Hobby Lobby is proclaiming the true meaning of Christmas through a full-page ad appearing in newspapers across the nation this holiday season.

The colorful ad features a young girl gazing happily at a nativity scene of Mary, Joseph, and the Christ child inside a snow globe, beneath the words, “Jesus is the gift.” A Bible verse accompanies it: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

The full-page ad even includes an offer to become a Christian, with text at the bottom of the ad reading: “If you would like to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, visit Need Him Ministry at www.chataboutjesus.com.”

The ad is sponsored by Hobby Lobby and Mardel Christian & Education, both owned by the Green family, who are Christian.

Hobby Lobby and Mardel run faith-centric ads every Christmas and Easter in newspapers across the nation.

The ad tradition began in 1995, when Hobby Lobby founder David Green was reading Christmas ads in print publications – including those by Hobby Lobby – and sensed God guiding him to “do something different,” according to a background explanation on the Hobby Lobby website.

“Hobby Lobby was selling all kinds of crafts that customers used to celebrate Christmas, yet David Green was struck by the lack of any testimony in newspapers regarding the meaning of the holiday,” the explanation says.

In 1996, Green responded with a simple newspaper ad that read: “As you celebrate this Christmas season in the warmth of family and home, may you be drawn to the Savior; He who left the beauty of Heaven on our behalf and became like us, that we might become like Him. If you know Jesus as your Savior, then this season already has a special meaning. If you do not, we encourage you to find a Bible-believing church in your community, and to discover a relationship this Christmas with the God who loves you more than you can begin to imagine.”

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