Tips to engage your faith more during the holiday season

Shopping is a big part of the holiday season, and data regarding retail sales bears that out. According to the National Retail Federation, roughly 19 percent of total retail sales during a five-year period beginning in 2019 occurred between November and December.

NRF data is a testament to how much shopping now factors into the holiday season. But millions aspire to more fully engage their faith over the final month of the year. Indeed, religious holidays like Chanukah and Christmas mark a perfect time for the faithful to place a greater emphasis on their faith. That goal can be accomplished in a number of ways.

• Read scripture each day. Many adults’ first interactions with their faith as youngsters were reading stories about the foundations of their religions with their parents, religious instructors or even on their own. Those stories might have been kid-friendly adaptations of notable stories found in the sacred writings of various faiths, including Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This holiday season adults can engage their faith more fully by committing time each day to reading scripture. If time is short, commuters can even listen to audio versions of sacred writings on their way to and from work.

• Volunteer at your local house of worship. Houses of worship recognize the holiday season is a special time of year. But they also recognize that the less fortunate might be particularly needy during this time of year, and many churches, synagogues, temples, and other houses of worship host holiday season food, clothing and toy drives, as well as additional events, in an effort to ensure everyone gets what they need. Volunteering to lend a hand during such events can be a great way to engage more fully with your faith.

• Attend services. The hectic pace of the holiday season is well-known, and it can be hard to make it to daily or weekly services. But such services can be just what people need to reconnect with their faith during the holy season. If it’s been awhile since you were a regular attendee at church services, commit to regular attendance throughout the month of December.

The Christmas holiday season has undeniably become a commercial time of year. But it also marks a great time to reconnect with one’s faith, and to remember the reason for the season.