Christmas Reminiscing

I would like to wish all my readers a  very happy, blessed, and merry Christmas! I know some Christians believe only Biblical holidays should be observed - those who follow the regulative principle of worship, which only allows that which Scripture explicitly allows. I follow the normative principle of worship. I believe we can do something unless it's explicitly forbidden in Scripture. I don't see how celebrating our Lord's incarnation is unbiblical!

My sisters and I have very fond childhood Christmas memories! I recall how fun it was driving  out to the Christmas tree lot by the old Allegheny airport, and picking out a real live tree! I will never forget that fresh pine scent. We all sang Christmas carols in the car. Then we'd all go home and put lights on the tree and hang ornaments and garland.

I loved hanging our stockings above the fireplace just before bedtime on Christmas Eve, in eager expectation of what we'd find inside them on Christmas morning!

One of my favorite family traditions is having a birthday cake for Jesus with 1 candle in it. And us kids joyfully singing Happy Birthday with our parents.

Nothing could beat the unbridled excitement of opening presents Christmas early morning. Our poor parents, we woke them up at 6am!

I also feel the loss of those who we celebrated Christmas with in the past, who are no longer with us. Especially my paternal and maternal grandparents, and my Great Aunt Mary. Gramma and Pap-Pap (paternal) had us down every Christmas Eve evening. I recall how wonderful it was to see all the Christmas lights on the houses and count how many houses were decorated. It was usually  between 120-200 if I recall correctly. We'd have a succulent and juicy baked ham, pirogi, halushki, and fresh Polish kielbasa with horseradish. It was so much fun eating together with our family, my grandparents, our aunts and uncle. Then we'd open the mountain of presents our dear grandparents bought for us! We'd watch It's A Wonderful Life and other Christmas movies and TV shows. It was a magical time! We also had fun at our maternal grandparents home on Pine Tree Road. That big old house!

My heart aches for my grandparents, and their absence in our lives is felt all the greater on holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

So this Christmas, I hope you'll appreciate your loved ones. Spend time with them. Christmas is a bittersweet holiday because while we celebrate our Savior's incarnation, we also think of the sadness of His Passion at Easter and His death on Calvary. But the story doesn't end there. Because Christ defeated death, sin, and Satan. He rose on the third day! Hallelujah. MERRY CHRISTMAS!