There’s something magical about experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a child who still believes in Saint Nick. It brings excitement and anticipation of what he’ll leave under the tree on Christmas morning. But no matter how old you are, there’s still something magical about Christmas morning.

With the Christmas season comes family traditions — traditions that may be a little silly, while others bring emotions out that remind us of a particular Christmas or maybe a loved one that is no longer with us.

For me, Christmas brings back memories of a time that seemed so simple, a time when my biggest worry as a kid was if Santa was going to accidentally pass my house without stopping. I always wondered after our visit at the Sears and Roebuck store, “Did Santa understand exactly what I wanted for Christmas?” The man never took notes, so how was he going to remember what I asked for?

After all, I could not have been any clearer on what gift I wanted! I can only think of maybe two times that he forgot. You know, he does have a long list with a lot of names which makes his job awfully difficult.

When it comes to traditions, there are a few that my wife and I have passed on to our children. First, we never miss our Christmas Eve service at the First United Methodist Church with great music, an inspiring message, and the lighting of the candles.

My wife’s side of the family includes six brothers and sisters who all have children and grandchildren of their own. Everyone has done their part to add to the family tree, which means we now have a lot of youngsters running around.

Each year after the Christmas Eve church service, we gather as a family of 40-plus at one house for food and the passing out of matching Christmas pajamas. The pajama crusade has been a long-standing tradition that can be difficult for one person to handle on their own with the gathering of sizes and placing the order.

But one thing that has stood the test of time is the annual building of the human pyramid, everybody donning their new pajamas. The only thing that has changed over the years with the pyramid is who is on the bottom, as people change due to fluctuation in sizes! (Hopefully I’m not offending any family reading this!)

Another tradition for us takes place on Christmas morning as we bake cinnamon rolls, place a candle in one, and sing happy birthday to Jesus. This tradition has gone on for 44 years!

After everyone has celebrated and opened gifts Christmas morning at their own homes, all will gather at the grandparents for round two of more food, fun and games along with the exchange of gifts.

While throughout the years we have joyfully welcomed new members into the family, we have sadly lost others and miss them dearly. But this is all a part of life itself. Nothing ever stays the same.

With age comes growing appreciation for the blessings of getting to be a part of such a loving family. People you can lean and count on in time of need. People who know who you are and what you’ve been through.

So, this Christmas, become a kid again and take the time to count your blessings and enjoy your family! Because you never know when it might be the last time you get to spend a Christmas together. Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

Sending text messages has become an integral part of life for most of us.  It has become such a common activity that we instinctively reach for our phones and begin tapping out a message rather than placing a voice call.  The most common text messages today are, “I love you,” “when will you be home,” and “where are you,” respectively.  The birth of our modern text messaging system can be traced back to December 3, 1992.

In 1992, 22-year-old Neil Papworth was working as a software engineer for the now-defunct Anglo-French information technology company Sema Group Telecoms.  For about a year and a half, Neil was part of a team that was searching for a way to transmit short text messages for Vodafone, a British telecommunications company.  At the time, the only function cell phones could perform consisted of making and receiving telephone calls.  Telecommunication companies knew that cell phones had the potential to do more, and they knew adding functions would lead to huge profits.  Vodafone wanted to add a pager feature (remember pagers?) into cell phones.  Neil and his team spent months testing and troubleshooting the one-way messaging system.  The main problem was that they had to create a text messaging system that would interact flawlessly with any cell phone on the market.    

Vodafone had invested a lot of money in the system and wanted to show the world that it worked.  On December 3, 1992, Neil sat in his office in Newbury, England, hoping that the text messaging system he and his team created would function as expected.  After checking and rechecking the team’s programming, Neil typed in the cell number of Richard Jarvis, the director of Vodafone, who was hosting a Christmas party on the other side of town at the time.  He typed in a short message and, as he later explained, had two thoughts: “God, I hope this works,” and “what am I going to have for dinner?”  Neil explained, “for me, it was just another day at work.”  This was far from a random test; Vodafone had planned to reveal their technology to the world at this party if it worked.  Vodafone had numerous members of the press present to be sure the word got out.  The company had planned every detail of the reveal except for what the text message would say.  Without much thought, Neil typed a two-word message and sent it.  Because it was a one-way text messaging system and Richard could not send a reply, Neil had to call Richard to ensure that the test was successful.  Neil said, “there was a lot of relief when it worked.”  By the end of 2000, cell phone users sent an average of 35 text messages per month.  Today, users send an average of 52 text messages per day.  Neil had no idea that text messaging would make such an impact on our daily lives.  

