点击上方“家庭第一”关注我们哦！Chr Giving 圣诞节：给予的节日

　　在我还是个孩子的时候，圣诞节对于我而言是一个神奇的节期。清晨醒来的时候，会满怀期待的去圣诞树下看看圣诞老人和他的精灵们今年给我留在树下的惊喜！我和我的兄弟们势必会在天亮前醒来，但是规则是天亮前我们不可以去圣诞树下，因此，我们只能躺在那里等待黎明，有时会兴奋的打破了沉默：“期待着今年我将得到什么惊喜......”

　　当我成为父母后改变了一些规则，在我们打开礼物前全家会有一个美好的早午餐时光。我们会首先打开一些写满赞赏的卡片，里面写满了对彼此的爱和赞赏，而不只是一些小饰品、礼物或大多数家庭都会有的一些传统。这些对彼此的赞赏可以是最棒的礼物!

　　另一个改变的规则是我们不再只关注包装的礼物。这几年我们为家庭所做的，比那些给我们带来一时新奇的玩具或电子产品的礼物更具价值。我们把花在买礼物上的钱节省下来，全家就可以一起度过一个有趣的假期。记忆是一份不会毁坏的礼物，不会落满灰尘，永远不会被收在壁橱里而被人遗忘。

　　我们需要找机会给予一些不用包装但更具价值的礼物。圣诞节假期可以而且也应该去探访那些孤独的人，他们没有家庭与他们分享欢乐，这些都是我童年幻想的一部分。

　　据我所知，圣诞节最起初是一个给予的节日，上帝将他独生的儿子赐予给人类。他向我们展示了他无与伦比的能力和喜乐。他将他最宝贵的珍宝白白赐给人类，2000多年来一直鼓舞着世界各地的人们。你可能没有在圣诞节送礼物的传统；你甚至可能也不会用圣诞树、灯光和蜡烛来布置你的家。不论你与家人如何庆祝,不要让它成为仅仅赠送包装礼物的节日，当那些华丽闪耀的圣诞装饰品被收起来之后，希望你在圣诞节所做的事能更有意义且存留的更长久。

　　Kevin

　　Chr Giving

　　Chr was simply a magical time for me as a child.  The ant of waking up in the morning to see what Santa and his elves had left for me under the tree was the h of the year!  My brothers and wake up long before day light, but would not at any cost break the rule that we could not go to the tree until .  And so we lay there, yet awake, sometimes breaking the s with an overflow of exc: “ if I got a…”

　　The rules changed when  a parent.  We have a nice brunch before we open gifts.  We open the stalkings first, filled with notes of love an for each other and not just tr or practical things that are the tra stuffers in most households.  These notes can be some of the best gifts of all!

　　Another rule that has changed is we are no longer f upon gifts you wrap.  Some years we do something which is a gift to the family, rather than toys or electronics that are fun for a while but whose novelties wear off.  A couple of times we saved the money we would have spent on gifts and put it towards going on a fun holiday together. Memories are a gift which can’t break, can’t gather dust, and will never be put away in a closet an.

　　We have at times foun to give the kinds of gifts you can’t wrap an aren’t even for each other.  Chr can an be a time to visit those who are lonely, who don’t have a family with whom to share the joys which were a part of my ch fantasy.

　　I have learned that Chr was about giving from the beg.  God gave His only Son for man.  He show edus a power and joy in giving which is w equal.  That He would give so freely of His most treasure has been people around the world now for 2000 years.  You may not have a tra of giving gifts the Chr holiday.  You may not even celebrate with Chr trees an or candle light services.  However you celebrate as a family, don’t make it only about the gifts you can wrap.  Make it about the things which last long after the tinsel an and bows have been put away for another year.  

　　Kevin