A re-post...Has it ever been Christmas but it doesn't feel like Christmas?

Has it ever been Christmas but it doesn't feel like Christmas?

I know for me this has become a common thing the past couple of years. I love christmas and all, but it has slowly become more and more meaningless. I love the presents, getting together with friends and family, the presents, Christmas songs and lights, the presents but there just seems to be no heart anymore.

where is God in it all?

i know for me, that our traditions have become meaningless and they no longer bring my thoughts and heart back to God. Instead they take my heart and focus away from God and bring them to focus on meaningless things that help me forget more then remember.

How do our Christmas traditions both inside and outside the church point us back to our messiah? I know some do but most of them seem like they don't.

this past year we decided as a community not to celebrate Easter but instead to have a messianic passover. IT WAS FREAKIN AWESOME! We had a ton of fun celebrating but at the sametime enjoyed being able focus on God using all the symbolic type foods, drinks, words, teaching etc. to truly get our hearts, minds, and thoughts focused on God. this gave true meaning and excitement towards our celebration. It was incredible!

But, as I focus on christmas I wonder what our christmas tree means, or the candles in the candle light service, or the reason we have it on this day, or decorations etc. So much of it points towards meaningless and empty traditions.
Last year Sarah and I even skipped Christmas eve service to study up on hanakka to see if there was a cooler heart behind that jewish custom but even that holiday didn't have much that pointed toward God.

and so I came to the conclusion...I don't want to celebrate Christmas in the same way anymore. I want to create a tradition (yep... I know I said tradition - but not forever just until it loses its heart and then start a new one) that helps us to truly celebrate the heart behind Christmas. that brings our thoughts, minds, hearts back to the true reason we celebrate Christmas. To come up with symbols, decorations, foods, etc. that will bring us back to why we celebrate as God's people.
I don't know what this will look like yet, but I want to study more about our traditions of Christmas now and then pray about what things God puts on my heart. I am excited and I think it will be a lot of fun. prayfully others will join us in this celebration and that we totally have a ton of fun celebrating and worshiping God in crazy ways next Christmas!