For many people Christmas is over. They’ve already taken down the tree and the lights and the other decorations, and are setting the house in order for the new year. No more Christmas hymns. No more celebration (well, until New Year’s Eve). Christmas comes but once a year and thanks be to God! because they’re exhausted.
If I were to ask, “How’s your Christmas going?” they would give me the blank stare. But according to our calendar (and I mean the Church calendar), Christmas is just getting started. We’re now only on the third day of the twelve days of Christmas. We’ve remembered not only our Savior’s birth (the feast of the Nativity on December 25) but our first martyr (St. Stephen, December 26). We’ve had a day of worship before commemorating St. John the evangelist today (put off for one day because the normal day, December 27, hit on a Sunday). Tomorrow we’ll remember the murder of the babies in Bethlehem by Herod (“Holy Innocents” which normally falls on today) and on Friday, the circumcision of our Savior. All that before closing out our celebration of Christmas with the Feast of Epiphany on January 6!
Christmas is intended to be a “season,” not just a day.
“But who can stand this? I’m already worn down to my last frazzle!” Well, granted, given the way things are presently, changing our practice and getting into the new rhythm of the Church calendar is going to take some time — and realistically, it may now be impossible to turn the culture away from the present “tradition.” I’m not quite sure how to go about it or what it would look like.
But somehow, I think it would be good to try to get back to the old rhythm of the Christmas season. The fact that we have lost the rhythm of the various “seasons” has contributed, at least in part, to the fleeting joy (and often extended depression and disappointment) we have during these times — and here, I’m speaking especially about Christmas — the celebration is too brief to be appreciated fully. The traditional Christian calendar gives us a different rhythm for life and time — especially Christmas time.
And following the Christian calendar is not another way to thumb our noses at secular ideas of the “Christmas season.” The twelve days are important because they give us time to reflect on what the incarnation means. We need the twelve days to celebrate the wonder of God becoming man and all that was accomplished by our Savior.
Why twelve days? No one knows for sure. Perhaps this was to be an analogy to the twelve tribes of the old Israel that have now been transformed into the new Israel. Or maybe the 12 days signify the twelve months of the year pointing to the fact that Christ is with us not just one day but year-round.
Whatever the intention, the twelve days give us an opportunity truly to rejoice and reflect on the great mercy and grace of God in giving us His Son.
We have been baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection and have now entered the “new heavens and new earth” (though not yet perfected). Whether we are called to martyrdom, or to prophetic witness, or simply to faithful living in the joys and sorrows of our daily lives, we must live all of our days in the knowledge of our blessedness: redeemed by Jesus and in Him made acceptable and beloved in God’s sight. We are part of the society of people whose world has been turned upside down, and we are to live out this truth that overturned the old world and made all things new.
Observing Christmas as a season helps us to move beyond the sentimentalism that has become so much a part of “Christmas” and commemorate the true significance of Jesus’ incarnation. It enables us to see that Jesus’ coming truly transforms all things. It marked the end of the old world (under the dominion of sin and death) and the beginning of the new. And it reminds us of our new identity and purpose. We are now children of the King and are called to rejoice and give thanks and show the world the new destiny that now has come in Him. To celebrate for twelve days (as opposed to one) enables us to realize afresh the significance of what happened in Bethlehem and it declares to the world the remarkable reality that Jesus has destroyed the works of the devil and established a kingdom that shall have no end.
So, I don’t know exactly how to begin to do this, but it sure seems like a good idea to me. Stretching Christmas out over a number of days — making it a more full (and perhaps a more relaxing and refreshing) celebration — might bring far more benefits than frustrations; it just might bring us more joy than worry; more peace and less hustle and fuss. Whaddaya say? I think we should give it a shot.
Growing up in Yankee New England, our family did the same as everyone else–the Christmas tree was put up about 3 weeks before Christmas and was usually dead by New Years Day and you had to take it down very shortly thereafter or suffer dead pine needles all over your living room rug for months that the vacuum cleaner never seemed to be able to get up.
However, we had one family in our town that never put their tree up until Christmas Eve. They felt that was the proper time to put it up, and, though I don’t know what their religious persuasion was (they were Swiss originally) over the years I have come to see that they were right and the rest of us who couldn’t see why they waited until Christmas Eve to put the tree up were wrong.
Steve, as you have said often, we need to begin to follow the Church’s calendar rather than Hallmark’s calendar with Boss’s day, secretaries day, great aunt’s day, or whatever, which days are great for selling cards and making money, but do nothing at all for the culture around us.
Al Benson
Steve,
You got any sources or suggestions or established traditions for the 12 Days? We’re trying to keep the kids “excited” but devotions and singing are already part of our daily lives. They’ve got their presents so they’re not impressed with counting some more days. Small gifts each day? Special meals? Etc?
Thanks,
Phil
Phil,
I don’t have any good sources that give good suggestions (at least not to my mind). I don’t think that you necessarily have to have a party every day (or even give gifts every day) so much as continuing the celebration — so that everyone understands that this is the season for celebrating the incarnation and its fruit. The various days included (St. Stephen’s, St. John’s, Holy Innocents, Circumcision) can help in giving some variety to the emphasis of family worship on those days. A few years ago, I made up a “family prayer” service for each of the four “special” days of Christmas so that we could be mindful of the significance. And maybe on those days give the children something (small but significant in light of the day) to mark it. I don’t want this to become the Christian “Kwanzaa” so I’m not looking for a set ritual, but I think it is something we need to discuss as the Church together to gain wisdom from each other — so that we can get into the rhythm of celebrating Christmas as a season again.
This year we’re celebrating the 12 days of Christmas. My wife and I decided on it last year, after the whirlwind of Christmas Day, so we’ve been planning it since then (with lots of last minute changes!). Our children opened all their gifts to one another (they draw names from a hat to decide who to buy for) and from all friends and extended family, and from us they each get their First Day of Christmas gift. The rest of the days are split between gifts and things we do as a family. Sometimes they’re combined, like Sunday afternoon when they opened a few jigsaw puzzles and we worked on them together (and shared in exasperation when the 18 month old boy pulled it all down off the table top!). Tonight we’re going to a movie in the theater (a VERY rare treat in our household!). One of the days is the children making dinner from scratch. Yesterday we went to a local bookstore/toystore and they each got to choose a gift for themselves.
It’s been a delightful experience, and while there are a few things we’ll be changing for next year, the 12 days will definitely be a center piece of our celebrating Christmas.
Mr. Al,
The good side of that is Christmas trees are significantly cheaper on Christmas Eve