The Christmas Season Goes Past Christmas

Our parish church, and many others in the area, do not put out Christmas decorations in advance.  The churches are first seen decorated for Christmas at the vigil Mass on Christmas Eve.  The only exception is a tree with paper ornaments which are to help parishioners give to the needy.  One week the paper ornaments give an age range, size, and gender of the recipient, so gifts can be purchased.  The next week the ornaments are food items to help feed the needy.  The third week are prayers and readings.  Then there is a thank you message when the gifts are left.

Other than the singular exception the decorations are not placed out because it would be Advent, a solemn time of preparation.

The other point here is the churches keep the decorations up until after the Epiphany  passes.

A past pastor for our parish often lamented seeing Christmas trees curbside as early as December 26, yet he had little success in changing the culture.

Christmas ornaments and advertising once started at Thanksgiving.  Now seeing these in stores starts before Halloween.  And people do decorate weeks before Christmas.

Of course, there are two reasons to extend the season by starting early.  The first is the merchants are seeking more profits.  The second is anticipation.  Whether it is a child, or an adult looking forward as a child would do, anticipation is itself rewarding. 

One thing we often do not notice is that much of the Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7.  Why?  The Orthodox Church left the Roman Catholic Church prior to 1582.  In those days we used the Julian calendar.  There was a minor flaw with the calendar created by Julius Caesar, so a correction was made in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.  So, the Orthodox still follow the Julian calendar when fixing a date for Christmas.

A few years ago, I was at a party on January 6, and another guest was dressed in Christmas garb.  He explained he was on his was to a Christmas Eve celebration at an Orthodox church.  I knew Easter was not always the same for most Christians and the Christians of the Orthodox Church, but this was an enlightenment that Christmas was celebrated so much later.

Keeping Christmas decorations out past Christmas, giving gifts, and even having Christmas parties are all appropriate.  And do not be surprised if an Orthodox church has a Christmas celebration in January.