Let's Talk: Christmas Traditions
Spread the Joy in Song!
In its earliest days, about the 13th century, wassailing involved people going from house to house giving out well wishes during the colder months. This tradition was eventually tied to the celebration of Christmas and featured Christmas hymns and carols.
One of our Love Worth Finding staff members remembers going with her family as a child every Christmas Eve to visit her great, great aunt at a nursing home in Kansas City (it was her aunt’s birthday). After singing Happy Birthday, the family always caroled through the nursing home, stopping in every doorway to share the joy of Jesus Christ and celebrate His birthday. The Christmas songs sung from room to room were vocal expressions of love that brought smiles of recognition and tears of appreciation from the residents.
If you’ve never been caroling, consider how your family, your small group, or your believing neighbors might get together and share the joy of the Lord by praising Him in this way during the Christmas season. Carol through a nearby neighborhood or call ahead and make arrangements to visit a nursing home or a children’s hospital.
“Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him. A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation” (Psalm 68:4-5).
You can find lyrics to popular Christmas carols HERE
