The holiday lights are on. The Holiday Parade in Green Bay has already passed. Holiday/Peace trees are decorated and adorned with lights. Houses and neighborhoods are filled with holiday decorations: Santa and his reindeer, snowmen, candy canes, and other figures. It all looks so beautiful in the midst of the darkness of these late Fall and early Winter days.

“But, Fr. Andy, its Christmas! These are not just “holiday” trees and decorations. Its Christmas!”

I understand the sentiment, but now is not yet Christmas. It’s not Christmas, until it is Christmas. Then, it is Christmas!

I have seen the campaign about “keep Christ in Christmas.” I am in favor of Christ in Christmas. There is no Christmas without Christ. However, Christmas Day and the Christmas season deserve some special attention. December 25th and the following days are not the end of a “shopping season.” No! Christmas is the beginning of a season in which we remember the birth of the Christ-child, the birth of our Savior. His birth signals a beginning of something beautiful and life-giving. Christmas is not the end of anything, but rather a wonderful beginning.

So, all of you who are “done with Christmas” a few days after December 25th, must take your faith tradition into account. There is no need to spend all of your energy and creativity before Christmas Day and the Christmas Season. Your faith needs nourishment, and our scriptures and traditions help us to feed our spirits.

I encourage you to save some special activities, special foods, and add some religious decorations and even more lights to your “holiday” displays for Christmas Day and season. Make the whole season of Christmas a statement of faith. Let us keep Christ in Christmas, but let us do it on our terms, on Christian terms. We cannot bring Christ into Christmas starting in the middle of November. The Advent Season invites us to some specific themes and meditations which deserve their own time. If we focus on each season for its own sake, we will be able to celebrate with even greater joy.

Let us light up the darkness with colored lights and bright decorations. Indeed, let us sing and dance through the dark days of winter. AND, when Christmas Day arrives, let us turn up the lights even brighter, let us sing even louder, let us dance even more enthusiastically. Let the climax of Christ’s birth endure until the Baptism of the Lord. Do not let WalMart, Target, Amazon, Costco, etc. dictate the terms of your Christmas joy. Let Christmas be Christmas!

Peace, Fr. Andy