Blessed is the Kingdom

Seeking The Kingdom In All Things

Nativity

Today we celebrate the sixth day of Christmas. One of the things that used to bug me was to see just how quickly all signs of Christmas disappeared on December 26. Just two days ago, for example, I noticed that the store where I was shopping had already begun their marketing for Valentine’s Day. More recently I have given up being bothered by businesses not doing their part to promote Christmas in the manner churches would like them to. It seems to me that the people who are responsible for keeping Christ in Christmas are Christians, not the shopping malls. Don’t get me wrong, I am not one of these people who grumbles at people who don’t wait to put up their tree until Christmas Eve and who thinks we should give up exchanging gifts, but I do think we could make a bigger deal as Christians out of the celebration of the birth of the Savior.

Here are my thoughts on how Christians might celebrate during the holiday season in a way that could help them grow in holiness of life as well as giving witness to others about our faith. First of all, we could use Advent truly as a time of preparation. Each year it seems I hear more and more people who are worn out by the lead up to Christmas. We can give great witness to others by choosing not to run ourselves ragged in the lead up to Christmas. Part of the our preparation could be putting up the Christmas tree, having an Advent wreath or calendar, a nativity set, etc. All these things are physical reminders that Christmas is near. We could also prepare by purchasing or making meaningful gifts for family and friends. One thing that the Advent Conspiracy has taught me is the difference between a meaningful gift that celebrates your connection with someone else and a gift of obligation that communicates a lack of caring. Preparation for any Christian celebration also includes prayer and almsgiving. Finding ways to help those in need should be part of our preparation and could very very provide an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Our Catholic liturgical calendar even gives us several days during the Advent season that are meant to be celebration days. The feasts of St. Nicholas, Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Third Sunday of Advent all stand out in my mind as great opportunities to throw a party.

Perhaps the best time to show the world the Christian meaning of the holiday, however, is right now. Christians begin their celebration of Christmas on December 25 and continue it until January 6. Why not take advantage of the fact that the secular celebration of Christmas calls it quits on December 26? Why not let the secular celebration of Christmas of shopping run its course, while we as Christians use the actual season of Christmas to celebrate our faith? There are several feast days after Christmas Day that could point us in the right direction. December 26 is the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Perhaps this day gives us an opportunity to find ways to give witness to the faith through some sort of sacrifice. December 27 is the feast of St. John the Evangelist. This day provides a great reason to spend some time in deep prayer and meditation with the Scripture. December 28 is the feast of the Holy Innocents. This seems like a good day for Christians to give witness to the value of human life. Also within this season is the feast of the Holy Family. Taking that day to spend some quality time with our own families certainly would honor Christ’s birth. The last day of Christmas is the feast of the Epiphany. The word Epiphany literally means “manifestation” and celebrates three events in the life of Christ, the visit of the Magi, his baptism in the Jordan, and the wedding feast at Cana. The Epiphany may show us most of all how we might celebrate the Christmas season. I wonder what would happen if we were to spend each year during the Christmas season with our goal as to make Christ the newborn king really visible to those around us? It certainly wouldn’t hurt our efforts to keep Christ in Christmas.

Today is the sixth day of Christmas. That gives us seven more days to spread the joy of the Incarnation to others. Christ is born! Glorify Him!

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This entry was posted by on Thursday, December 30th, 2010 at 10:41 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About The Author

Fr. Christian is the pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City, TN.

Comments

  • http://www.seeprestonblog.com Preston

    I was thinking about this for some time over this Christmas. My grandfather passed away two years ago days before Christmas and he and my father were very close, so this Holiday season is difficult for my Dad. I sometimes forget that, because we put up Christmas right at or very close to the start of Advent (usually the days after Thanksgiving), I head back to Uni and don’t see it for some thirty or so days. My Father does, and though he delights in His Saviour and in the season, the boundless number of nativity sets, the Advent wreath, the Gospel open to Luke, are reminders of his loss. We took down Christmas earlier than we ever have before this year. At first I was really upset by it, but kept it private, as I realized how it was just too hard for my Father to keep it up — espeically since another relative might be passing away soon, and there was speculation that it would happen over Christmas.

    Because of this, I’ve been thinking about the traditions I will make with my children when one day by His grace I have my own. As I imagine it, Christmas shall stay up to Epiphany. The season shall indeed be the season that it is supposed to be, not merely a day. I’ve fallen in love with keeping the time of the Church, being moved in its ebbs and flows. It’s opened up so much for my prayer life and meditation on Scripture, even how I center myself on Him and how I approach the secret things He wishes to speak to my heart. That’s a gift I think quite precious to impart. I’m not going to think of taking down Christmas as “when I feel like it” but as “now is the proper time.”

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