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Christmas Is over, or is it?

  Most of us have heard the Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, with its chorus of "eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying" and so on.  You may have seen on social media that this song was a way for Catholics in the 17th and 18th centuries to secretly sing about their faith so they wouldn't be persecuted.  "The partridge in a pear tree" was a reference to Jesus; the two turtle doves represented the Old and New Testaments; the four calling birds meant the four Gospels, and so on.  Sorry, but that's just an urban legend.   Historians think it was merely a fun Christmas song that tested the singer's memory to see if they could remember all the verses.    

  But there really are "12 days of Christmas."  The 12 days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before Epiphany.  Many churches follow the traditional liturgical calendar that measures time by following the life of Jesus.  The church year begins in late November with Advent's message that Jesus is coming into our world at Bethlehem, He comes to us today in the Gospel and the Sacraments, and He will come again at the last day to judge the living and the dead.  Advent is followed by Christmas, and the next festival is Epiphany on January 6th, marked by the visit of the wise men.  "Epiphany" means to reveal or make known, and Jesus is revealed not only as the God of Israel but also the Savior of the Gentiles.  (Luke 2:28-32) Epiphany is followed by Lent, which is followed by Easter, and so on.  All of these seasons mark the earthly ministry of Christ Jesus, starting with the anticipation of His birth and culminating with His ascension into heaven

  But back to Christmas.  Sadly, our modern culture increasingly hurries and rushes on to the next big thing.  I've noticed in recent years that as soon as Halloween is over, we start celebrating Christmas on November 1st!  The lights and decorations go up, carols play on the radio, and we are bombarded with Black Friday ads while we're eating Halloween candy.  Then on December 26th Christmas is abruptly over.  What's the rush?  Let's enjoy the 12 days of Christmas!  God has sent His Son into our world as Immanuel, the Word made flesh.  There is no greater love than this, that the almighty and eternal God would enter human time and space to redeem us from our sins.  (John 15:13) So let's keep celebrating!