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Keep the True Meaning of Christmas Present in Council Holiday Activities
At Christmas we honor the birth of Jesus Christ. At times our Savior is forgotten in the commercialization of the season and the rush to get ready for holiday festivities. Each year the Knights of Columbus takes a leading role in reminding society that Christmas is first and foremost a Holy Day. One of the best ways to do this is participating in the Orderâs âKeep Christ in Christmasâ campaign. Here are some things Councils and Circles can do to promote the birth of Christ as the focus of the Christmas season. The previous explanation and much of the forthcoming information has been transcribed from the Supreme Website and the Surge with a Service Booklet. For more information, please visit the Supreme Website or Surge with a Service Booklet under Church Activities.
- Participate in the Order-wide âLight Up For Christâ program to help share the light of the Advent season with your Council and Community.
- Create your own Advent Calendar of actions you can take each day to bring you closer to Promote Advent wreaths in your Council bulletin as a means for families to mark the time of preparation for the coming celebration of Christâs birth.
- Sponsor a âKeep Christ in Christmasâ billboard that depicts the Holy Family and the campaignâs Each year,
     Councils and circles throughout the Order display thousands of these billboards.
- Urge all members to display a nativity scene on their property or at their place of business if they can.
- Sponsor a âKeep Christ in Christmasâ poster or essay contest for Display winning posters in the church vestibule, school hallways or your Councilâs meeting place during the holidays. Essays could be read during Mass and at a Council sponsored event or published in local newspapers.
- Submit a âKeep Christ in Christmasâ advertisement for publication in your parish bulletin or Council Order âKeep Christ in Christmasâ printed materials available from the Supreme Council Supply Department
- âJesus is the Reason for the Seasonâ – Order lapel pins, ornaments, novelties from the Autom Catholic catalog: Autom.com.
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- Buy Christmas  cards  with  religious  themes  and  âKeep  Christ  in  Christmasâ  car   For  more
information, contact Steve Sykes: steves@wcsdist.com Tel: (951) 232-4610
- Plan at least one Council sponsored event during December for members and their This could be a food or clothing drive, the praying of the Rosary or singing Christmas carols.
- Conduct a Christmas Posada with your family and your Knights of Columbus Order âThe Posadaâ
booklet from Supreme Supply Catalog; Item #9898-E,S,F19.
- Contact your local firefighters or Marine Corps and have your Council sponsor a âToys for Totsâ
- Organize a parish Nativity play with children from the parish or local Catholic
- Combine the Coats for Kids program with the Keep Christ in Christmas campaign by giving your coats away just prior to Christmas with a Christmas message attached to each
- Your priests are very busy during the Christmas Have your council either take your priests out to dinner or give each a gift card to a good restaurant in your area.
- Resist the temptation, even when youâre in a rush or short notice to abbreviate âChristmasâ as âXmas.â
The Best Presents Canât Be Wrapped
This Holiday season give the gift of yourself within your Council, community and family. Give these or similar presents of friendship, understanding, kindness, love and compassion.
- Serve or prepare meals at a soup kitchen.
- Visit or bring presents to children, military personnel or elderly people in the Visit someone who is a shut-in.
- Send a Christmas card to someone you have not seen or talked to in Invite a friend or neighbor who will be alone to share your Christmas celebration
- Get the family together to clean out all closets and Donate usable clothing, shoes, blankets and other items to a program for needy families.
- Send care packages to military personnel stationed
- Supply baby clothes, diapers, car seats or cradles to underprivileged Have your Council sponsor a family or families in need.
- Sponsor a drive for children to donate their old toys to
Be a part of the Holiday spirt by undertaking one or more of the items listed above and help make Christmas Merry for someone else and yourself.
David P. Waage, Chairman
(805) -588-8124
davidwaage@rocketmail.com