Posted by As a Christian and mother of three, TV host, actress, and Christopher Award-winning author Megan Alexander noticed that modern celebrations of Christmas could be overly commercial or completely overlook the holiday’s religious meaning. But when she did a deep dive into the history of our most beloved traditions, she learned that Christmas was not as secular as she thought because many of these traditions have spiritual roots.
Megan shares her discoveries in the new book “The True Gifts of Christmas,” and we discussed it recently on “Christopher Closeup” (podcast below).
The spark for Megan’s exploration of all things Christmas was ignited when she learned that the inspiration for Santa Claus was the real-life St. Nicholas, “who was born in what’s now modern-day Turkey, who loved the Lord, dedicated his life to the Lord, dedicated himself to poverty, to serving his community. And I realized that so many of our Christmas traditions are connected to him. Stockings, [for instance]. Legend has it that [St. Nicholas] lived next door to a family that had daughters that couldn’t afford a dowry [for marriage] and were worried that they’d be forced into a life of prostitution. They hung their stockings at the fireplace, and Nicholas knew that they needed money. In the middle of the night, legend has it that he snuck in and put some gold coins in the stockings. And in the morning they saw it, and their father was so thrilled that now they had money to not have a difficult life, but to have a life that the family dreamed for them. So I thought, ‘Okay, there’s the bridge between the secular and the Christian.’…And it was a ripple effect with so many other Christmas traditions that you’ll find in the book.”
The colorful, photo-filled book includes 25 different symbols and traditions that everyone knows in a surface-level way, but not necessarily the meaning behind them. For example, candy canes were created in 1670 by a choirmaster in Germany’s Cologne Cathedral. While teaching children about Christmas, he bent a peppermint stick to look like a shepherd’s hook to represent Jesus, the Good Shepherd. He then turned the hook upside down, making it a “J,” also representing Jesus. In later years, the colors of red and white on the candy cane came to represent both the blood Jesus shed and His purity, respectively.
Now that Megan knows this background, she and her husband add a spiritual dimension to the candy cane hunt they hold in their backyard every year for the neighborhood children. When the event is over and everyone has their sweets, she takes a minute to share this simple history of the candy cane with the kids, adding a little education to the fun event.
Megan also discovered that the classic carol “The 12 Days of Christmas” may have more depth to it than French hens and lords-a-leaping might suggest. “I didn’t know that a lot of people believe this traces back to Christians during times of persecution trying to teach the traditions of their faith to their children or to others undercover,” she explained. “So, the 12 days of Christmas became an opportunity to teach, for example, [that a] partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus, the son of God. Christ is presented as a mother partridge, a bird that will die to protect its young. Two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments. Three French hens represent faith, hope, and love. And it goes on. I didn’t know that, and I’ll never sing that song the same way again. And what a cool tool to teach our children!”
Megan’s focus on teaching children about their faith is reflected throughout “The True Gifts of Christmas.” She believes parents can use the 25 entries in the book to ask, “Where is Christ in this part of the holiday season?” This is not just true in terms of the material symbols of Christmas, but also the idea of selfless giving. One of her suggestions is, “Give quietly because the quieter the gift, the happier the heart.”
As she revealed on Instagram, Megan’s family was recently the recipient of this kind of gift, and it made an impact. Megan, her ten-year-old son, and six-year-old daughter were eating brunch at Cracker Barrel one day. “Sometimes we just don’t have it all together,” Megan admitted. “I’m sitting at the table, my daughter was giggling and my ten-year-old was being goofy with her, like he’s so good at. And all the orange juice spilled all over the table. I remember being like, ‘Oh my gosh. Sorry, everybody. We will get it together.'”
After cleaning up the orange juice, everyone ate their breakfast, then Megan asked for the bill. The waitress responded, “Somebody here in the restaurant took care of it for you.”
Megan described her and her kids’ reaction as “pleasant shock.” Nothing like this had ever happened to them before. In fact, it made them feel so good that they decided to quietly pay it forward one day. Megan was also impressed that this anonymous giver had observed the orange juice mishap and thought, “These people could use a little help.” It inspired Megan to pay closer attention to the people around her to see if anyone needs a little assistance or pick-me-up.
One of the ways in which Megan nurtures her own spiritual life is by taking part in a women’s ministry at a Catholic Church near her. “We meet every other week,” she said. “It is just an awesome group of women. We’re doing a Bible study on Mary and motherhood. We’ve done it now for three years, and it’s a really special part of my life.”
Megan’s life is almost always busy with family time, her job as a correspondent for “Inside Edition,” or her latest role as lead actress and producer of the movie “The Best Thing About Christmas,” which makes its streaming premiere on UP Faith & Family on December 19, followed by a national broadcast airing on UPtv on December 20.
That’s why she is determined to make time for the kind of spiritual growth she knows she needs. She hopes that “The True Gifts of Christmas” can serve readers in a similar way.
Megan concluded, “It’s my hope that we can slow down this holiday season, that people can read this book together. It’s 25 entries so they can do an entry a day. Maybe you kick off your morning with it as a morning devotional. Maybe you do it at night sitting around the dinner table, or as you’re tucking your kids into bed, or if you just want a quiet moment with a cup of tea. But it’s my hope that people will go through it and have fresh eyes this holiday season as they…realize that Christ is alive and well and interwoven into so many of our traditions. And by opening our eyes and knowing that He’s there, I hope it sparks conversation. The holidays is a special time when people are just a little bit more open to faith…So, I hope people use the book as an open invitation to dig a little deeper and also be blessed this holiday season by God’s love.”
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