Christmas Traditions

by David E Bay, High Councilor

I spent Christmas of 1976 in the nation of Japan. Most of the people I met were Shinto and Buddhist. They celebrated Shinto weddings and Buddhist funerals. They mostly ignored Christmas. Many people would eat cake on Christmas (Kurisumasu keki). Kentucky Fried Chicken advertised and encouraged people to celebrate Christmas by eating fried chicken. However, there was very little focus on Jesus Christ, the Creator, and Savior of the world.

I was in the city of Niigata on the West Coast of Japan where cold Siberian winds cooled the winter weather. There were 12 missionaries in Niigata and two nearby towns. But Tokyo and our mission leadership were many hours away by train. So, we felt very separated from the other missionaries. This was the year that I discovered that Christmas was not in the decorations or the lights of the season but in our focus on our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord.

This year as I’m reflecting on the life of our Savior at Christmas time, I realize that decorations and traditions, while not necessary, can help us focus our thoughts and worship towards Heavenly Father and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus. I am also reminded of Elder Gary E Stevenson’s April 2023 General Conference message. He spoke about his efforts with his wife Lesa to bring more traditions to Easter similar to the traditions we have with Christmas. To me, his words were a challenge to place more emphasis on Easter. He said:

You likely remember hearing a letter from the First Presidency read in your ward or branch several weeks ago. That letter announced that next Sunday—Easter Sunday—all wards and branches are to meet for sacrament meeting only, leaving additional time for worship at home as families to commemorate this most important holiday.

The First Presidency’s letter caught my attention, and it caused me to reflect on the way our family has celebrated Easter through the years. The more I thought about our celebrations, the more I found myself wondering if we are inadvertently shortchanging the true meaning of this holiday, so central to all believers in Jesus Christ.

Those thoughts led me to ponder the difference between the way we have celebrated Christmas as compared with Easter. During December, we somehow manage to incorporate the fun of “Jingle Bells,” Christmas stockings, and gifts alongside other, more thoughtful traditions—such as caring for those in need, singing our favorite Christmas carols and hymns, and of course opening the scriptures and reading the Christmas story in Luke 2. Every year as we read this beloved story from a large old Bible, our family does what your family probably does—dressed with towels on our heads and shoulders and donning bathrobes to represent Joseph, Mary, and the many who came to worship the baby Jesus, we reenact the treasured Christmas story of the Savior’s birth.

Our family celebrations at Easter, however, have been somewhat different. I feel our family has relied more on “going to church” to provide the meaningful, Christ-centered part of Easter; and then, as a family, we have gathered to share in other Easter-related traditions. …

But the First Presidency letter was a wake-up call. Not only did they invite all of us to make sure our celebration of the most important event to ever happen on this earth—the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ—includes the reverence and respect the Lord deserves, but they also gave us more time with our families and friends on Easter Sunday to do so.

These words of the Prophet Joseph Smith add additional context to the significance of the events surrounding Easter: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”

Lesa and I have discussed ways that our family can do better during the Easter season. Perhaps the question we have asked ourselves is one we could all contemplate: How do we model the teaching and celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Easter story, with the same balance, fulness, and rich religious tradition of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Christmas story?

This year, in the midst of my Christmas celebration, I am trying to look at which parts are appropriate to bring in my celebration of Easter. We have a Christmas playlist of music. Perhaps, we can create a similar playlist with songs celebrating the glory of our Savior’s triumph over death.

I hope you enjoy the spirit of love and giving as you celebrate Christmas with family and friends. I am so grateful to our God who has blessed us with all we need in this wonderful opportunity of our mortal lives.