From the Pastor
December/30/2009
Riding down a familiar street in my childhood neighborhood one New Year’s Eve, I remember being truly amazed to see how quickly the signs of Christmas were gone. My cousin’s little daughter remarked, with what I now consider to be an amazingly brilliant question, “Who turned off Christmas?” She had learned about the 12 days of Christmas in Catholic school, and knew they occurred after Christmas Day, not before it. But, now the reverse seems to be true: we spend an entire month or more preparing for one day, and when it has passed, the decorations are hastily removed, the tree discarded, and the lights turned off.
Many folk and religious traditions, such as dancing and music-making, have been replaced by what seems to be America’s
biggest holiday tradition: The day after Christmas shopping. We tried to prepare for Christmas with the lovely season of Advent, but we culminate that time with a gift-opening ritual that is almost as frantic. And then, Christmas comes to an abrupt end! The season really ends Jan. 10th this year.
When I was a child, I remember that our own celebration of Christmas began on Christmas Eve, when we purchased a fresh evergreen tree, whose fragrance permeated the house soon after it was brought in. We decorated
the tree while Mom prepared the traditional Christmas Eve meal. Our custom was to set an extra place at table for the unknown guest who might walk in that night. Who knows who would come; tradition held the possibility that it might turn out to be Jesus Himself. We sang Christmas carols around the table after we shared the traditional Christmas unleavened wafer. Christmas Day would be spent AT HOME WITH THE FAMILY. We didn’t travel about visiting friends or even relatives; that came later, during the 12 days that followed.
Additional gifts were given at “Little Christmas,” now the Sunday after New Year’s Day (today). On this Feast of the Three Kings (Epiphany, or Little Christmas), we brought home the blessed incense and chalk with which we inscribed the initials of the Three Wise Men or Kings over each doorway, invoking God’s blessing and protection while we did so, ever reminded of how God protected Jesus from the wiles of Herod after the Kings returned to their country by another route. The inscription reads like this: 20+C+M+B+10. Incense signifying God’s presence in the home for the New Year was safely burned after dinner.
We know in our hearts and minds that Christmas should be a family time; but, oddly enough, surveys show that we spend less time with our immediate families during the month of December than at any other time. What is more, researchers tell us there is a 15 percent increase in the number of people seeking help for depression at this time of year. We work so hard to make our Christmases magical and meaningful that it’s no wonder we get depressed when we’re left with hearts that are empty and lonely.
In reality, shared experiences, not objects or gifts, are the things that seem to remain in our hearts the longest. As individuals and as families, we need to determine what we truly long for at Christmas – and then we must truly choose to celebrate those traditions that will help us to capture the essence of those longings. A word of caution: sometimes those traditions, if held too tightly, can rob us of real Christmas joy. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the traditions that we forget the significance behind them.
So, be sure your traditions point you to Jesus.
Let your next celebration of Christmas begin with a true Advent spirit of preparation for the real meaning of Christ coming into our life. And when He does come, may He find us truly watching and waiting, our hearts filled with wonder and joy. May you begin a New Year with Christ’s peace reigning in your heart. May you seize the opportunity to avoid the world’s focus on Christmas, and focus on the Church’s approach. In that way, you will allow the Christ Child to find a dwelling place in your heart, and share His peace and love with those who are in the greatest need. Thank you to all who helped make this Christmas such a wonderful one, by volunteering to decorate the church, assisting in feeding the poor, visiting the homebound, offering a special gift to our parish, or, as our pre-teen EDGE students did, portray
the live Nativity scene on Christmas Eve near the main entrance to our church. Each one did something
personal to enhance the spirit of this season. Happy New Year!
Very Rev. Canon Tom
Many folk and religious traditions, such as dancing and music-making, have been replaced by what seems to be America’s
biggest holiday tradition: The day after Christmas shopping. We tried to prepare for Christmas with the lovely season of Advent, but we culminate that time with a gift-opening ritual that is almost as frantic. And then, Christmas comes to an abrupt end! The season really ends Jan. 10th this year.
When I was a child, I remember that our own celebration of Christmas began on Christmas Eve, when we purchased a fresh evergreen tree, whose fragrance permeated the house soon after it was brought in. We decorated
the tree while Mom prepared the traditional Christmas Eve meal. Our custom was to set an extra place at table for the unknown guest who might walk in that night. Who knows who would come; tradition held the possibility that it might turn out to be Jesus Himself. We sang Christmas carols around the table after we shared the traditional Christmas unleavened wafer. Christmas Day would be spent AT HOME WITH THE FAMILY. We didn’t travel about visiting friends or even relatives; that came later, during the 12 days that followed.
Additional gifts were given at “Little Christmas,” now the Sunday after New Year’s Day (today). On this Feast of the Three Kings (Epiphany, or Little Christmas), we brought home the blessed incense and chalk with which we inscribed the initials of the Three Wise Men or Kings over each doorway, invoking God’s blessing and protection while we did so, ever reminded of how God protected Jesus from the wiles of Herod after the Kings returned to their country by another route. The inscription reads like this: 20+C+M+B+10. Incense signifying God’s presence in the home for the New Year was safely burned after dinner.
We know in our hearts and minds that Christmas should be a family time; but, oddly enough, surveys show that we spend less time with our immediate families during the month of December than at any other time. What is more, researchers tell us there is a 15 percent increase in the number of people seeking help for depression at this time of year. We work so hard to make our Christmases magical and meaningful that it’s no wonder we get depressed when we’re left with hearts that are empty and lonely.
In reality, shared experiences, not objects or gifts, are the things that seem to remain in our hearts the longest. As individuals and as families, we need to determine what we truly long for at Christmas – and then we must truly choose to celebrate those traditions that will help us to capture the essence of those longings. A word of caution: sometimes those traditions, if held too tightly, can rob us of real Christmas joy. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the traditions that we forget the significance behind them.
So, be sure your traditions point you to Jesus.
Let your next celebration of Christmas begin with a true Advent spirit of preparation for the real meaning of Christ coming into our life. And when He does come, may He find us truly watching and waiting, our hearts filled with wonder and joy. May you begin a New Year with Christ’s peace reigning in your heart. May you seize the opportunity to avoid the world’s focus on Christmas, and focus on the Church’s approach. In that way, you will allow the Christ Child to find a dwelling place in your heart, and share His peace and love with those who are in the greatest need. Thank you to all who helped make this Christmas such a wonderful one, by volunteering to decorate the church, assisting in feeding the poor, visiting the homebound, offering a special gift to our parish, or, as our pre-teen EDGE students did, portray
the live Nativity scene on Christmas Eve near the main entrance to our church. Each one did something
personal to enhance the spirit of this season. Happy New Year!
Very Rev. Canon Tom