Let's Talk: Christmas Traditions
Consider a Letter to Jesus
The earliest Santa letters were not written to Santa but from him or at least about him. For instance, in December 1823, Clement Clark Moore, an Episcopalian seminary professor, wrote the poem, “The Night Before Christmas,” for his own children. It was published in “The Sentinel,” a paper in New York state, and has been popular for 200 years. In the 1850s, Fanny Longfellow (wife of the poet Henry Wadsworth) wrote letters to her three children “from St. Nicholas” each Christmas that commented on their behavior over the previous year and how they could improve it.
As the idea of St. Nicholas or Santa Clause became less associated with sharing kindness and more associated with receiving gifts, children began writing letters to Santa asking him for specific toys.
Why not flip this tradition and suggest to children and adults alike that they write Christmas letters to Jesus, thanking Him for the gift of Himself and for the blessings we have in Him. In addition to counting the blessings you recognize in everyday life, consider some of the spiritual blessings named in God’s Word. Here are some Scriptures that might help people get started with a “letter to Jesus”:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
“...in order that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14).
