Hanging on to Christmas a little longer?

[whatevergirl]

I made my Christmas cookies today. I will keep the candles in the windows for the whole 12 Days of Christmas. We don’t take ANYTHING down until Jan. 6 and keep the nativities up until Feb. 2, Candlemas, just like at the Vatican.

**I will be putting stuff away well into February./**QUOTE]

me too

 

[whatevergirl]

Yesterday at Mass, just before giving the final blessing, Father mentioned that despite what popular culture would have us believe, we are NOW in the “Christmas Season” (this being the Christmas Octave) and thus NOW is the time to be singing Christmas songs … which we did … all the songs we sung yesterday were Christmas songs.

So, on that note, Merry Christmas, whatevergirl!

:harp:

:hug1: Merry Christmas to you also!

 

[whatevergirl]

Oh goodness! Christmas has just barely begun … so of course, it should still be celebrated. My tree doesn’t even go up until the 4th Sunday of Advent and stays up until Epiphany.

But yes, I do miss Advent. I absolutely love hearing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

I miss Advent too. There is something quiet, mysterious, and subtly glowing about Advent…

 

[samcarter14]

Our traditions help us keep Christmas past the 25th–actually the Christmas liturgical season isn’t over until after Epiphany, so that’s how we celebrate.

St Nicholas Day is big here–the kids get gifts (three each), we make traditional St Nick cookies and the kids pick the menu. The Advent candles get put up, but no Christmas decorations (except the little ceramic Christmas tree my kids love so much).

Christmas Eve is when the tree gets put up and decorated. Christmas Day we only open stockings; depending on how determined the givers are, the stockings can be quite elaborate! We have a fancy dinner, and the nativity set is up with baby Jesus but no Wise Men.

Between Christmas and Epiphany, the Wise Men are in a different spot in the house every day—they’re travelling from afar to visit Jesus, after all. If a kid spots them in their new place, they get a piece of Christmas candy.

Epiphany is when the kids get their presents, because that’s when Jesus did. And my husband and I exchange presents as well, sometimes. We keep our tree up, and when Epiphany is over the tree is planted (we get a live, balled tree) so we can look in our yard and see Christmas trees from years past. As the kids get older we’ll make bird seed ornaments for those trees each year.

So you could say we’re holding on to Christmas…or that we’re celebrating it the right and proper way, without a huge glut on the 25th and the ensuing let down.

 

[SwizzleStick]

Christmas isn’t over yet. We are just a couple of days into the Christmas season now, so everyone continue to celebrate and God bless us, every one! .

"It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, “God bless us, every one!” - Charles Dickens

 

[ahappyhousewife]

I made my Christmas cookies today. I will keep the candles in the windows for the whole 12 Days of Christmas. We don’t take ANYTHING down until Jan. 6 and keep the nativities up until Feb. 2, Candlemas, just like at the Vatican.

I will be putting stuff away well into February.

The rule is as long as its down before Ash Wednesday… Though we’ve been known to keep our nativity up year round. I figure anything to remind us of Him is a good thing. If that means we’re crazy loons that keep up their Christmas decor in July, then so be it.

 

[Morwenna]

Our traditions help us keep Christmas past the 25th–actually the Christmas liturgical season isn’t over until after Epiphany, so that’s how we celebrate.

St Nicholas Day is big here–the kids get gifts (three each), we make traditional St Nick cookies and the kids pick the menu. The Advent candles get put up, but no Christmas decorations (except the little ceramic Christmas tree my kids love so much).

Christmas Eve is when the tree gets put up and decorated. Christmas Day we only open stockings; depending on how determined the givers are, the stockings can be quite elaborate! We have a fancy dinner, and the nativity set is up with baby Jesus but no Wise Men.

Between Christmas and Epiphany, the Wise Men are in a different spot in the house every day—they’re travelling from afar to visit Jesus, after all. If a kid spots them in their new place, they get a piece of Christmas candy.

