As you can see, my Christmas entry is on December 26. Needless to say, I was too busy yesterday, but it also bears saying that today is Christmas too. The traditional Christmas celebration is 12 days long, and does not end until January 6, the Feast of the Three Kings. In fact, Christmas was not the preeminent celebration of the Christmas season until about 150 years ago. Before the 20th century and the days of birth certification, many people did not even know the exact date of their births; but most people knew their baptismal date, because churches kept records of that.
For that reason, and for many others, New Year's Day was considered the most important day of the 12 days of Christmas. New Year's is the day most Christian churches celebrate the baptism or circumcision of Christ. Consider this fact: the Catholic Church reorganized the calendar times during the Dark and Middle Ages, the last time under Pope Gregory in 1582. The Church could have easily assigned January 1 the feast of Jesus' birthday, but it did not. It kept Christmas day were it was and made the first day of the calendar year the feast of Christ's baptism. This was probably intentional and suggests the relative importance of the two holidays at that time.
Christmas became The Day I think because of commercialism. For the last month I have been listening to Christmas music on the radio. I turn it on this morning and the music selection it might as well be from July. The Christmas songs are gone and Fleetwood Mac and Fifty Cent again reign supreme. Because Christmas day is the big gift-giving day, merchants have no reason to promote the holiday past December 25. December 26, things are right back to business as usual. People, who are heavily influenced by what they see on TV, simply mindlessly follow suit.
I like the old way. I think the Christmas season should be celebrated, if not all the way to January 6, at least through January 1. Christmas is not just about buying and giving presents, and we should carry the spirit of this delightful holiday through more than a 24 hour period. The great thing about the days after December 25 is that the good feelings have not died out yet but no one is rushing around looking for gifts and worrying about the social calendar. Other than what New Year's Eve party we should go to, our plans are pretty much set. So we can enjoy our holiday(s) free of the advertising bombardment, free of the rushing and worrying. We can eat our Christmas turkey for lunch with a cold beer and no ruckus to trouble us. God bless this day!
In Canada and Europe December 26 is known as Boxing Day. It also is sometimes called the feast of St. Stephen. (Remember the old Christmas carol, "Good King Wencelas looked out, on the feast of Stephen . . . ") Boxing Day takes many forms, but it is generally thought of as a day, after the excess of Christmas parties, that the rich give to the poor. The carol "Good King Wencelas" is about a Slavic king who was good to one of his poor subjects.
This is the spirit of the Christmas season. We need to bring it back. It seems so artificial to go back to work the day after Christmas as if nothing has happened. Holidays are not about feeling better for a day, or even "recharging our batteries." They are about feeling better for a day and then making that feeling stick. It may be a cliche to say that we should have the spirit of Christmas year round, but it is not a cliche to say that we need to be open to letting positive experiences reflect into our daily lives. Charity is not just for December, it is for July also, and we should be making every effort to ensure that the good feeling we have now carries on just that long.
Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annee!