Relax and take your time. Enjoy your husband's enjoyment of the holidays. Enjoy the food and presents. Over time, you may find your way to really liking the holidays. And if you don't, so what? Not all non-JW-raised people like the holidays, either.
New here........
by mrose0202 41 Replies latest jw friends
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jgnat
I'll tell you why annual celebrations are important. Children's memories don't carry every day, they carry highlights. These annual celebrations give them an anchor to their childhood memories that they can reflect on and enjoy in years to come. It gives you an identity as a family. Consider that the Isrealites had a half-dozen holidays and celebrations through the year. God even advised them that they were to do these things to remember where they had come from. It is a travesty that the Watchtower society stripped it's members of nearly all these celebrations other than an annual passing-of-the-wine.
Christmas can be hard on lots of people, like children of alcoholics, the depressed, and the lonely. Don't buy in to the hype. Don't burden yourself with obligations that you have no heart (or money) for. That said, you can have a lot of fun sitting down with your husband and your children and deciding on what traditions YOUR family would like to carry forward. My friend, the child of alcoholic parents, had a similar problem as you. HER memories of Christmas were of drunken rages and chaos. HER HUSBAND's Mennonite memories were of family, warmth and love. She wanted to give her family a more meaningful Christmas, and between the two, they worked out traditions that worked for them. Now she loves Christmas. Some of the things they do is dress up in pjamas on Christmas eve and sit around the tree. Each gift is opened in turn with many oohs and aahs. There are always Mandarin oranges, chocolate, and cashews. And so on.
My daughter nearly cancelled Christmas a couple years back, because she was overwhelmed with the obligations to extended family. It was a tight time financially for her. I urged her to reflect back on her BEST MEMORIES growing up, and to build her own kind of Christmas. Our Christmases were always full of music and crafts. We made home-made Christmas cards every year, which were eagerly sought out. I had friends who begged me not to cut them off the card list. Once she grounded herself, she was able to get in to the spirit of the season. I still have the fridge magnet I got from my daughter that year, a photo of my granddaughter garnishing their gingerbread house. What more could I ask or want?
There's an entire movement dedicating to simplifying Christmas, to remove the consumerism and the hype. I'd happily follow that crowd. For me, it's all about the family.
http://www.richbythirty.com/articles/frugality/budgetxmas.htm
http://interiordec.about.com/od/cmastreetips/a/cmastreedecor.htm