Epiphany is when the kids get their presents, because that’s when Jesus did. And my husband and I exchange presents as well, sometimes. We keep our tree up, and when Epiphany is over the tree is planted (we get a live, balled tree) so we can look in our yard and see Christmas trees from years past. As the kids get older we’ll make bird seed ornaments for those trees each year.

So you could say we’re holding on to Christmas…or that we’re celebrating it the right and proper way, without a huge glut on the 25th and the ensuing let down.

I just love these traditons, Sam … wow! I especially love the wise men travelling throughout the house, and the living trees being planted … just great!

And it’s true that we often neglect the real St Nicholas in our culture … there was a nice writeup in The Word Among Us this month about the life of St Nicholas the Wonderworker (Nicholas of Myra) and how he was eventually “transformed” into Santa Claus as a marketing gimmick.

Thank you again for sharing these traditions with us … it’s so easy to get overwhelmed with the secular version of Christmas, so it’s inspiring to read posts like yours.

 

[FickleFreckled]

We didn’t have Advent calendars, but when we were kids we were always allowed to put up our stockings for the feast of St. Nicholas and for 3 days around Epiphany, one for each Wise Man. We’d find candy and small gifts in them. It was really special and I didn’t know anyone else who did that.

 

[whatevergirl]

Our traditions help us keep Christmas past the 25th–actually the Christmas liturgical season isn’t over until after Epiphany, so that’s how we celebrate.

St Nicholas Day is big here–the kids get gifts (three each), we make traditional St Nick cookies and the kids pick the menu. The Advent candles get put up, but no Christmas decorations (except the little ceramic Christmas tree my kids love so much).

Christmas Eve is when the tree gets put up and decorated. Christmas Day we only open stockings; depending on how determined the givers are, the stockings can be quite elaborate! We have a fancy dinner, and the nativity set is up with baby Jesus but no Wise Men.

Between Christmas and Epiphany, the Wise Men are in a different spot in the house every day—they’re travelling from afar to visit Jesus, after all. If a kid spots them in their new place, they get a piece of Christmas candy.

Epiphany is when the kids get their presents, because that’s when Jesus did. And my husband and I exchange presents as well, sometimes. We keep our tree up, and when Epiphany is over the tree is planted (we get a live, balled tree) so we can look in our yard and see Christmas trees from years past. As the kids get older we’ll make bird seed ornaments for those trees each year.

So you could say we’re holding on to Christmas…or that we’re celebrating it the right and proper way, without a huge glut on the 25th and the ensuing let down.

Wow is right–these are wonderful ideas…thank you!

 

[whatevergirl]

We didn’t have Advent calendars, but when we were kids we were always allowed to put up our stockings for the feast of St. Nicholas and for 3 days around Epiphany, one for each Wise Man. We’d find candy and small gifts in them. It was really special and I didn’t know anyone else who did that.

Thanks for this idea, too…I think I’m going to do something like this. Glad I posted this, because I wouldn’t have thought of some of these ideas on my own.

 

[FickleFreckled]

whatevergirl,
in retrospect, it was probably a good way to minimize the before-Christmas anxiety crazies kids get and the after-Christmas let-down. But even today, those feasts are special to me. Until I was in my teens, my parents insisted on putting the tree up on Christmas Eve, which meant we ended up with the most Charlie Brown tree on the lot, and left it up til Epiphany…it was quite a cheery fire hazard!

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

Blahh, K-mart already had Valentines stuff out!

Whoops, forgot to mention I work in a grocery store…

I went into work this morning, and we still had a few Christmas cards left on the card rack.

I punched out this afternoon, and as I was leaving, I passed by the card rack again, to find some St. Valentine’s Day cards had shown up. >.<

:: Goes rooting around on YouTube for the animated version of “A Christmas Carol”::

 

[FickleFreckled]

Wal Mart had Valentine’s Day boxed candy out on Saturday.

 

[puzzleannie]

all the stores are clearing shelves, Christmas leftovers relegated to back aisles. Picked up all the stuff for parish Christmas dinner tomorrow at about 1/4 price.

