advent is usually celebrated with 5 candles, centered in the middle of a Christmas wreath. The circle celebrates God’s unending love, the greenery represents the life that Christ brings, and each candle is a specific color which represents an aspect of Christ’s birth.

First Advent Sunday: The Prophecy Candle
The first candle is usually lit the first Sunday of December. The candle is purple, reminding us of the King of Kings and that Christ’s birth was prophesied many years before His arrival.

Suggested Bible Readings– Isaiah 9:2-6, Luke 1:30-35, Isaiah 40:1-11, James 5:7-8

Second Advent Sunday: The Bethlehem Candle
The second advent candle is lit on the second Sunday of advent as well as the first. This candle reminds us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is also purple reminding us of the King that was born in a manager.

Suggested Bible Reading– Micah 5:2, Luke 2:1-7, Romans 13:11-14, Thessalonians 5:19-23

Third Advent Sunday: The Shepherd’s Candle
The third candle is lit on the third Sunday, along with the first and second candle. This candle reminds us that God sent His angles to proclaim His arrival to common man, and He still uses common man today. It is pink and represents God’s love.

Suggested Bible Reading– Isaiah 52:7, Luke 2:8-12, Psalm 122:1-2, Isaiah 35:1-2, 10

Fourth Advent Sunday: The Angel’s Candle
The fourth candle is lit on the fourth Sunday along with the first, second and third candles. This candle reminds us of the heavenly hosts proclaiming Christ’s arrival. This candle is purple.

Suggested Bible Reading– Ezekiel 34:23, Luke 2:13-20, Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 1:26-31

Christmas Eve: The Christ Candle
This candle is lit on Christmas Eve along with the other candles. This candle sits in the center of the wreath, it is white, symbolizing Christ’s purity and holiness.

Suggested Bible Reading– Luke 2:1-20

Our family celebrates Advent every Sunday evening. Each family member has a specific part that they do, from the Bible reading, to the lighting of the candles, to prayer. The Advent wreath can be decorated any way that you want it, from store bought to homemade. If you don’t have colored candles, white can work as well. The point is to make sure that Christ is honored as you do what works best for your family, to make it a special time they will always remember.

(The meaning and purpose behind Advent was adapted from, “Celebrating A Christ Centered Christmas,” by Sharon Jaynes.)

~Now it’s time to link up !~

 

 

 

 

* This link up will be happening every Thursday at Leaving a Legacy. You can link up your posts that deal with leaving a legacy to your children and other loved ones. These posts can vary from spiritual lessons, to homeschooling tips, to recipes and homemaking skills that you want to pass down. You can also link up posts that offer encouragement to the community. I will do the best I can to read as many posts as possible throughout the week. However, if there are times that I miss you, know that I’m so grateful that you linked up and was so blessed to have you here!

 

• To link up go to the sidebar and get the code for the Legacy Leaver Thursdays button, right click and “save as” on the code and then upload it into your post. Or you can provide a direct link somewhere in your post linking back here. That way other bloggers can join in too!
• Then copy and paste the direct link from your post, (not your blog url), into the linky tool below.

• In order to create an encouraging community here, please take a moment to visit the person in front of you. As time permits, I will read as many of your posts as possible throughout the week. Thank you!

 

For those of you that link up throughout the month, I will be choosing a “featured blogger”, for the following month. The featured blogger will be someone who actively participates in the link up, and who’s posts have really touched the community. They will receive free advertising for their blog on my sidebar for that month, and also be allowed to submit one approved guest post during that month.

The featured blogger for the month of November is my good friend Tracy from My Daily Walk in His Grace. Please take a moment to stop by and read her encouraging words!

Many Blessings~

 

Linking to:

 

Thriving Thursdays
Proverbs 31 Thursdays
Thought Provoking Thursdays

  

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