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From Series: "Advent: The Presence of the Past"

Christmas is a time of tradition. We’ve all inherited meaningful customs and practices from our families and discovered new ones that we have come to treasure. The two Christmas stories in the Bible are written in ways that root them in the traditions of their own unique past. And as early followers of Jesus began to celebrate the birth of Jesus over the years, they found rich metaphorical connections to many of the evocative traditions already present in their own cultures. Celebrations of light in darkness, perseverance through the cold of winter, symbols of evergreen hope and a tenacious belief that generous love and kindness will win the day have been passed down to us as Christmas trees, yule logs, candlelight, gift-giving, holly, and mistletoe, to name just a few. This Advent we will explore the mysteries of Christmas through the lens of these holiday traditions. We’ll both embrace and critique them as a way of immersing ourselves in the story and wrestling with the miracle and magic of incarnational love… the kind of love that all cultures of humanity crave. The kind of love that can change the world!