%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 20 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 15 0 R /GS2 16 0 R /GS3 17 0 R /GS4 18 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 3.1.0 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20251015181707+00'00') /ModDate (D:20251015181707+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1735 >> stream xXے}Wt EKʕ!' `)3ݜpI<[R A>/EiJW-{ U]'Eǖ-)[%)=n~UڌGzeolx*VUs3,(7eaecFGJ#K2^?_dIymVgIUTI6` _LRZ rxM?o Vs!=kiRgUYda~3MoF1CΪfC٭D2GUO{e`<[,<_F;h'c8 sy Xש>fD+uFWvwg Lک=FMeK4Kj?e[jO{sjmy56zq~_B#U;=V 7UA9~ٯd]Ũ=cW{9} aY\6N/p:%:`[Ȍ1FUŘ~grA ؠg(|>6fxA3`Mmȡxz@mZoU#n"q{ly듕\@E(Q9@%^9qwIe,ѴeRY/Fk}3rojއ_Y@ R:{eob`PP*]=HYn@I PAG~FB'z;Y[ha*ܠ!up< cX!BΈbaRi3b2wغ㼱R6k,*GJll(ћH܇ iOcz؈ʖ>n[m+!&[nbJ:O?1@I = @dz! )J~Bzt'v`Qd!jSf, ^K3hxtQ^) !!7ƺW Q<߈<& %S{Dj˘|ˉL4`g<(>k_\)So0 %^<FK6_Ȑu#Hk Gii~[ɋ5'A18QN/IFs`;"FÆHxgг1C!Fݓd' E! c̉>nP { ^/˄# z;!o:1PzU'թ4Msa*;oM3$8jS5\ë,XcKU8$YOKϫc ,˗fg! /Fh= endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 21 0 R >> endobj 21 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 318 >> stream xmN0<5RmFML@4m_d_ae dIҷ LH09SB)m&y Bf0Y@@Ay2!P6N!\Z^ni:;;ip:5i wx6D0qclm ޮsf:hG~V+ $km}ø$y9#ՈF;eԯ4B:"~11MNͪ J!?p,%T0yʇ9'{T ":gR$?) endstream endobj xref 0 22 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000401 00000 n 0000000430 00000 n 0000000579 00000 n 0000000682 00000 n 0000002490 00000 n 0000002597 00000 n 0000002705 00000 n 0000002815 00000 n 0000002928 00000 n 0000003044 00000 n 0000003073 00000 n 0000003183 00000 n 0000003240 00000 n 0000003297 00000 n 0000003356 00000 n 0000003415 00000 n 0000003444 00000 n 0000003549 00000 n trailer << /Size 22 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<685e2926589cac27d2768ce829b4d8b1><685e2926589cac27d2768ce829b4d8b1>] >> startxref 3940 %%EOF Traditions | Caring Magazine
Read Caring Magazine Volume 29

Vol. #29

Hope in Action

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

Traditions

December 12, 2008
2 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

Remembering the message of peace

by Della Rees, Lt. Colonel –

Traditions—they are an essential part of what holds society together. Often the reasons for societal traditions are forgotten. They become an automatic exercise. But traditions can disappear because they no longer fit present circumstances. For instance, traditions begin fade when close family ties are no longer available.

No longer does my family gather to open gifts on Christmas Eve. The aromas of roasting turkey and other delectable dishes departed when Mother, approaching age 90, retired from the holiday kitchen. Her daughter preferred going to someone else’s home, frozen pie in hand. Personally, band and songster caroling has been replaced by the noisy clatter of a coin counter at kettle headquarters.

Many Salvationists adopted some ethnic traditions, such as the observance of the Santa Lucia Festival before Christmas and Julgran Plundering after Christmas where the tree was taken down with singing and treats—even if they were not Scandinavian! As time has elapsed, and we are further away from the old practices, these have often faded away

Yet one childhood tradition and one from adulthood represent Christmas to me. A memory from pre-school days is of a small cardboard nativity scene—no fancy European ceramic figures for us. It appeared each December and then returned to the storage box.

That remembrance eventually inspired me to collect a few small nativity scenes. The first one was made in Hawaii with a coconut shell stable. The few became almost 200, including—yes—a set of large European ceramic figures. I added a lighted scene in my window as a reminder to neighbors of the real Christmas message. Some items stay out during the year so that I am constantly reminded of that message.

The adulthood tradition? It is one that exists between God and myself. Each year at Thanksgiving I pray that I might discover some special message about Christ’s coming. The first time I asked that, I soon witnessed a Christmas tableau of the Holy Family and attendant figures quietly and beautifully staged. The simplicity of the message of peace, wrapped in swaddling clothes—not layers of philosophy and theology—stirred my heart. Message received.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like