The Real Reason for Christmas

Well, its that time of year again! Are you already busy making lists and shopping for presents? Have you gathered the family and gone to pick out your tree? Are you planning a Christmas party?  Is your brain spinning with visions of what your Christmas will be like this year? Has the planning and preparing taken over your life? I do hope you’re not too busy to finish reading this post because I have something very important I would like to share with you. It is a little book, just twelve letters long, written by a woman who is a “firm believer in God and God’s word.” Her name is Mrs. T., and she wrote this book because she had, “a growing concern that God’s word often goes unheeded, especially at Christmastime.” (Quotes are from cover flap of her book.) Mrs. T. passed away over three years ago, but her little book still has some big things to say about The Real Reason for Christmas.

Mrs. T. (short for Mrs. Margaret Taliaferro), wrote The Real Reason for Christmas way back in 1977. It is a book of letters to children for the twelve nights before Christmas. The letters are neatly printed by hand and sprinkled with whimsical line drawings. The letters are short and designed to be read aloud. If you read one letter on each of the twelve nights before Christmas, you will have had twelve simple but profound lessons in basic theology. You will have been encouraged, with at least twelve different reasons, to slow down and let your mind dwell upon the real reason for Christmas. You and your family will be reminded, refreshed, renewed, and ready to celebrate the best Christmas ever with Jesus Christ at the very heart of it.

I am sad to say that I believe this book is presently out of  print, but used copies can be obtained at amazon.com or abebooks.com. There seem to be a lot of these books out there (although I can’t imagine anyone wanting to part with their copy).  Our family, always read “Mrs. T.” every year at Christmastime. The children who were old enough took turns reading (and holding the book up to show the illustrations to the rest of us) and my husband always read the final letter on Christmas morning before we opened presents. We continued the tradition when the children grew into teenagers and no one ever complained about reading "Mrs. T. " 

The Real Reason for Christmas continues to be read every Christmas in the home of my son, Rob, and daughter-in-love, Marchelle (our gifted writer of youth lessons). I believe my Texas family also delights in reading Mrs. T. To tell you the truth, I still have our original copy of the book, purchased in 1977, and I read it every year also.

I am not one to recommend a book lightly, but I wanted to share this one with you because I think it will give depth, joy, and special meaning to your Christmas. It is good to look back and remember why we celebrate Christmas. In the New Testament, the apostle Peter speaks of our needing “reminders” (2 Peter 1:15 and 3:1), and often the Scriptures, exhort us to “remember” (such as in Acts 20:35; 2 Timothy 2:8, Jude 1:17, Revelation 2:5 and 3:3). What better time to take a few moments to "remember" than at the season of our Savior’s birth. 

I’ll write again before Christmas, God willing. In the meantime, I’ll be praying that every morning when you wake up, you will remember the real reason for Christmas!

~Suzie

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