Yep, it's today! It was not last week, or last month; it wasn't even the day after Thanksgiving. Nope, it's today. What is it? Believe it or not it is the START of the Christmas season. Yes, these past few days and weeks have been preparing us for Christmas but we most definitely were celebrating Advent. Advent prepares us for what Christmas really truly is: the incarnation of Jesus; his birth, his coming, his total gift of self for each and everyone of us. Now I'm not saying that today is the day you start shopping, put up the tree and decorations. No, I understand these things happen for most of us long before Christmas Eve.
Why is today the beginning of the Christmas season and not tomorrow, December 25th. Following the Church I take my lead from her. Christmas begins when the vigils, the anticipated Masses of Christmas begin and more technically, when the Church arrives at evening prayer today. The best part of following the Church and celebrating Christmas the way she guides us is that Christmas continues well into the New Year.
Now many secular types will begin taking down the tree and decorations, putting away the gifts and we all know the Christmas music comes to a screeching halt tomorrow night. For us, as Catholic followers of the birth of Jesus, we should never participate even in the secular giving in that Christmas is over!
Christmas is both a season and an Octave. The Church declares that every day from December 25th culminating on January 1st is Christmas! This is the Octave and the Season now extends all the way until the Sunday when we celebrate the Feast Day of the Baptism of the Lord. Some of us may recall that January 6th, the traditional day of the Feast of the Epiphany, was considered the end of Christmas time. Indeed this was true but now it just extends a little further to the Baptism celebration.
For me, the tree stays up way past January 1st, and we try hard to keep it up until the 6th. Our nativity crèche indeed stays up until the Christmas Season is officially over. We heartily celebrate the various feasts like the Holy Family, the Holy Innocents, St. Stephen and St. John the Evangelist all the way to January 1st and the great celebration of Mary, under the title of Mary Mother of God.
This is how we are to celebrate Christmas; preparing all the way until the 24th but immersing ourselves in the season from the evening of the 24th until that Sunday in January when it actually ends. I believe this year that will be the 10th.
So now, finally, today, let me wish you all a Merry Christmas, especially the beautiful season that is Christmas!!
No comments:
Post a Comment