December 20, 2022 at 3:01 p.m.
Whatever became of Christmas?
Whatever became of Christmas?
Scarcely have the pumpkins and goblins gone when, overnight, plastic Santas are popping up all over. I remember a few years back entering a Target or a Lowe’s — I don’t recall which, could have been a Walmart — and one aisle was almost impassable with Halloween décor behind which I could see the Christmas displays being readied to push them aside. It was hilarious, like a runaway train horn screaming, “clear the track before I run you down!” Who dare stop it?
Cardinal Dolan joked that maybe, at least, he could advance a campaign to extend the Christmas season — which now seems to begin the day Halloween ends — for a week or so after Dec. 25. This year, as the calendar permits, we have had a full week after the Fourth Sunday of Advent to prepare for Christmas, which is on a Sunday, followed by New Year’s Day the following Sunday, and another week to get ready for the Solemnity of the Epiphany (the Feast of the Magi), observed Sunday, Jan. 8, sometimes called “Little Christmas.” With such little Advent, how much Christmas will we be able to take?
The Christmas season has an even longer history of observance, extending traditionally the entire month of January, through Feb. 2, the Feast of the Purification (Candlemas Day). I recall that when I was a seminarian at the North American College in Rome most of the churches kept the crèches up till that day, including the display at the Vatican in the Piazza di San Pietro (St. Peter’s). What’s the hurry in savoring the richness of these seasons full of blessings?
Something that might in future years help us take fuller advantage of a more creative and enjoyable observation of the Advent and Christmas seasons, is to seize the various opportunities to pause every few days throughout the feast days that many national traditions observe during these two months.
The Polish people have a celebration called Andrzejki, which falls on or near Nov. 30, the celebration of the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, the brother of St. Peter. It often occurs, as this year, after Advent has begun, and can easily be integrated into the spirit of the season, with its many themes that highlight hope for the future. Some believe that at this time ancestors are particularly close to us and may even illumine the path of those who will be getting married in the near future, and even who their partner might be.
St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6, was always something I looked forward to as a child. It was a custom for my siblings and me to awaken to the presence of a full stocking for each of us on our faux fireplace which (we hoped) would contain more goodies than wood or coal (signals of less meritorious behavior throughout the year). I got a deeper appreciation of the significance of a visit by St. Nicholas as a kind of inquisitor of conscience, asking, “how am I doing,” when I was on retreat one year in Switzerland years ago. I was with a group of Dominican sisters in Rickenbach and we were having a simple celebrative dinner with some local people of knackwurst, sauerkraut and boiled potatoes, when a tall gaunt figure — St. Nicholas is tall and thin and a little cranky in this tradition — showed up with two strange companions that, I was told, were the Schmutzli (literally, dirty little guys). These were troll-like gremlins that could make mischief if there was any bad behavior that needed mending. Not a bad Advent practice to be thinking it’s a good thing to shape up in preparation for Christmas.
Two major Marian feasts are celebrated during Advent, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8) and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12). The theological and historical significance of each can never be underestimated. Both recount the powerful action of God’s grace in saving humanity from the disfiguring and violent effects of sin. The five apparitions on Tepeyac in December 1531 (today, in Mexico City) were at a site where the Aztecs had practiced human sacrifice for centuries. Within 10 years, tens of thousands were converted and the practice ceased. Both are testimonies to the hope and possibility of conversion and liberation from forces of oppression, which are powerful Advent promises and motifs.
I might suggest that a more conscientious and deliberative observation of these feasts may bring tremendous graces to more of us who seek healing from the many forms of addiction, toxic and sinful patterns, and scars from abuse from which we may have suffered or are even still oppressed. The intercession of Mary is powerful even when we are unaware of it, since she is the Mother of Jesus and our mother, whom he gave to us and his Church on the Cross.
One more Advent feast about which I only recently became more aware is that of St. Lucy, observed Dec. 13. If you are looking for a good day to bake your Christmas cookies, that would be it. The Swedes actually have a special pastry called Lussekatter (saffron buns), that you can find a recipe here to tag (https://www.catholicicing.com/how-to-make-saffron-buns-for-st-lucia-day/). The life of Santa Lucia of Syracuse (Sicily) is an inspiration for all seeking light and hope during dark times, not to mention the history and writings of St. John of the Cross, whom we venerate the following day (Dec. 14).
Advent is jam packed with saints and legends and traditions to make our Christmas preparations so much more than a ritual time for mall shopping and office parties, though both seem to have abated somewhat post-COVID and with so much accessible online. If, as Cardinal Dolan quipped, the reclaiming of the Advent Season may be a battle we are not winning, then maybe we can hold on at least to Christmas itself, and its fabled twelve days of song.
Speaking of song, I also had to laugh when the Cardinal mentioned someone complaining to him last year on the Sunday after Christmas, “why are we still singing those same songs?” (meaning: Christmas carols). Maybe it seems a bit much indeed if we’ve already been hearing them for a month before Christmas Day even arrived. Whatever became of Christmas that it is over before it has even started? Well, if you have already had enough of Christmas 2022 and at the risk of overkill, let me say it now anyway … Merry Christmas!
@AlbBishopEd
250 X 250 AD
250 X 250 AD
Events
250 X 250 AD
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