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Commemorating A Happy Christmas: Not Just One Solitary Day
Posted by Angelina Lucas on Oct 24, 2011
Article word count: 870 Times read: 71
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Many individuals are familiar with what is termed the "Christmas season." It begins after Halloween when stores prepare to stock up on Christmas decorations and begin to promote presents to consumers. Around Thanksgiving, most people begin their celebration of Christmas. Christmas lights and decorations go up on homes, the stores are packed with shoppers, and most trees commence going up. Radio stations broadcast Christmas music, offices and individuals have parties, schools and churches have plays and musicals. The festivities continue and be even more pronounced until December 25th, when the bash reaches its utmost degree. Gifts are exchanged, family meals are shared, and most people experience a jump in good humor and benevolence.
Then, the inevitable occurs! The dreaded December 26th. That's the day when adults return to work, the Christmas songs end, and the man who was sharing universal love and peace merely a few hours ago is now ready to bite your head off since he has so much work to catch up on. All that's left is a heap of presents that have lost their shine and a feeling wondering where all the mystery had gone.
A few years ago when researching Christmas, I learned that people didn't only celebrate Christmas Day; they celebrated Christmas as a period. For the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas Day, they practiced Advent, a stretch of calm meditation and preparation to await the coming of Jesus. During Advent, there were no decorations, no lights, and few parties. The focus was on waiting because Jesus had not yet symbolically come.
Then, when December 24th arrived, the lights and trees were made ready. The family would go to midnight mass, which is a worship service, and when they returned, the bash would commence because Christmas Day, the coming of Jesus, had come. They would put up the tree, sing the carols, turn on the lights, and feast with the family.
Thus, Christmas Day was just the dawning of Christmas as a season. The Twelve Days of Christmas really do exist! They are the twelve days of celebration from Christmas Day (December 25th) throughout January 6th, the Christian holiday of Epiphany. The party continues, though less so than the twelve Days, throughout the Sunday following Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord (Jesus). However, the celebrating isn't quite finished! Tradition says that Christmas festivities can continue throughout February 2nd, which is the feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary (or Candlemas)
What does this mean for us? It depends. Keeping Advent as a quieter, more meditative time before Christmas can help us be less stressed out through the parties, the shopping, and the chaos. We can still fancy the lights, the trees, the music, and the parties, but they're combined with some Advent contemplation.
Then, once Christmas Day arrives, I keep the celebratory spirit alive throughout the Baptism of Jesus. I keep up the tree, keep the lights on, and listen to Christmas carols on CD or mp3. This system allows me to not just remain even keeled leading up to Christmas, but avoids the post-Christmas disappointment that used to arrive like clockwork on December 26th.
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