Christmas Traditions of Mormons

Hi folks,
It's that time of the year - Christmas, my daughter's favorite time of year, and mine too. I never really gave it much thought about how Mormons celebrate Christmas, or even if they do, until I was recently interviewed and asked the question. The show's host brought up about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and their beautiful renditions of many of the classic songs of Christmas and then asked me about Mormons and how they celebrate Christmas. I found a number of articles on Mormon Christmas traditions and ways that Mormons celebrate Christmas and have taken some excerpts to post in order to get your comments. Feel free to share your thoughts. I have put in bold the statements that I thought were especially interesting.

Art

Mormons know by modern revelation that the Savior of the World was born in the spring, April 6th specifically. However, the only commemoration of the Lord's birth, life, death, and resurrection that is specifically commanded by the scriptures is the sacrament of the Lord's supper. Jesus commanded his disciples to partake of the emblems of his flesh and blood in remembrance of him. In obedience to this commandment, latter-day saints partake of the sacrament at weekly church meetings. Because the scriptures and modern revelation do not designate any other special observances beyond the Lord's supper, we joyously celebrate the wonderful traditions of Christmas with the rest of Christendom in December.
The Christmas holiday is an invitation to give of ourselves and to reach out to others in love and compassion. It reminds us of the reality of the Living Christ. The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi reveled in a vision wherein he observed the nativity and felt the overpowering love of God for his children. As an angel revealed to him the birth of Christ, which would take place 600 years in Nephi's future, the heavenly messenger asked Nephi, "...Knowest thou the condescension of God? Nephi replied, "...I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." Nephi then beheld Mary in vision and described the experience:
"And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. (1 Nephi 11:16-22)
At Christmas, we reflect upon the wonderful Bible chapters that recount the Lord's birth and the miracles associated therewith. The Christmas story is one of revelation, visions, and angels. We are reminded of the angel Gabriel, who came first to Zacharias, father of John the Baptist to announce the birth of the forerunner to the Messiah, who would prepare the way for him. We reflect upon the message of this same Gabriel who announced to the Virgin Mary that she would become the mother of the Son of God. We consider that angels appeared to shepherds in the field and announced glad tidings. The prophetic insights of two elderly Jews in the temple, Simeon and Anna, who were given to know of the advent of their Messiah as his parents brought him to present to the Lord. Their testimony reminds us that God keeps his promises and that he gives knowledge by the Holy Ghost to those who seek him.

Is it not strange that modern sectarians deride latter-day saints for their belief in angelic ministrations, visions, and revelations in modern times when our Bible is filled with testimony that these things occur? Is is so odd to believe that the first coming of Jesus Christ would be announced by angelic messengers and prophets, but not his second coming, which will occur in this dispensation? Mormons celebrate, moreso than any other people, the testimony that God can and does speak to his servants and that angels visit the earth once again.

Here's another take on a Mormon Christmas. See anything missing?

