Christmas often becomes a projection of our childhood memories onto our children. Our cells continue to keep memories of endearing moments with our families and great enthusiasm with the arrival of the Three Kings and Santa Claus. We want our children to live that, and relive it ourselves, by recreating it for them.
In this recreation, we focus above all on the forms, on the gifts, on the decorations, on the food, and even when we resort to some solidarity gesture, it is to donate material goods. We donate used toys to needy children and, incidentally, we make room for new ones.
From that projection of the past lived in this different present, we may begin to detect disagreements and feel nostalgic for those childhood times in which perhaps the true Christmas spirit was more present.
In these times of spiritual crisis, internal disconnection, consumerism, and lack of values, family Christmas and winter retreats bring us a good opportunity to accompany our children to look inward and cultivate their spiritual dimension.
If you are a Christian, these are the days par excellence to be able to practice religion with your children. For those of us who live spirituality from a secular perspective, today I want to share some proposals so that this Christmas you can connect with your children, with that spiritual dimension and cultivate, in our way, peace and love typical of the Christmas spirit.
- Cultivate the family bond
It is very likely that in family gatherings after eating, the children go to play in the room and the older ones stay talking, in the best of cases, about their things.
Most of the time we are in the same place but not together.
- Cultivate Receiving
There is a lot of talk in the parenting forums about the barbarity of gifts that children receive and about putting a stop to this consumer fever that has been unleashed since Black Friday kicks off Christmas shopping.
- Cultivate Compassion
The Christmas spirit goes hand in hand with solidarity and looking out for those most in need.
Helping our children become aware that they are part of a much larger community and connect with the humanity they share with other beings, no matter how different their circumstances may be, is a good way to make them connect with their spirituality. When they perceive that beings like them suffer in some way, that feeling of compassion emerges that moves us to alleviate that suffering in some way.
- Cultivate Gratitude
These days of tables full of food, loved ones sitting at the table, lots of toys, a party atmosphere, vacation days to be together, etc., is an excellent time to cultivate gratitude in children.
- Cultivate Peace
Likely, these days the family quarrels that do not let us have the party in peace become more evident. These days are likely to foster a rapprochement when we put reason aside and connect with the heart and forgiveness. I know that it is difficult to do it, I know that wounds hurt and that from our rational part, we can find many reasons to continue denying entry to our hearts to those who one day wronged us.
Cultivating peace in you, makes it grow in your children.