I have the best of the Christmas movies, specials and concerts tivoed, and am rationing them, a couple each night. and rationing the Christmas box of truffles, the only sweets type gift we kept.

fed well over 800 at the dinner for the needy, gave away over 800 children’s gifts, plus 100 already taken to children’s hospital, and mounds of clothing, shoes, small appliances and household goods.

My mom always insisted Christmas begins on Christmas eve and lasts until the Epiphany, so that’s how we still do it. I send grandkids little care packages a few days after Christmas, timed for when their school break is getting a bit boring. Usually some craft item or game they don’t have (that is getting harder) something they have to work on together.

DD sent her Christmas newsletter in the form of a final exam, each item relates news about a family member, but in the form of a puzzle or math problem to be solved to get to the “punchline” very clever. Grandson jumped from 7th to 8th grade in September, took HS entrance exam for Catholic school, which is based on SAT (800 on Math) also did high on verbal portion. Grandad told him he can do anything he wants for a career so what does he want? To play pro baseball.

 

[gardenswithkids]

My mom always insisted Christmas begins on Christmas eve and lasts until the Epiphany, so that’s how we still do it. …

Like mother like daughter.

…
DD sent her Christmas newsletter in the form of a final exam, each item relates news about a family member, but in the form of a puzzle or math problem to be solved to get to the “punchline” very clever. …

Like mother like daughter again. I love it!

 

[kage_ar]

There is a reason our Parishes do not decorate for Christmas until CHRISTMAS. Christmas began on Dec 24 and we are just a couple-a days into it.

One of the best things 'bout being Catholic!

 

[KarenElissa]

MMM! Christmas candy! It is 75% off at Walgreens, I keep buying Mint M&Ms! Yummy! That is one good part about Christmas being over for the rest of the world.

 

[JW10631]

When I was growing up, nobody bothered to teach us about the Christmas season or the importance of Epiphany. I remember as a kid hearing Christmas carols sung at Mass on Epiphany Sunday, seeing the Nativity scene still set up in church and wondering why they didn’t get it - that Christmas was long over and we’re in the drudgery of winter.

Such were the observations of a poorly-taught kid.

In many countries that are traditionally Catholic, gifts are exchanged on Epiphany (or Kings’ Day as it is commonly referred to in Latin America). Miami hosts a Kings’ Day Parade each year.

It’s tough to hold onto Christmas after Christmas Day in American culture. Stores and advertising shove gift shopping down our throats for more than a month, and then - it’s all over and done with. Move on to Valentine’s Day - buy something with diamonds.

 

[samcarter14]

Oh, I forgot one tradition that we started this year. The kids made little paper shoes (templates from www.stnicholascenter.org, I think). I asked them to write a letter to Jesus, telling Him what they were going to do to prepare for His birthday during Advent. I explained that Advent is like a little Lent (that’s why we fast, as Eastern Catholics). And just as we prepare for Pascha (Easter), we must also prepare for Christmas.

Because St Nicholas lives in Heaven with Jesus, he can take those letters to Him. They left the letters in the shoes and on the morning of the 6th they found little treats. I took chocolate Santas and put little bishop’s miters on their heads, to make St Nick.

I really liked doing this, and a friend of mine who is Protestant thought it was a really neat idea as well.

 

[nfpworks]

On Dec 26, I was just getting out of bed ( i usually don’t get to sleep in) and the radio was on. The man on the radio said - Well the Yuletide season is over and I’m a little down about it. It has been over for about 9 and 1/2 hours now.

I jumped out of bed ( a sight to see, for sure). It has just begun, I thought.

I, too, planned to bake cookies this week. And, I just love to light our trees in the house and out and just sit. It is so beautiful and so relaxing.

We do gifts on Christmas, and we also get our kids gifts on the feast of the Epiphany. Sometimes we get 3 family gifts, and sometimes they each get 3 gifts. We just buy for Christmas and take out what we want for Epiphany. And, yes, the kids put out their shoes for the feast of St. Nicholas. . .that’s nothing elaborate, though.