A Mormon Christmas
After I converted to Mormonism, would I have to give up beloved wintertime rituals?
I stood Christmas Eve in the sanctuary, spotlights directed at my tinsel halo and white robe. I was 9, a good little Midwestern Methodist girl, one of two Christmas angels assigned to deliver the Luke 2 lines: "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people..."
I opened my mouth - and completely froze. The other angel, undaunted, delivered the line beautifully while I stood there in complete silence, a heavenly Teller to her Penn.
Later while relinquishing my wings, I agonized over my less than celestial debut. The Sunday school president smiled and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Don't worry. You just had a mental block. All actors get them once in a while." I look back on the pageant with fondness, on that church community with warmth, and on that good woman with particular affection.
During my college years in Boston I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a group that has never developed Christmas worship traditions. Would I learn any new Christmas rituals? Would there be any substitute charm in this new environment? I loved my Protestant Christmas seasons. What would I have to give up?
As it turned out, not much.
During many years in Boston, I saw Christmas pageants in Mormon wards where children forgot lines, waved to their mommies and upstaged baby Jesus. I miss an institutionalized Christmas Eve program with little candles with drip shields, choir robes and processionals down a central aisle, but I have discovered there is lots of leeway for local initiative. Mormons in the Boston area do a bang-up job for the Christmas season.
For years, singers in the ward bundled up to carol in Louisburg Square on Beacon Hill. Carolers from many Christian traditions strolled in little clusters making this look like the quintessential Victorian greeting card - wonderful music backlit by the glow of wrought iron gas lamps, a tickling snowfall, appreciative Brahmin faces smiling in the steamy windows of their red brick town homes. One year, so I hear, a TV newscast looking for local color homed in on the Mormon group singing "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains," our unique and lovely contribution to Christmas hymnody.
Another Christmas tradition that persists in one suburban Boston-area ward begins as early as New England's apple crop. The young men and women of the ward take orders from members for apple pies. On one long, fragrant, gooey night the teenagers make and deliver the pies. The proceeds help buy toys the needy children of the inner city ward.
There have been memorable Christmas events here in the past - a majestic musical program, complete with a processional set to "O Come, O Come Emmanuel;" adults-only Madrigal dinners; and visits by the Sugar "Plump" Fairy tossing bonbons and pirouetting about the cultural hall.
Historically what happens in most LDS wards depends on a variety of factors - how invested the bishop is in music, who is activities chair, who likes kids included in parties, who prefers gala adults-only events, who is willing to tweak instruction and sneak in brass instruments, among others.
This year, our family will go to the Program of Lessons and Carols at Northwestern University. My seminary class will carol in my neighborhood. (Louisburg Square it's not, but it will do.) As a family we always celebrate Advent each of the four Sundays before Christmas - a tradition from my Protestant heritage. We read scripture, sing hymns and light candles sequentially in a wreath. On Christmas Day we may visit another church or just celebrate with family.
The lack of consistent church-wide programs is fine with me. I celebrate with my community both in their sanctuaries and in our chapels. I maintain traditions from my heritage that link me to my non-Mormon family in precious ways. I am connected to the whole Christian community.
And now that I'm an adult, I'm prepared to celebrate the angel's good news: "I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people...."

This next excerpt, from an article written by Blake Ostler called Covenant Traditions in the Book of Mormon, is part of his attempt to show the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Does he do a good job?

Ancient Background of the Book of Mormon
There are many features of the Book of Mormon that I believe were beyond the capabilities of Joseph Smith—or of any person living in the early nineteenth century—to devise. Some people have suggested that the Book of Mormon is the kind of book someone could and would write if the author lived in a culture saturated by the Bible, as New England was in the early 1800s. If that were true, then why was Joseph Smith the only one to produce such a book? The Book of Mormon is the only writing coming out of the nineteenth century that faithfully reflects the ancient Israelite covenant tradition. None of the books, articles, or sermons written in Joseph Smith's day presents the eight elements of the ritual pattern that I have shown are found in the Book of Mormon. Nor do any of his "everyday" writings contain anything like this pattern.
Further, I think it is clear and convincing from the similarity between King Benjamin's and King Limhi's presentations that the actions were ritual in nature and were repeated on special occasions. The similarity between the Israelite covenant renewal festivals and what we have recorded from among the Nephites in the Book of Mormon is undeniable. Those who are willing to ignore this type of ancient material in the Book of Mormon overlook what I consider to be compelling evidence.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Book of Mormon is available to us only in English and has passed through the hands of Joseph Smith, its ancient background can be detected throughout the book. The evidence that the Book of Mormon shows the Nephites faithfully carrying out the Israelite ritual tradition, even down to fine details, is for me among the most persuasive of all. It isn't possible that Joseph Smith just blindly duplicated the old Israelite covenant tradition through luck because he had read the Old Testament a good deal. Rather, the Book of Mormon repeats the same pattern and features it in almost identical language, over and over again.
Moreover, the evidence demonstrates that those responsible for keeping the Nephite records were conscious of the fact that their actions were part of a ritual tradition. The nature of the actions, the similarity of the language, and the understanding of the ancient Israelite covenant are simply too precise to be accounted for in terms of luck or even as a result of the most profound abilities in comparative literature. It seems to me that this is one aspect of the Book of Mormon that even the most skeptical of critics cannot explain away.