Neil Papworth, the 22-year-old software engineer who helped change the way the world sends and receives information, who is credited with sending the first commercial text message, did not own a cell phone.  He bought his first cell phone three or four years later.  Although it’s been said many times, many ways, I want to share the same message with you that Neil sent the director of Vodafone.  The first commercial text message in history consisted of just two words, “Merry Christmas.”

Sources:

1.     The Daily Nonpareil (Council Bluffs, Iowa), June 30, 2006, p. 57. 

2.     Ivan Blagojevic, “23+ Texting Statistics on Modern Messaging Habits,” 99firms, August 11, 2025, https://99firms.com/research/texting-statistics/#gref.

3.     “The History of SMS – Neil Papworth w/ Bonin Bough | Messaging Summit 2019,” Bonin Bough, YouTube.com, July 9, 2019, https://youtu.be/odvj7CDGHys?si=cApKpHu6tnQyuTd9.

4.     “Meet the Legend Behind the first ‘Merry Christmas’ SMS,” MoreThan160, YouTube.com, December 4, 2023, https://youtu.be/1EQffh6-Y2Y?si=DpndYabbyoLNtHhl.

On December 24, 1914, the frozen battlefields of World War I witnessed one of the most astonishing and unlikely events in military history. Along multiple points of the Western Front, thousands of British and German soldiers climbed out of the trenches, exchanged greetings, and celebrated Christmas together—forming an informal truce that defied commanders and surprised the world.

By late 1914, the war had already produced staggering casualties. Trenches stretched for hundreds of miles. The ground was cold, muddy, and riddled with shell craters. Yet on this particular Christmas Eve, something unplanned and extraordinary unfolded.

As evening approached, British troops near Ypres reported seeing small lights flickering across no-man’s-land. At first, soldiers feared a trap. Soon, however, they realized the lights were candles set atop Christmas trees placed along the German parapets. Moments later, voices rose in carols. British soldiers recorded hearing the familiar tune of “Silent Night,” sung in German, followed by cheers.

What happened next defied military expectations. Soldiers on both sides began shouting holiday greetings, some in broken English or German. Eventually, individuals cautiously emerged from the trenches. As more men followed, the two forces met between the lines, shaking hands and exchanging small gifts, including tobacco, buttons, and preserved sweets.

Remarkably, several eyewitness accounts describe soldiers organizing impromptu soccer matches. Using makeshift balls and marking goals with military caps, they played in the center of the devastated battlefield. Others used the moment to bury fallen comrades who had been unreachable due to sniper fire in previous weeks.

The truce spread along stretches of the front, though not uniformly. In some areas, fighting continued. Commanders on both sides issued orders forbidding such contact, fearing that fraternization would undermine discipline. Despite this, the Christmas Eve Truce held through much of the night and into Christmas morning, with soldiers exchanging food, repairing trenches, and even assisting wounded opponents.

By December 26, leadership reasserted control, and combat recommenced. Military authorities quickly worked to prevent any repeat truces, implementing stricter guidelines and reorganizing units. Yet the memory of Christmas 1914 lived on in letters and diaries, providing future generations with a rare example of humanity amid war.

Each December 24, historians revisit this moment when soldiers facing the horrors of trench warfare chose peace, if only briefly. The Christmas Eve Truce stands as one of history’s most striking reminders that even during conflict, ordinary individuals can defy expectations to find common ground—even if just long enough to exchange a gift, share a song, or kick a soccer ball across the frozen mud.