The Creation Story found at the beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis gives the Christian account of God creating the world and the living beings within it. At the beginning of the Creation Story, there is nothing but God. Then God creates the heavens and the earth and says "Let there be light" to light up the world and distinguish night from day. Then he separated land and water. God created living things to inhabit the land and water: everything from grass and flowers to fish, birds, insects and elephants. Finally, God made man and woman in his image. This story illustrates the beginning of the Earth, where every living thing has a fresh start. You can ask your children to think of the New Year as a smaller form of the Creation Story. While your children might have experienced disappointments, failures and missed expectations from last year, everyone gets to start over again come the New Year.
In the Bible, the story of Noah and the Flood tells of a righteous man living in the human world, which had become disobedient and wicked towards God. God comes to Noah and tells him that he will destroy the world, but save Noah's family. Noah builds a gigantic wooden ark that can carry him, his family and one male and female animal of every species in the world through this disastrous flood so that they can begin new life at the end of it. This story teaches children the rewards of hard work, obedience and loyalty. The flood itself, which lasted 40 days and 40 nights, serves as a metaphor for the difficult trials we all face in life. While these challenges may seem insurmountable, diligence and patience will carry us through and make us better for our struggles.
Moses freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and escaped with them into the desert. Although the Israelites had been freed, they did nothing but complain about how horrible the desert was. Each time the Israelites had a complaint, God delivered to them. When they were hungry, God brought quail and manna bread. When they were thirsty, God made the dirty desert water clean enough to drink. While traveling through the desert, God set fire to Mount Sinai and then spoke to the Israelites and Moses, giving him the Ten Commandments. After this, the Israelites continued to commit sins, such as worshiping a golden calf idol instead of God. Because of their actions, God condemned the Israelites to wander for 40 years and then only let Moses' children live to enter the Promised Land. This story teaches children how to go about getting something they want. While the Israelites wanted to cheat, lie and steal to get to the Promised Land faster, Moses' loyalty and dedication through trust and prayer was the true path that delivered him there. At the New Year, people commonly set goals and develop a path for getting to those goals. Through this story, teach children that hard work, patience and trust are the only true ways to accomplish a New Year's goal.
The Birth of Jesus is celebrated at Christmastime just before the New Year. Jesus' birth marks not only a new year but a new world, as Jesus would eventually offer his life to save the human race from sin. In the story of Jesus' birth, the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will immaculately conceive the son of God. In a dream, Mary's husband Joseph learns the same news and is asked to help Mary raise the baby. As Mary and Joseph are traveling to pay their taxes, Mary is ready to have the baby. All of the inns are full, so Mary has Jesus in a stable. Angels told all of the shepherds of the land what had happened and where to find Jesus, so they traveled to meet and praise him. This story can relate to the New Year's concept of rebirth. As an exercise, have your children write down the things they want to improve upon in the New Year. As a family, you can reflect upon these things and then tell them about the birth of Jesus and how this birth brought a new beginning to every human being in the world.