Yup, that's right. Christmas ends today, sadly. It's the feast of Epiphany, (if you're a Roman Catholic in America the feast magically moves to the first Sunday after the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on January 1st), when we remember the Wise Men's visit to the Child Jesus and subsequently, that Christ came for all peoples of every nation. My family celebrates Epiphany on January 6th- the 12th day after Christmas- the way it always used to be done. We're old school, sometimes.
I want to tell you about how my family keeps this holy Season.
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| A Lunsford Christmas Carol, 2005 My parents and siblings were Cratchits. I was Christmas Past. "It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!" |
Usually the tree goes up a few days before Christmas Eve. It takes an entire evening for my dad to get the artificial tree out of the box and fluffed into just the right look. He is perfectionist- we all are- and the tree looks all the better for it. Lights will then be strung and the next night we hang ornaments. The ornaments have evolved over the years into a celebration of every play we have done. There are ornaments with a framed photo of us in costume, a memento of the show dangling from the next branch- and, of course, there are lots of 'Baby's First Christmas' and that nature when you have five kids in the family. The angel ornaments must be hung at the top of the tree, below our tree topper of Mother Mary holding our Baby Jesus. Our Christmas Critter collection (animals made from pine cones, nuts, etc) must be evenly dispersed, along with the fake icicles. Large ornaments go on the bottom and inside branches, and- for Heaven's sake- "don't hang all the photos with your picture right in front"! We have tried to watch a Christmas movie or play Christmas music while decorating, but this quickly becomes a distraction and is drowned out by the general craziness that ensues.
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| The Lunsfords and their tree. And the dog we keep every Christmas for a friend. (That's a tradition too.) |
Personally, I spent the entire day of Christmas Eve wrapping gifts. I'm sure it was a beautiful day. I didn't leave my room. (I am a perfectionist when it comes to wrapping. And a procrastinator.)
The presents are put out under the tree and a watchful eye is kept on the littlest Lunsford who likes to check out, shake, and generally snoop into each and every one of them. It seems to me that everyone in the world should have a child to share Christmas with, or should celebrate Christmas like a child. There is nothing like it! There is such joy; and not just about the gifts, but an excitement about life! Bear with me, I have to share something from the book by Caryll Houselander that we read during Advent: (it just makes me smile--)
"The Child never died in Christ. All through His manhood He kept the essential qualities of His childhood: the capacity for complete joy and complete sorrow, the child's simplicity, the child's love of the Father. To every sorrow that He met in some other person's life, He responded with the unqualified sympathy that only children give. He approached people as children do, asking for a drink of water, wanting nothing but to be loved. Above all, He kept the joy of a child, the child's delight in the loveliness of the earth... when He wanted to describe something utterly beautiful, He described the grass... when He had to produce money to pay a tax, He worked a miracle that is like a fairy story, a miracle that a boy would like to work. Instead of simply calling money out of the air, He made His Apostles find it inside a fish..."
Around 8pm on Christmas Eve my family gathers for one last lighting of the Advent wreath and the Christmas candle . Then the youngest member of the family gathers up Baby Jesus to place in our outside manger scene and we head to the front yard. We each kiss His little head and sing "Silent Night" as my brother flips the switch to light all of our outside decorations. (It's always so beautiful.) We do the same for our little manger scene on the mantlepiece inside, and we sing more, where it's warm! This year we decided to sing carols several nights during the Christmas Season when we discovered that my young rascal of a brother only knew a couple by heart. Asking him to follow along in a songbook produced lyrics like "troll the accident yuletide carol" so it was a great thing.
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| Last year our manger was complete with real snow! |
Soon we round up, dress up and head out to Midnight Mass - a tradition that I cannot do without. This year, I glammed up in my merry brightest. (Scroll up and you can see. Well, not really.) I put on a cute Talbot's outlet dress, with a shirt underneath because of the cold, and a nice belt. It wasn't until we sat down at church to hear thirty minutes of carols before Mass that I realized I could not breathe. We had a huge lasagna dinner which is what I would like to blame for the sudden tightness of my dress. Regardless, I had to go back out to the foyer of the church to loose my belt to the last hole and even then I spent the greater part of the Mass trying not to fall over. You would think it would then be impossible for me to enjoy the large reception planned after the Mass. But no, cookies and cranberry pecan crusted cheese balls still found a willing home on my plate. Once we got home I remained upright long enough to snap the photo above with my family. Baby Jesus got a big Christmas laugh over me, no doubt.
On Christmas Day we usually wake up late. (See above Midnight Mass reference.) We cooked breakfast and then gathered in the living room to open gifts. But, with us, Christmas Day is not about hours spent opening presents. Christmas Day is about Jesus-- His birthday. His birthday is such a big deal, it's not one day. It is a 12 day celebration. My parents decided to stretch out our celebrating over the 12 days when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. I remember when they told us: "Kids, you are only going to open one present from us on Christmas Day." I probably cried. I didn't understand then what a joy it is to wake up every day for 12 days to say "Merry Christmas" and open a gift. It's pretty awesome, actually. It reminds us that Jesus is the gift that is there for us every day of our lives, every moment. We open one gift (usually a larger, exciting item) from my parents on Christmas morning and the siblings exchange gifts from one another. (That's four gifts on Christmas, for those that are counting.) When I tell people about this tradition in my house they are usually shocked that we have to wait so long, and then shocked that we get 12 gifts. I quickly let them know that these are not X-boxs or DSis that we are getting every day- sometimes even a small dollar store item; or a book, CD, movie, or something to eat. It's just a little way to show the importance of every day in the Christmas Season. This year, I got many cute shirts from my parents, and my main gift was the audio recording of "The Screwtape Letters" dramatized by the awe-some Andy Serkis and cast.
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| My family knows that I love to give and receive homemade gifts- A lovely magnet board made from an old tray, a bracelet from an old sweater and felt, a Jane Austen inspired badge reel from buttons and a cameo. My sweet best friend knitted me a gorgeous green scarf from hand dyed wool and my parents' last gift was a Jane Austen devotional! |
We celebrate with a birthday cake for Jesus after dinner (a lovely tradition many people are doing these days!) and usually some cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies complete with recycled plots and dialogue- just to keep things secular. (Other Lunsford Christmas movie favorites include: A Muppet Christmas Carol, Christmas in Connecticut and Spirit of the Season. Check them all out!) With extra time off work, most of the 12 days are spent relaxing and enjoying family at home, or making visits to our extended family and friends. Also; sitting by the fire, driving around to look at Christmas lights and drinking shocking amounts of hot chocolate. With marshmallows. And board games. Yes, there may be some of the holiday stress still in the air, but I am so thankful for the way that I have grown up celebrating this time of year.
You really should spend Christmas with us. It's reverent, funny, random, traditional, spontaneous and exciting. For prayer during the Christmas Season we read from the Christmas sermons of Ronald Knox; I think he sums it all up simply and best with:
"Christmas is a birthday just like any other; it is a birthday unlike any other; and no wonder, for it is the birthday of all of us."
He came that we might have life.
Venite Adoremus!
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