Christmas Memories and Traditions | Dr. Nick Floyd
This week on RonnieFloyd.com, Pastor and several Cross Church staff members are sharing their Christmas memories and traditions. Today, we hear from Nick Floyd, Teaching Pastor. You can read more from Pastor and other Cross Church staff members about their Christmas traditions at RonnieFloyd.com.
My fondest memories of Christmas growing up happened in Springdale, Arkansas. We lived in a yellow home not too far from Springdale High School. We would always set up our tree in the living room of our home near the front door. I still remember my parents setting up the tripod with our camcorder on top to record the family opening up our presents. (If you’re under 25 years of age, a camcorder was a massive video camera that you put over your shoulder that captured less quality video than your iPhone currently does).
When I think about our Christmas traditions, two come to mind. First of all, I remember my parents always letting us open up one gift on Christmas Eve. One in particular stands out to me. On a certain Christmas Eve when I was a child, my brother and I were delighted to open up matching “Sugar Ray Leonard” boxing gloves. Nothing says Christmas cheer like punching your brother in the temple.
A second Christmas tradition I remember was that my mom would always put the stickers on the presents and write who the gift was for and who had given the gift. Now being a pastor’s kid, you may be wondering, “Did the Floyd’s celebrate Santa with their kids?” My answer is…kind of. Santa was one of the many people in line who would give the gifts. My brother would give one, my parents another, Santa would give me something, and even Big Red (the Arkansas mascot) was a giver. So…I guess we did…kind of…but not really.
Now that I have a family of my own, we are in the process of creating our own Christmas traditions. Just the other night we put the decorations on the tree and then sat on the couch and watched one of our favorite Christmas movies. I look forward to years of growing with my family and establishing our own traditions to carry on to their families one day.
Dr. Nick Floyd
Teaching Pastor, Cross Church
@nickfloyd8
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Christmas Memories and Traditions | Mollie Duddleston
This week on RonnieFloyd.com, Pastor and several Cross Church staff members are sharing their Christmas memories and traditions. Today, we hear from Mollie Duddleston, Director of Women’s Ministries at the Pinnacle Hills campus. You can read more from Pastor and other Cross Church staff members about their Christmas traditions at RonnieFloyd.com now thru December 24.
It is a great privilege to be a “guest writer” today for Dr. Floyd, writing about my one of my very favorite things, Christmas! I keep a Christmas scrapbook for our family, and so, as I prepared to write this post, I looked through the scrapbook, laughing and reminiscing about the 25 Christmases Jim and I have spent together. Christmas for our three children, Tucker, Sawyer, and Kate, is not unlike how I was raised.
Growing up in small-town Texas, Christmas was family, food and church. Our small Baptist church always had a Christmas pageant, complete with hand-made costumes and a handbell choir. We often celebrated Christmas Eve services at the First Baptist Church of Hillsboro, Texas where my grandfather was the pastor. Often, we would see cousins, aunts and uncles from around the state, and my grandmother and mother would plan big meals, filled with turkey, sweet potatoes and a myriad of Jell-o salads (I still hate Jell-o!).
When Jim and I began to have kids, we decided to establish some traditions that our family would enjoy. Because we lived in Denver, Colorado at the time, an obvious tradition was a live Christmas tree. So, with a three-month old baby and a permit to cut a live tree, we headed into the mountains and thus, established our first Christmas tradition. For the years we lived in Colorado and Connecticut, cutting a tree was actually cutting a tree, often in the snow, with our young boys excitedly deciding which tree was the best. For the last few years in Arkansas, this has involved a trip to the local Lowe’s on the day after Thanksgiving. On the way in, Jim instructs the boys to try to “steer Mom to the 7-8 ft. section” while Mom (me) longingly stands in front of the 11-12 ft. section. Typically, we settle on a beautiful 10 ft. tree, and we celebrate with an ornament exchange where each child receives an ornament that celebrates something memorable from the year.
One of the great blessings of living in a number of fantastic places around the United States during our married life is the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of cultural holiday events. This probably didn’t start as a purposeful tradition, but over the years, it has definitely become a significant tradition to our family. What started with hot cider and a live nativity at the Littleton Museum has also included the lighted boat parade in Newport Harbor, the lighting of the Christmas tree in New York City and Radio City Music Spectacular. For the last several years, our family has done a day trip to Branson, where we visit Silver Dollar City. We eat in the same restaurant, ride Wildfire (a roller coaster) after dark, enjoy a fun day together, and then see the beautiful light display. It’s truly one of the most spectacular light displays I have ever seen.
As I stood with my precious family a couple of weeks ago at Silver Dollar City watching the nativity float pass by, I reflected on the elaborate “American Christmas,” a stark contrast to the first Christmas in a humble nativity with two teenagers fearfully holding the most spectacular baby they had ever seen. In that dimly lit, stench-filled stable, a Savior was born, my Savior was born. So, as I celebrate Christmas Eve with my husband and children tomorrow night, the most wonderful of all traditions will occur: the reading of Luke 2 and the joyful proclamation that “unto us is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”
Merry Christmas!
Mollie Duddleston
Director of Women’s Ministries, Pinnacle Hills campus
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.