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by Susan Greeley
It’s November 30—Happy New Year! No, I’m not getting ahead of myself. The church calendar is just one example of how our Christian faith often puts us at odds with the secular world. The beginning of the church year doesn't fall on January 1, but rather on the First Sunday of Advent. In 2008 that means that November 30 is New Year’s Day.
As a generalization, we spend the first half of the half of the church year with lectionary texts about the life of Jesus. Roughly the second half of the year is spent with Gospel passages about Jesus’ teachings and ministry.
The first three seasons of the church year—Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany—are all of a piece.
The tell the story of Christ’s life from its foretelling, to the nativity, to the coming of the Magi, to Jesus’ baptism. So this year try distancing yourself from contemporary culture’s idea of Christmas—both when it occurs and how long it lasts. Take a step back, look at the whole church year, and celebrate these first three seasons as if they were three verses of the same song. It’s a beautiful tune sung in many different ways around the world.
A BOARD GAME
This time of the year, many of us travel long distances to celebrate the season with family and friends. This theme of traveling far from home during the holidays is hardly new. After all, Joseph and Mary were traveling to Bethlehem. Unknown to them, the Magi were traveling at the same time. It can even be imagined that God was traveling, breaking into our physical dimension of time and space through the Incarnation.
While it’s more common to think of journeying through the season of Lent, it is a metaphor that works well during these seasons too. It can help keep us from the frantic rush toward an idealized Christmas Day that is certain to disappoint.
To make this journey more tangible it helps to have a map. I like the idea of a board game as a map of this journey, with Epiphany as “home.” This is particularly good if you’re traveling with children during Christmas, as even very young children understand the idea of “coming home.” This map also makes it instantly apparent that Christmas does not begin the day after Halloween (as the stores would have us believe) and does not end with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
ADVENT
While most of the world is celebrating Christmas already, we are observing the season of Advent, four weeks of preparation and anticipation. We are waiting not only for our celebration of Christ’s birth but also for his second coming.
The way Christians have observed Advent has changed over the centuries. In the early days Christians considered Advent a somber time of penitence and fasting, the way many believers observe the Lenten season now. Today Advent is characterized by themes of watchfulness, preparation, yearning, and expectation.
We retain the reflective nature of the Advent season, marked by simplicity of ritual and worship. The liturgical color is blue, the color of hope.
Some symbols, like the Advent wreath, are shared by Christians all over the world. Other traditions and symbols are unique to certain countries or cultures. All are intended to deepen our understanding of what it means to wait, even as we prepare for the coming of Christ.
Advent wreath
The first Advent wreaths appeared in the Middle Ages, but the modern tradition began in 19th-century Germany as a way to answer the question of eager children: “Is it Christmas yet?” The circular Advent wreath symbolizes eternity, a time with no beginning and no end. It is often made from evergreens, also a symbol of eternity.
The wreath is decorated with four candles, symbolizing the four weeks of Advent. As each candle is lit on successive Sundays the wreath becomes brighter, a reminder of Christ as the light of the world. Although traditions vary, often the first candle is blue and is called the candle of hope. On the second Sunday of Advent the blue candle of peace is lit. The candle for the Third Sunday of Advent is rose-colored, signifying joy. For the Fourth Sunday of Advent the candle is blue again and stands for love. Some people light a fifth white candle in the middle of the wreath on Christmas Day. This is called the Christ candle.
Advent calendar
The Advent calendar also comes to us from Germany and is used as a way to mark time until Christmas arrives. Beginning on December 1, a small door is opened each day, revealing a surprise beneath. Usually these are pictures or symbols of the season, such as the donkey and the stable or angels.
Modern Advent calendars sometimes hide a piece of chocolate or other candy behind each door. There are even digital versions of the Advent calendar available on the Internet.
Opening the doors of the Advent calendar can become a lifelong memory and comfort for many people. Parents do need to impress upon their children, however, that Christmas begins, not ends, on December 25.
Santa Lucia
Several countries, most notably in Scandinavia, observe Santa Lucia day on December 13 in honor of the martyred Sicilian saint. The oldest daughter of the family wears a crown of candles and a white gown with a red sash as she brings coffee and St. Lucia buns to her parents before dawn. Younger daughters and brothers follow behind wearing white robes and carrying single candles. The name Lucia means “light” and Santa Lucia is referred to as the Queen of Lights. That light may be the reason she became so popular in Scandinavia, where December nights are long and dark.
Las Posadas
In Mexico, Christians reenact Mary and Joseph’s journey each night from December 16 through Christmas Eve. This is a community celebration with a different family acting as host each night, offering their home as la posada, the inn. At dusk people gather to walk through the neighborhood, singing carols. Children carrying a figure of the Christ child lead the way, followed by the adults and musicians. They stop at different homes and are repeatedly turned away. Finally they arrive at la posada for that evening where they are invited in. There is plenty of food and drink for everyone and sweets for the children. The evening culminates with the breaking of a piñata. The biggest party is usually held on Christmas Eve, followed by midnight Mass.
