Why I Believe The Christmas Story

We do not need to jettison reason to believe in Christmas

Photo by Dan Kiefer on Unsplash

My earliest memories of Christmas include sitting on the family couch in my parents’ home in Arlington, practically buried in Christmas gifts. I was about 3 years old at the time, but I still remember a couple of those gifts. One was a set of motorized Nutcracker style marching soldiers and a large cloth poster of Mickey Mouse. That hung in my room for several years (though, I want to assure everyone, not now).

Christmas traditions in my family, as I grew up, included:

• putting up and decorating our Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving
• watching the wrapped presents accumulate over the next few weeks
• opening most of those gifts on Christmas Eve, and then one on Christmas morning
• eating “pigs and blankets” on Christmas Eve
• listening to my parents play Christmas songs on the family organ (and even attempting to play myself sometimes)
• and just frankly enjoying the time with my family

My parents were both Christians, and so our traditions included going to church (not only during the Christmas season but all year long). I was frequently a part of our church Christmas productions. One year, I…