Christmas Traditions
December 2025 - Bruce Fairbairn, Elder
Christmas is a wonderful time to remember and celebrate family traditions large and small. One of my favorites is bringing Teddy out for the season. For most of the year, Teddy hibernates in our curio cabinet but, during the holidays, the little bear emerges and joins us in the living room. He seems to particularly enjoy the Christmas tree, the lights and presents.
Teddy was my first Christmas gift and is my oldest companion. My father liked to take home movies and we have an old flickering 8 mm film of me at 8 months old, sitting by a tree festooned with icicles and tightly clutching Teddy. I’m watching wide-eyed as my four-year-old sister runs madly about the room ripping great mounds of wrapping paper from a tall stack of presents. Teddy has been with me ever since except for brief periods of time. When I went away to college, I decided that a young guy bringing his teddy bear to the dorm would not look too cool! When I returned one year on college break shortly after my mom had moved, I searched worriedly through many storage bins until finding Teddy and bringing him back into the light of day.
Teddy connects me to past cherished memories reminding me of my parent’s love, wonderful family times, growing up pains, and the inexorable passage of time. And that red bow tie on Teddy? My Nana patiently sewed that on after I had nearly torn off his head from hugging him so tightly. Seeing Teddy perched high on the cabinet surveying the living room makes me smile as I recall joyful past times and am thankful for today.
What are some of your favorite traditions or practices that you especially enjoy during the Christmas season? Like many families, we look forward to setting out the Nativity scene, so deeply evocative of the mystery and loveliness of the incarnation. Sacred-based traditions bring joy and peace to our hearts as we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and focused on the real reason for the season. They help center us on what’s truly important and build strong family foundations to not only remember past blessings but also to look expectantly forward to what God has in store for us in the future.
Celebrating communion each month and on Christmas Eve is a tradition in one sense, but this sacred Sacrament is so much more than that given its divine purpose, origin, meaning and eternal impact upon our lives. As we share the Lord’s Supper, we remember Christ’s sacrifice and accept His gracious offer of the new covenant. We commit ourselves once again to follow Him and to spread the Good News.
Bruce Fairbairn