Nativity scenes
In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi created a living nativity scene with costumed characters and live animals as a way of teaching illiterate peasants the Christmas story. Local artisans were so taken with the spectacle that they started carving three-dimensional nativities or presepios as they were called in Italy, and the beloved tradition of the nativity scene was born.
Today nativity scenes (also called crèches) are as varied as the countries in which the artists live. The stable may be made from a coconut shell in Haiti or banana leaves in Kenya. An igloo or a teepee may represent the stable for some artists in the United States. In South America, llamas may substitute for sheep.
The figures of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus often take on the physical appearance of indigenous peoples. The changing face of the Christ child is a marvelous way of underscoring the fact that Jesus came to save the entire world. And because children everywhere understand the concept of babies and families, the nativity scene is an excellent way of passing down the Christmas story to the next generation. Thus the nativity scene today remains a teaching tool not unlike the one St. Francis had envisioned.
Santons
A unique form of the nativity scene is found in France, where homes display crèches with small clay figurines called santons or “little saints.” This tradition began in Provence during the French Revolution (1789–99). At that time the state closed all the churches and people missed seeing the nativity scenes at Christmas. Because it was forbidden to have nativity scenes in their homes, people created small figures that could be hidden quickly. These began with the traditional figures of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph but soon grew to include representations of actual people in their community. Today santons such as a farmer with a basket of eggs, a woman with flowers, or a baker carrying fresh bread can all be found bringing their gifts to the Christ child.
Try looking at that nativity scene in your home or church and then close your eyes. Can you see your mail carrier, your next-door neighbor, and your local barista worshiping at the manger?
CHRISTMAS
Christmas begins on December 25 and lasts through January 5—the 12 days of Christmas. The liturgical color for the Christmas season is white, symbolizing joy. Not so long ago, families celebrated Christmas Day together by attending worship and enjoying a feast of traditional favorite foods. The remaining 11 days of Christmas were spent visiting the homes of extended family and friends.
Today we often treat Christmas Day as a deadline, counting down the shopping days until it arrives. Children learn that the ideal holiday culminates in a visit from Santa Claus and a bounty of gifts. Christmas music vanishes on December 26, as do the remaining 11 days of Christmas, while popular culture turns its attention to after-Christmas sales, New Year’s Eve parties, and football.
How can we offer a faithful alternative to the world’s idea of Christmas? Here are a few ideas:
Teach children why we give gifts at Christmas—out of gratitude for God’s greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. It’s also part of our tradition because of the Magi’s gifts to the Christ child.
Develop simple family traditions and rituals that are based on relationships and activities. For instance, you may help young children make a birthday cake to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Make memories with your family that will outlive any gift that money can buy.
Sing Christmas carols as a family. Because religious carols are no longer taught in public schools and congregations don’t sing them during Advent, many children are growing up knowing more about Frosty the Snowman than the Herald Angels.
Observe the full 12 days of Christmas as a family. Before Christmas day arrives, plan together 12 activities (going to a movie, sledding, a museum outing, and so on) that you’d enjoy doing together. Write each idea on a separate piece of paper and wrap them up or put them in a basket. Then pick one for each day of Christmas.
EPIPHANY
On January 6 we arrive at the end of our game board map! And why is Epiphany “home”? Because this is where we Gentiles enter the story for the first time.
Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Magi, also called the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men, the first non-Jews to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The meaning of the Greek word epiphany is “to make manifest,” “to reveal,” or “to show.” God revealed Christ to the Magi as a sign that Jesus came for all people of all nations and all races. The liturgical color for January 6 remains white for our joy in the light of Christ. Green is the color for the season of Epiphany, symbolizing our growth in faith.
People in many Spanish-speaking countries call January 6 El dia de los reyes or the day of the kings. The traditional food is the Rosca de Reyes, a sweet bread decorated with candied fruit. Baked inside the bread is a plastic figurine of the Baby Jesus, hidden because it symbolizes the need to be protected from King Herod. The knife that cuts the bread stands for the danger Jesus faced. The person who gets the figurine in their slice is the host for a party on February 2. Similar customs gather around cakes in other cultures as well.
In Puerto Rico children put bowls of water and grass under their beds the night before Epiphany as treats for the Magi’s camels. In other places, children put handfuls of hay in their shoes under their beds for the three kings’ horses. And generous children find little presents left behind for them by the kings the next morning.
The Irish refer to Epiphany as “Little Christmas” and celebrate it much as we do Mother’s Day. Men take on the household duties for the day and children give gifts to their mothers.
Try celebrating some of the traditions of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany this year. They will help you and your family learn from— and enjoy—a journey through these seasons. Safe travels!
Susan Greeley is the producer and director of Grace Matters, the radio ministry of the ELCA, (www.gracematters.org). |