First Christmas
The Amish View: First Christmas
I’VE RECEIVED many letters responding to A Simple Amish Christmas, my debut book. Most readers appreciated the Amish way of life. How do they manage to keep things so simple? Wouldn’t it be nice to not have all the rush and stress around Christmas.
?
When I began my research for this book, I wasn’t aware of the Amish practice of First Christmas and Second Christmas. As I fell into the storyof my characters, I also grew accustomed to the rhythms of their lives.
First Christmas — a full day spent worshipping the child, remembering his birth, reading his word.
Second Christmas — a simple celebration with your closest family. A few gifts, chosen because they express your heart (not your wallet). A meal shared together.
For many of us, Christmas no longer represents those things. Sadly it has become something to endure, something to “get through.” I think a lot of us know this, but we don’t know how to move from where we are to where we’d like to be. Trust me when I say that I’m right there with you. I think maybe it starts with letting go of the guilt and expectations.
I think maybe that baby in a manger came to free us from such things. Christmas is next week. Try to enjoy the season, instead of endure it.
V~