The Post of Christmas Eve Past...

Every Christmas Eve we have a day to look forward too...as mentioned a couple of posts back we always do brunch with the Friesens in the morning. In the evening we always to to Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at our church, with the exception of last year when it was cancelled due to the heavy snow. This year was back on track and we went to the service and then over to Rob's Aunt Tina's for our traditional Christmas Eve Dinner. Our family had the honour of being asked to light the advent wreath on Christmas Eve. For four weeks leading up to Christmas a candle is lit on each Sunday. Each candle represents something meaningful as we reflect on the reason we have this season to celebrate. The first candle represents Bethlehem. It reminds us to prepare our hearts for the Saviour. The second candle represents Prophecy. It reminds us of the hope promised by God that a Saviour would be born. The third candle represents the Shepherds. It reminds us of the good news that the shepherds heard from the angels. The fourth candle represents the Angels. It reminds us of the joy of the heavenly choir of angels as they proclaimed that Jesus had indeed been born. The fifth candle was the candle our family lit. The fifth candle is located in the centre of the wreath and it is the candle of Christ. It reminds us that the centre of everything is Jesus Himself and that He is the light of the world. We went up on the stage as a family and Rob, Olivia and I took turns reading as we explained the meaning of the candle and read passages from the book of John. Some of those candles were a little stubborn, but made it through. After the service we headed over to Tina's for a wonderful meal. We didn't do our usual midnight stroll this year, we were too tired! After this we went to my parent's house for our annual Christmas Eve sleepover. Christmas Eve has always been 'magical' to me and I'm glad that our kids seem to feel it too. What could be more magical than a baby coming to save the world?