Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

My family has always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve, which is a wonderful tradition, but can make Christmas day seem a little bit anti-climactic. So, since I have some down time, why not write for the blog?

Christmas Eve Day began early for me…cooking! I like to cook, so I enjoy holidays when I have some more free time to do it and a captive audience to eat whatever I make! My brother and I are mostly vegetarians, so I specialize in meat-free dishes. Yesterday I made my second attempt at the eggplant lasagna I made on Thanksgiving. My entire culinary life has been revolutionized by the Magic Bullet I got for Christmas last year! The most laborious part of cooking for me has always been chopping the many veggies I love to throw into dishes, and with my bullet, it’s nearly a breeze. So, I made homemade tomato sauce, shred my block of mozzarella, made some hummus, and whipped fresh cream for dessert in much less time than it would normally take (I am not being paid to promote this product!).

After many hours of cooking, it was nice to relax before going to Christmas Eve service at my parent’s church. In the midst of the holiday busy-ness, I’m glad that we haven’t lost the tradition of taking some time out to actually reflect on Jesus at Christmas. I think the service is my favorite part of Christmas—candles, singing Silent Night, gathering around the communion table and holding hands with people, etc. It made me reflect on how some day, when I hopefully am a pastor, I would like to combine elements both of the Lutheran tradition I grew up in and the “non-denominational” movement I’m a part of now. I think the variety is good, and I like the idea of introducing people to different worship practices that deepen our spiritual lives.

So, we went to church, ate dinner, and opened gifts. It was nice, and it kept me up until 11pm, which is way past my bedtime! Today’s a good day to relax and maybe go see a movie, since that’s about all that’s open. As much as I enjoy Christmas, there is also a feeling of relief when it’s done. It seems like a lot of preparation for a day that flies by. Hopefully we all can take time this Christmas to reflect on why we as Christians really celebrate—something that’s often buried beneath the shopping and the cooking and the traveling. I guess I’ll have more time to think about that as I polish up my sermon for tomorrow...