As I helped decorate the church Sunday, I often caught glimpses in my mind's eye of decorating the tree with my family, and of childhood Christmases spent around the tree. For each of us, the traditions and symbols of Christmas cause us to remember earlier holiday experiences, sometimes occasions of disappointment, but more often occasions of joy.

Remembering is an essential part of the holidays, and we should do it unashamedly, even if it moves us to tears. You will find it easier to select gifts for your parents if you remember good times with them as you shop. You will be able to give enough-but-not-too-much to your children if you remember that you are making lifelong memories for them (and too many gifts makes it hard for any one of them to be special). A spouse's gift should be based, not on practicality, but on remembering the most romantic, dream-filled moments you have shared.

The first Christmas was full of remembering. Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Mary remembered God's promises, and saw them fulfilled in John and Jesus. Mary's beautiful Magnificat says that the great things God was doing at that time were because the Lord remembered promises made to our ancestors. There are divine promises for which we still wait, remembering God's faithfulness and Christ's words that he will return in glory. But today, in the early moments of Advent, we remember Christ's first coming, and all the memories it has produced in our lives.