Christmas Traditions: LDS Style

One thing I have noticed over the years, is that we LDS have our own set of traditions which seem to follow, sometimes other faiths, sometimes they are our own special additives to the Holiday season.

So I am going to run down a few:

1. Christmas Party – pretty much every ward I have been in has one.  However our ward in Edmonton has a special twist, called Christmas Breakfast.  Each of these parties used to feature Santa, not so much any more.
(these are not exclusive to Mormons but the style certainly is)

2. Stake Carol singing – I have seen this done in a couple of stakes, it is nice, but little kids get bored real quick so we do not go.  (Similar to some of the carol festivals I have gone to in other places.)

3. Gifts for Jesus – Something of a 90s thing which seems to have fell into disuse (at least in my family) is the gift left under the tree for Jesus,  sometimes these are completely empty, sometimes they contain “presents” of what you will do to remember him. (I have a sneaking suspicion this is actually an evangelical idea but who knows.)

4. Reading the Christmas story – the Mormon twist here is to add in 3 Nephi 1 along with the others.  This one I have done a few times.  It seems to be something better suited for Christmas Eve than the day when the kids are running amok.

5. A night in Bethlehem – more than likely not a Mormon invention but a really interesting way to do a Christmas party.  In our last one, we had an initial fireside, then they opened the screen and allowed us to enter “Bethlehem”.

Here is a picture of one of the stands.   The light is kept very dim to try and create a candle lit experience.  And many people brought blankets to sit on.

So you would go through the market to feed yourself, and after they had the Christmas nativity put on by the primary.

So what traditions do you have?  That might or might not be LDS only in origin.