Today is my brother’s 67th birthday. I’ve been around for all of them, although I haven’t been in the same place as him for most of them. When we were growing up, however, it was different. We always devoted the day before Christmas to celebrating our brother’s special day. There would be a meal, with the menu usually chosen by him, a cake, and presents for him. The day, up until sundown, was devoted to celebrations for him. Only after the evening grew dark did we begin to celebrate Christmas. After dinner we’d have a time of singing carols and reading the story of Christmas from the bible. Then each child would be allowed to open one Christmas gift. We hung our stockings and then it was off to bed. When we grew older - into our teens - we were allowed to go to the late Christmas service at the church.

Christmas Eve contains a lot of traditions in my memory and we’ve established a lot for our family. Being pastors, the Christmas Eve services at the church were a big part of our celebrations. When our children were young, we served a congregation where we always had a Christmas Day service, regardless of which day of the week Christmas landed. Church was a big part of our Christmas observances. But we always also had a special family time for opening presents and enjoying one another. We started out as soon as our children were old enough to be excited about Christmas, a practice of opening gifts a little bit at a time rather than all at once in one big unwrapping session. We’d let the children open a couple of gifts and then pause for them to play with their new toys before going on with additional gifts. Sometimes we spread the opening of presents out into the afternoon. Christmas celebrations have taken many different shapes over the years.

Christmas also meant a big dinner at our house, a tradition that we have continued to observe. Since moving to the Pacific Northwest, we have hosted Christmas Dinner at our house. Our son and his family have the morning for their family, opening family gifts and enjoying the celebration. Then they come over to our house where there are more gifts and a celebration dinner. Some years we have roasted a turkey. Since moving to the coast we have splurged on a smoked salmon as part of our special holiday meal.

Today will be a day of preparations. Because we had an ice storm yesterday and we decided to stay home and not travel in the slippery conditions, yesterday was a good day to bake bread. Today we’ll do a bit more advance preparation for our big dinner tomorrow. The forecast calls for temperatures well above freezing, so if that occurs, we’ll head to church in the mid afternoon. Our bell choir is ringing for our church’s 5 pm service and for the 7 pm service of Garden Street United Methodist Church. There is an 11:30 service at our church, but we’ll probably catch that one online. Assuming that the weather will permit it, we’ll be back at church for the Sunday, Christmas Day service the next morning before returning home for a big family dinner and celebration.

The weather of the past week has taught us a few lessons about flexibility. We’ll try to keep being flexible while honoring as much of our traditions as possible.

I like the concept of Christmas Eve. In addition to the contemporary meaning of “evening,” the title reminds us of the Hebrew word for life - the name of the woman in one of the creation stories of our bible. Our daughter and one of our granddaughters have Eve for a middle name. Eve is a day for preparations. The day before the birth of a child is usually filled with signs of what is coming for the expectant parents. Things are stirring and the family is about to undergo a change, but no one yet knows exactly what that change will be like. Even with all of the ultrasound tests and advanced diagnostics, there are still plenty of mysteries about a baby before it is born. Our tradition teaches us that Mary and Joseph were traveling away from home when the time came for their firstborn to arrive. There were plenty of uncertainties.

In contrast, we have filled Christmas Eve with traditions. Not only can I tell you the scripture reading for the services this evening, I can recite it from memory. The carols will be familiar. The message will not surprise me. The one big unknown of the evening is the weather and, frankly, I’m grateful that we have a bit of surprise in the weather. We are not trapped by blizzard as are so many in other parts of the country. The reservations are in full crisis mode in South Dakota. Supplies, including propane for heating and essential groceries, have not been delivered due to impassable roads. Some people are stuck in their homes with no way to communicate with others or to ask for much-needed help. And there are many others, all across the country, who are struggling to survive in the midst of what has been called “a once-in-a-lifetime storm.” Our weather surprises are much less severe. We can test the slipperiness of the roads by walking down our street. We have reliable and comfortable vehicles. Our house is well stocked and other than a very brief “blip” in our electric service that lasted less than a minute, we have had dependable electricity and gas to power our furnace. We’ve been comfortable and cozy and have enjoyed the beauty of looking out from the inside during the days of the storm.

And now the temperature is above freezing. While the rain continues to freeze on some surfaces, there is plenty of liquid water and the temperature will continue to rise throughout the day. Emergency services will be switching from plowing snow and clearing ice to flood preparations today. It could be a busy time for them.

In the midst of it all, I hope we can remember to give energy to preparation and remember the anxious anticipation of the family awaiting the birth of the holy child and reminding ourselves that every child is a holy child. Merry, merry! For now, we wait.