we’re totally old calendar! i love its extended times of feasting that really allows the soul and mind to sink into the mysteries, beyond even the moment of exterior celebration.
Yes! Us, too! We extend our feasting and celebrations, too, but we wrap up the big stuff with Epiphany. But we keep up many of our decorations and whenever a treat is available we say to each other, "Well, it's still Christmas!"
One cool story is that we were married on Jan. 30, so although the Basilica at Notre Dame, where we were married, was no longer decorated for Christmas, it still had a huge Nativity and Christmas trees up in the lady chapel! So we have the most beautiful pictures of us kneeling before the nativity during part of the nuptial Mass. It was amazing!
You make a nice point about the longer season leading to a deepening interior experience.
wow, what an amazing setting for a wedding! i came back to the Church because of the “Traditional” Mass, so I feel very grateful for every aspect of it. Don’t mess with my feast days, man 😂😂
My friend has wonderful childhood memories of a huge Epiphany party every year at her (Lutheran) pastor’s home. All the families would come and the kids were allowed to stay up until midnight. We’d love to start a tradition like that in our community at some point.
Love these ideas. A friend of mine used to keep her tree up until Twelfth Night, cutting away any dying branches. Then she decided, since the weather was so bleak, to keep it up longer. It eventually became a branchless stick leaning in the corner wound with lights from bottom to top. We also keep our tree going after Christmas, but the outside lights, what we call Winter Lights, stay up until March depending on how bleak it is.
In Eastern Christianity Epiphany is Christ's baptism by John the Baptist. Epiphany (Greek for "Appearance") is sometimes called "Theophany" (An "appearance" of God -- the Trinity in Christ revealed as Son, the Father's voice, the Holy Spirit descending). In very ancient Christianity, Nativity (Christmas) and Theophany (Baptism) were celebrated on the same day, January 6th. In the Armenian Apostolic (Oriental Orthodox) tradition, January 6th is still the day both Christmas and Christ's Baptism are celebrated. In Greek Orthodox tradition Theophany/Epiphany is celebrated by tossing a cross into a body of water, and young people dive to catch the cross. It's a blast in my California coastal town; the surfer kids come in wetsuits
Lovely. We celebrate Theophany every year with the Ukrainian Catholic parish down the street. It's always such fun! But we never get to throw things...will have to speak to Father about this, STAT!
I grew up opening one gift on Christmas Eve and the rest on Epiphany.
As an adult I keep our tree up through Epiphany. And this year I'm starting a new tradition with our son and giving a gift to help grow his faith on Epiphany.
We've been derailed by illness in many ways this year, but we have a whole slew of traditions--we start Advent with just an advent wreath and a couple of simple decorations emphasizing hope, we don't decorate for Christmas until after St. Nicholas Day (exactly when is dictated partially by our schedule and partially by when farms around here run out of trees), we celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and then in Christmastide we keep up all our decorations until after Epiphany, sing the Twelve Days of Christmas adding a new verse each day, save gifts from friends to open one each day until they're gone, do most of our Christmas baking, drive around and look at lights, take as many lazy board-game and cocoa days as possible, and as of last year, wrap up with a Twelfth Night party. Among many other benefits, I find that these things have lessened the post-holiday depression I've struggled with for many years.
I'm old school but it also can depend on my mood that year, but for this year.. Christmas is going strong up until Feb. 2nd. I like the extra lighting during these dark winter months and the coziness of Christmas decor.
Yes! We tend to take down the tree sometime after Epiphany but we leave up our mantelpiece decorations and use the Christmas tablecloth and thing until Feb. 2. But it's always contingent on what's going on and what the mood is, as you say. Sometimes we'll leave more up, sometime less. It's all good!
we’re totally old calendar! i love its extended times of feasting that really allows the soul and mind to sink into the mysteries, beyond even the moment of exterior celebration.
