New Haven United Methodist Church

As we enter the Advent season in preparation for yet another celebration of Christmas, I am reminded of the major role traditions have played in those celebrations, and how tradition has played a large part in the shaping of our cultural identity. 

These traditional activities can include the eating of certain foods or consumption of special drinks, the making of specific decorations or even the telling of stories that remind us of who we are and where we came from.

In our American culture, no holiday has yet been able to outmatch the traditions of Christmas, although I am sure one could argue that both July Fourth and Saint Patrick’s Day are big in their own right.  Yet the Christmas experience has developed traditions that span the gamut of foods, drinks, the decoration of trees, religious rituals, live nativity scenes and plays and countless other festivities.

The Christmas tree had its origins in European pagan antiquity, and was brought into the American colonies by immigrants from Central Europe as part of their holiday traditions.  In America today, though, the tradition of the Christmas tree crosses all racial and ethnic boundaries, losing some of its religious significance among the secular population to be sure, but also seeming to unite us all in a celebration of life, of family and friends, and of giving to others – especially the less fortunate.

One major holiday to our forebears in this part of the country is the marking of the Feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a minor saint from 4th century Asia Minor revered through history and tradition as a Christian Bishop for his care of the sick and the poor.  On this feast day, December 6th, people from several ethnic backgrounds in Europe, including former German Americans, mark the day in their own specific ways, and it is for many the first major tradition in the annual lead-up to Christmas.

Traditions can be new as well as old, too.  One string of events shared by my family in recent years has been the watching of specific movies that remind us of the Christmas season and memories of holidays past.  Besides classic films like “Going My Way” with Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald, “Holiday Inn” with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, and “White Christmas” with Bing and Danny Kaye, we would also watch every version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol ever made (my personal favorite Scrooge is still Alistair Sim with Jim Backus as a Mr. Magoo Scrooge 1960’s cartoon character a close second) and at least two or three versions of “A Christmas in Connecticut”.

Each individual has his or her own set of great Christmas traditions and the memories they have spawned, and I’m sure each of you do, too.  Cherish those thoughts of life, of love, of family and friends, and work hard each Advent season to develop new traditions and new memories that our hearts and minds can share for years to come.

This next Sunday, December 9th, United Methodists in the New Haven area will mark one of their annual holiday traditions with this year’s Christmas Cookie Sale at Immanuel UMC in Senate Grove, south of town on County Road VV.  Church members have been baking their own holiday special cookies for the last several weeks, and the number of cookies available at the church on the 9th may top 200 dozen of these homemade treats.  If you’d like to join us in one of our holiday regular events, then join us at Senate Grove, about two miles west of County Road E on County Road VV, at 1:00 p.m.  And don’t be late, because these cookies will go fast at a price of only $6.50 per pound.

You’re also invited to join us in worship anytime at either New Haven United Methodist Church on Highway 100, at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday, or at Immanuel UMC in Senate Grove on County Road VV at 10:45 a.m. Sundays.  If you are a dedicated church attendee or someone who hasn’t been to church in months or even years, you will be welcome.

May you have a blessed Christmas season.

Pastor Doug Booth

New Haven Independent News

405 Charles Cook Plaza

New Haven, MO 63068

(573) 237-5600

nhnews2017@gmail.com