The Best Christmas Ever

 It's January 1, almost 4 a.m., and I'm sitting in the dark beside the Christmas tree with its deep red ornaments and scarlet ribbon.  Across the room is my creche set, highlighted with soft green lights and scented with handmade candles sent by my daughter.  It looks and smells like Christmas in this room.  Outside the window, the outdoor lights are still visible, the last ones in my neighborhood.  I had planned to leave them lit until January 6, when I take down the crib set, but I may cave in to social pressure before then.  

I had been traveling for a few weeks after Thanksgiving this year, so I missed most of the Christmas hype in stores and in the media this year.  No "Jingle Bells," no advertisements, no last-minute sales.....  Instead, I was traveling through Thailand and Vietnam, seeing all the Buddhist and Indian shrines, watching people come to worship the Buddha or their ancestors, or the 333 million gods of Hinduism.  And I could not help recalling the magnificent prologue to John's Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God....and the Word was God....In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it....The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world....He was in the world and though the world was made by Him, the world did not recognize Him.  Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God.....No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, has made Him known.

I returned home two weeks before Christmas, and since the family had all agreed this year to not exchange presents, all I had to do was to put up the Christmas tree and the crib. I had put up the outdoor lights before I left, but did not activate them until my return.  Our holiday get-together was scheduled for the week after Christmas, so the burden of cooking and house cleaning was postponed until then.  I had ordered a meditation book called Welcoming the Christ Child with Padre Pio before I left, so the two weeks before Christmas was a time of relaxation and reflection for me.

By the time Christmas morning arrived, I was welcoming and rejoicing in the Gift of the Light of the World. I knew the Light had come; I was ready to celebrate it!  That night, the opening statement of the news anchor was, "Goodbye Christmas. Hello, Mardi Gras!"  Wait, What?  I thought we were going to celebrate the birth of Christ here.....the Light of the World!  Kawaanza lasts for a week ---- What about Christmas?  It's Over!  No celebration ---- it's over.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has never understood it.  The light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness instead.

I realized then how out-of-step it is to live the liturgical year.  Our church will be ablaze with Christmas trees, poinsettias, and lights until Jan. 6 --- the celebration of the Light revealed to the nations (Feast of Epiphany --- the three kings).  And I too will keep my lights and candles lit until then, putting them away reluctantly until next year.  

Sometimes I wonder how God feels about sending His Son into the world, and watching the lights go off the next day:  Christmas is over. Next!