Is it over already?

Do you get excited about going on holiday? Do you love anticipating a holiday or family get-together? I enjoy making plans for trips, retreats, and holidays. I get excited as holidays approach or when some special family event is on the horizon. My wife sometimes wonders if I have lost the plot as I plan and organise before a special event or the start of a holiday. Sometimes I even find it hard to sleep the night before. I sometimes don’t sleep very well, waking in the early hours of the morning, ready to go, to start the celebration or the journey.

We have left on many holidays in the wee hours of the morning before the sun comes over the horizon. After months of preparation and anticipation, it is amazing to me how soon the day of the special event arrives. Before you know it, the event is over and you are enjoying the memories. Christmas is one of those holidays and one of those special times of the year that I enjoy preparing for and anticipating. It seems that for months we plan family gatherings, meals, parties, social gatherings, special worship services with lots of wonderful music, and going on shopping excursions to purchase those special gifts.

The shops and businesses seem to help us anticipate the Christmas season earlier and earlier as they bring out the Christmas decorations almost at the end of winter. For months some plan and prepare and before they know it Christmas is here. I know for children it seems that time goes by very slowly, especially as they look forward to Christmas Day; but for adults the time seems to go by more swiftly every year. Sometimes I have stopped and pondered about the sad sight of the boxes, ribbons, and bows in the rubbish. It seems that its out with all these things and into the bins in the days after Christmas.

It is amazing to me how quickly some Christmas trees can make it to the curbside. The holiday has already come and gone and all that is left is to clean up. But why are we so anxious to put away our Christmas decorations and take down our Christmas trees? Why is it that we prepare for weeks and months and then we just celebrate for one short day? Christmas is not over with the passing of one day of celebration. Traditionally, Christmas lasted for twelve days; that’s why we sing the song about the twelve days of Christmas. The celebration continued until the day of Epiphany, on January 6, when we celebrated the light of the star that appeared at Jesus’ birth and guided the magi on their journey.

But more important than this tradition is the reality that the spirit of Christmas should remain with us throughout the year. In the third chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Paul spells out what the new life in Christ looks like and the characteristics of a Christian. I am amazed by how many of these characteristics mirror the spirit and attitudes that we seek to find during the Christmas season.

Paul states that the Christian should be clothed with compassion. Christmas is a time when we participate in many acts of compassion, such as giving to the poor and the needy and feeding the hungry. Paul writes that Christians should be clothed with kindness. Christmas is a time when we remember to be kind and considerate to others. Paul also writes that Christians should be clothed with patience. Now we may question the reality of this attitude during Christmas, especially if we have experienced long checkout lines or people fighting over the last remaining popular toy, but perhaps people are more patient during this time of year.

Paul reminds us that the most important thing with which we need to be clothed in, is love and to remember to do everything in the name of the Lord with thanksgiving. Christmas is certainly a season when we express love. We share the love of family as we gather for holiday meals and reunions. We share love with our friends as we gather for Christmas parties and social gatherings. We share love as we exchange gifts with those who are dear to us. And we share love as we gather for special services of worship.

This Christian clothing of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, love, and thankfulness are not items to be put on just one day a year or even for one season of the year. The new life in Christ requires that we be clothed this way every single day. Although Christmas Day has come and gone, let us remember that Christmas is not just a one-day celebration. It is a season that continues to Epiphany, but more important, it is a season that we should continue to celebrate in our hearts and in our spirits throughout the year.