Our family has several Christmas traditions—The Twelve Books of Christmas is just one of them. Inspired by our eldest son’s love of reading, this tradition began about six years ago.
Each boy has his own box where I place twelve wrapped books. In the twelve days leading up to Christmas, they may open one each day.
I carefully select these books throughout the year, many of them from thrift stores.
This tradition has been met with great excitement as the boys look forward to opening their books. This year will be extra special since Josiah can now read well enough to enjoy proper chapter books by himself.
Another tradition began years earlier. I was speaking at a Ladies Coffee Hour close to Christmastime. Before I went up to speak, another woman did a feature presentation and talked about her family’s Christmas traditions. She shared that her children receive three gifts each Christmas; and that each gift represents one of the gifts of the wise men.
Gold is precious and valuable; therefore, the gold gift is something the children really want.
In Old Testament times, frankincense was mixed with fragrant spices and was used during the sacrifices, so it signifies worship. (Exodus 30:34–38) When choosing a gift to represent frankincense, I like to choose something that has spiritual significance like a Bible, a Christian book or a CD. This year our youngest son Josiah is getting a Bible intended for teenagers. He is fourteen and likes to remind us that he is a teenager now. He feels that his Lego-themed Bible is too juvenile for him, so I hope he will be happy with his new youth Bible. This is top secret information I’m sharing here, by the way. 🙂
Myrrh was also used in worship, but it had another use—for embalming the dead. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes for binding the body of Jesus. When explaining the significance of these three gifts, I skip the analogy to death and focus on the body—giving gifts such as new pyjamas, body products, or clothes.
Not only does this tradition have significance, but it also keeps Christmas from becoming a free for all of gifts and wrapping paper strewn everywhere. The gift part of Christmas morning is simple and significant.
As we enter this Christmas season yet again, young and old alike could use a reminder of the precious gift we were given on that Christmas morning over 2,000 years ago. The gifts of the Wise Men are significant:
Gold reminds us of the deity of Jesus.
Frankincense reminds us that Jesus is worthy of our worship and adoration.
Myrrh reminds us his body went into the grave and rose again three days later to make our salvation possible.
I decided to send out this Christmas greeting early to allow an opportunity for anyone who wanted to take up any of our Christmas traditions.
