Tips for a more meaningful Christmas
Plan ahead. Instead of going on autopilot the day after Thanksgiving, hold a family meeting to decide what the group really wants to do and who’s going to do what. A budget/planner is available at
http://simpleliving.startlogic. com/information/archives/PDF/AdventBudget.pdf.
Avoid debt. Refuse to be pressured by advertising to overspend.
Avoid stress. Give to yourself. Don’t assume that things have to be the same way they’ve always been.
Draw names rather than everyone giving something to everyone else in your giving circle. Set a ceiling for each recipient. Give children one thing they really want, rather than many gifts.
Give alternative gifts. Give 25 percent of what you spent last year to people in need.
Make changes slowly but persistently. Don’t try to change everything and everybody all at once. The resistance will make you feel defeated and lonely.
Source: Simple Living Works!
tive impact on others, especially in developing countries.” Iversen also recommends turning
to alternative giſt-giving ideas, such as supporting hunger and evange- lism projects with global companion churches through the ELCA Good Giſts program (
www.elca.org/ goodgiſts). Giving handmade giſts and food
that is consumable or a present that has special meaning is another way to simplify the holiday and continue to care for each other. Kim Winchell, a diaconal minis-
ter at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Saginaw, Mich., likes to give giſts of her nature photography, such as note cards that showcase her photos. People who live simply, she said, are oſten more mindful and notice the little things. Perhaps the best reason for simpli-
fying Christmas comes from Gertrud Mueller Nelson, a Calfornia-based Roman Catholic writer, illustrator and expert on Advent theology. How did she get to be an Advent expert? “By loving it,” she said. Her
Each Sunday during Advent another Advent wreath candle is lit in
preparation for Christmas. The practice reminds people to slow down in anticipa- tion of Christ’s coming.
mother, Terese Mueller, a writer and lecturer, is credited with bringing the tradition of the Advent wreath to the U.S. from her native Germany in the late 1930s. Te four-candle wreath found in
churches and homes, signifying the light of Advent and anticipation of the Savior, is also a simple symbol of slowing down, she said. Te wreath is reminiscent of a wheel, which reminds people to take a wheel off and slow down during Advent. “Te thing to remember,” she said, “is that it’s not a particularly Christian symbol but, in essence, it’s a wheel— a wheel removed.” Nelson said the ancients also used
a wheel removed, not in the reli- gious sense, but to light their homes through the endless darkness of winter. “Tey brought in the hay and the animals, and winter had come; the days getting shorter, darkness ascending,” she said. “Tey brought a wheel off their cart in and lighted it with a torch week aſter week until the solstice came.” Tey waited and
Author bio: Healy is a writer and member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Brewster, N.Y.
watched for spring. “We, in turn, understand
that symbols aren’t just cute things,” she added, “but that the Advent wreath is a sign that we take a wheel off and we look for the light. “As a culture we’re bad
at waiting. We’re used to instant gratification. We hate to wait in line; we hate to wait for paint to dry or for an elevator to come. We find more reasons to be furious and antsy while we wait. We need to find the places where waiting is good— waiting for something wonderful.” Waiting for Christ.
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