We have all heard the fun song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas." For many, it is where we first met a partridge, and tried to imagine it sitting in a pear tree. But, even with the visions of that song floating in our imaginations, most of us think of, and celebrate Christmas as a single day. In fact, in most years it is actually Christmas Eve when we attend a Christmas worship service.
Traditionally, however, Christmas has been celebrated as a Season, and not just a single day. The Christmas Season, traditionally called Christmastide in English speaking countries, spans from the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas Day) to the eve of the next holy day, Epiphany (January 5). Thus, there are 12 days of Christmas!
I love to think of Christmas as a Season to try to keep the peace, hope, joy, and love of Advent and the images of the nativity alive as long as I can. On this second day of Christmas, 2023, I invite you to join me this year (and in years to come), to celebrate Christmas not just as a day, but as a season. . .
. . . a season that can't even be limited to 12 days . . .
. . .a season defined by the grace of God that has entered our lives as the baby born in Bethlehem.