Yes! Us, too! We extend our feasting and celebrations, too, but we wrap up the big stuff with Epiphany. But we keep up many of our decorations and whenever a treat is available we say to each other, "Well, it's still Christmas!"
One cool story is that we were married on Jan. 30, so although the Basilica at Notre Dame, where we were married, was no longer decorated for Christmas, it still had a huge Nativity and Christmas trees up in the lady chapel! So we have the most beautiful pictures of us kneeling before the nativity during part of the nuptial Mass. It was amazing!
You make a nice point about the longer season leading to a deepening interior experience.
wow, what an amazing setting for a wedding! i came back to the Church because of the “Traditional” Mass, so I feel very grateful for every aspect of it. Don’t mess with my feast days, man 😂😂
The Old Calendar definitely does feast days better!
Okay, I had to look up this Basilica and WOW - its photos on the website probably don't do it justice, but how beautiful!!
We were so lucky to be married there!
My friend has wonderful childhood memories of a huge Epiphany party every year at her (Lutheran) pastor’s home. All the families would come and the kids were allowed to stay up until midnight. We’d love to start a tradition like that in our community at some point.
That sounds like such fun!
Love these ideas. A friend of mine used to keep her tree up until Twelfth Night, cutting away any dying branches. Then she decided, since the weather was so bleak, to keep it up longer. It eventually became a branchless stick leaning in the corner wound with lights from bottom to top. We also keep our tree going after Christmas, but the outside lights, what we call Winter Lights, stay up until March depending on how bleak it is.
A little light in the darkness makes such a difference!
In Eastern Christianity Epiphany is Christ's baptism by John the Baptist. Epiphany (Greek for "Appearance") is sometimes called "Theophany" (An "appearance" of God -- the Trinity in Christ revealed as Son, the Father's voice, the Holy Spirit descending). In very ancient Christianity, Nativity (Christmas) and Theophany (Baptism) were celebrated on the same day, January 6th. In the Armenian Apostolic (Oriental Orthodox) tradition, January 6th is still the day both Christmas and Christ's Baptism are celebrated. In Greek Orthodox tradition Theophany/Epiphany is celebrated by tossing a cross into a body of water, and young people dive to catch the cross. It's a blast in my California coastal town; the surfer kids come in wetsuits
Lovely. We celebrate Theophany every year with the Ukrainian Catholic parish down the street. It's always such fun! But we never get to throw things...will have to speak to Father about this, STAT!
I grew up opening one gift on Christmas Eve and the rest on Epiphany.
As an adult I keep our tree up through Epiphany. And this year I'm starting a new tradition with our son and giving a gift to help grow his faith on Epiphany.
Enjoyed your essay!
Merry Christmas still and Happy New Year too!
What a lovely tradition to give a faith-based gift on Epiphany! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Kristin!
We've been derailed by illness in many ways this year, but we have a whole slew of traditions--we start Advent with just an advent wreath and a couple of simple decorations emphasizing hope, we don't decorate for Christmas until after St. Nicholas Day (exactly when is dictated partially by our schedule and partially by when farms around here run out of trees), we celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and then in Christmastide we keep up all our decorations until after Epiphany, sing the Twelve Days of Christmas adding a new verse each day, save gifts from friends to open one each day until they're gone, do most of our Christmas baking, drive around and look at lights, take as many lazy board-game and cocoa days as possible, and as of last year, wrap up with a Twelfth Night party. Among many other benefits, I find that these things have lessened the post-holiday depression I've struggled with for many years.
What a wonderful description of merrymaking! That sound very lovely, and also very fun and relaxing!
I'm old school but it also can depend on my mood that year, but for this year.. Christmas is going strong up until Feb. 2nd. I like the extra lighting during these dark winter months and the coziness of Christmas decor.
Yes! We tend to take down the tree sometime after Epiphany but we leave up our mantelpiece decorations and use the Christmas tablecloth and thing until Feb. 2. But it's always contingent on what's going on and what the mood is, as you say. Sometimes we'll leave more up, sometime less. It's all good!