You mean you're still celebrating Christmas?

I did keep the Christmas tree up. It is still rather sparse with ornaments (a few were broken this year) but I've enjoyed the lights. We've enjoyed continued Christmas music and movies.

After spending four weeks preparing our hearts for His coming anew, the actual Christmas season seems rather short if you don't take it at least to the celebration of Epiphany when the wise men came. Some mark the end as January 1st with the end of the Christmas Octave. Some mark the end with Epiphany and the completion of the 12 days of Christmas.

I am intrigued by the significance of the 40 days of celebration of the Presentation of our Lord on February 2nd. This culminates 3 epiphanies. Jesus was revealed to the shepherds, then the wise men and then to Anna and Simeon at the temple. The numbers 3 and 40 are very important in the Judeo-Christian world with 3 being the number of the Trinity and the days in the tomb. The number 40 reminds us of the days of rain for Noah and the number of days that Jesus was tempted in the dessert.

As a Catholic convert, I'm still learning the different traditions and how we want to celebrate them as a family. But there is a practical reasoning for extending the celebration of Christmas. January is well-known for seeming to be the most depressing time of the year. It's cold, dreary and we're crashing after all the festivities of December. I wonder if establishing a tradition of extended Christmas celebration would help protect my children and future generations from the susceptibility of depression in these winter months.

To be honest, I'm not sure what exactly I want the extended Christmas season to look like except for more Christmas music, movies and joy. That is the key. Find ways to extend the Joy of Christmas. Don't rush back to ordinary life quite so quickly. I think next year, I want more emphasis on St Nicholas Day and Epiphany for gift-giving and more emphasis on Jesus for Christmas Day.

The tree is probably coming down this weekend. I'm ready for the fresh start of the year. But I'm making notes in my planner for next December and January. It may be a long process with layers of tradition added each year. But for now, I feel joyful and that's enough reason for me to keep the celebration of Christmas extended well into January.