Like every inquisitive child I asked my parents to clarify why we have a tree at Christmas time. The explanation was simple. When God makes a promise we can be very sure that He will keep it. It is a sure thing, always alive, just like the evergreen tree. Its leaves are always green; they don’t turn brown and fall off making the tree looking lifeless during winter. The shape as well, pointing upwards helping to remind us that Jesus has returned to Heaven, considered to be above the sky, to young children. It also helps us remember that God promises to send Jesus back one day and we will have to look up into the sky when that happens. On the top of the tree we place either a star or angel recalling that Jesus’ birth was announced by the star that travelled to Bethlehem or the host of angels that sang in the night sky to tell the shepherds to go and visit the new born king.
Stained glass windows were used in the distance past to help teach those who couldn’t read the truth of scripture and so we can use some of the trappings of Christmas to teach our children about what happened on that first Christmas Day. We can only do this though by making sure that they understand why we use these things. Why when we give gifts to family and friends we are remembering that God gave the human race the greatest gift of all in order to ensure that we will be able to accept the gift of Salvation and have eternal life when this life is done.
Of course this is all useless if, after Christmas is over, we don’t continue to live the life that Christ came to earth to show us how to live.