Every family has traditions associated with special days: Christmas, birthdays, Easter, etc. One tradition of our family when our children were growing up was celebrating a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve. We generally went to the vigil Mass and then came home to a big dinner: roast beef, mashed potatoes, an assortment of sides, and a big birthday cake. After dinner we would have a procession around the house singing Christmas carols and ending at the nativity scene. The youngest carried Baby Jesus to place in the manger. The other children carried candles. I think we may even have carried the cake. Did we sing Happy Birthday when we reached the stable? I can't remember, but we always sang Away in the Manger as the youngest placed the baby in the crib. What a happy evening that was with candlelight and song, and a big slice of birthday cake.
