Even with the splotches and nicks each piece has earned over the years, the children's faces still light up with warm recognition as each piece is unwrapped and set on the hearth. We leave the figure of baby Jesus wrapped up carefully until Christmas Eve. Our youngest child has the special honor of unwrapping it and placing it carefully in the manger. Some of the ornaments on our Christmas tree copy ancient Christian symbols and reflect important Christian teaching. Crosses remind us that Christ died for us.
Triangles represent the trinity.
Circles symbolize that Jesus, even though he was born as a baby, is eternal. Many of our ornaments have been given to us over the years by friends and family members. As we unpack them each year and hang them on our tree, we talk about the people who gave them to us. The ornaments remind us to pray for those we may not see regularly anymore. At our house we begin anticipating Christmas in October, when we buy inexpensive pumpkins, bake them, and use the pulp for pumpkin bread, which we freeze for Christmas presents.