“Happy day after Christmas, merry rest of the year, even when Christmas is over, the Light of the World is still here!” ~ Matthew West
What drives me crazy this time of year are the radio stations that, for the past couple of months, have played Christmas music incessantly and switch back to their original formats today, now that “Christmas is over.” I’ve got news for you. Christmas is not over. It is just beginning!
Yet, there are others who think that Christmas is over the day after as well. I know people who take down their Christmas trees the day after Christmas. The trees, which often went up at Thanksgiving, are stored for another year along with all the other Christmas decorations such as Nativity scenes.
Christmas is celebrated in the Church for an entire Octave. For eight days, we celebrate Christmas. While other feasts are intertwined with it, such as the Feast of St. Stephen today, Christmas is still front and center in our minds and hearts. The Christmas season does not end until the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord on January 12, 2020.
If we get it in our head that Christmas is over, we will quit living the spirit of Christmas and that would be horrible. The world needs to be introduced to the love of God. We need to be reminded of how great God’s love was and is for us. One of the ways to do that is by continuing our Christmas celebration. Sing the songs of the season, gather with friends, exchange gifts, tell your favorite Christmas stories. In all of these ways, we keep the season alive.
This might be a good time for you and your family to go into the community and take Christmas to certain people who need to hear the Good News. You might consider caroling at local nursing homes or visiting people in the hospital. There are many people in nursing homes who do not have family or friends stop by. These ways extend the joy of Christmas to a group of people that might not experience a lot of Christmas joy.
Christmas is more than a day. It is a way of life.
FAITH ACTION: Do something today to spread the joy of Christmas to others.