Merry Christmas!
I know what
you may be thinking, “James is having a little trouble with the timing
of his blog. He must have
thought we would get it before December 25th.”
Actually, I
have done this on purpose; there is no mistake.
I realize that Christmas music disappears from the radio on December 26.
Christmas trees are mostly bare, and only a few gatherings to celebrate the
season remain. By New Year’s Day, people
will have turned off their lights and packed away the Christmas decorations
with only the pounds we have gained to serve as a reminder of our celebration
of Emmanuel, God with us. However…if you are reading this post on or before
January 5th, let me once again say, “Merry Christmas.”
We spend four
weeks in faithful preparation for the coming of baby Jesus through the season
of Advent – a fact that our commercially driven society has been quick to
embrace. The other part of this
celebration that we tend to neglect is the season of Christmas. Yes, much like the seasons of Epiphany,
Easter, and Pentecost, Christmas day marks the beginning of the season of
Christmas. Christmas is traditionally a season of 12 days between Christmas Day
and Epiphany set by the 567 Council of Tours held in France. In Germany,
Belgium and Holland the twelve days began on December 25 and running through
January 5th. In England, December 26th marked the first
day of (after) Christmas. (Haidle)
We even
have a Christmas song that celebrates each of these days and the gifts that we
have received from “our True Love.” Throughout this season we celebrate the
many gifts of grace that God has given us. Helen Haidle’s book The Real 12 Days of Christmas (Gold ‘n’
Honey Books, ©1997) gives us an example of some of the meaning behind the song.
When you
see Christmas songs in the bulletins for New Year’s Eve or see the church
decorated through Epiphany Sunday, realize that we are not just clinging to a
season long past. We have joined with
1500 years of tradition as we rejoice in the fullness of God’s gift in Jesus
Christ. So, Merry Christmas!
Grace and Peace,
