Questions of Faith

Father Wilmer Todd

When to take the decorations down?

I am a practicing Catholic, but I am confused about when to take down my Christmas decorations. Some people take them down the day after Christmas. When is the proper time?

The problem we face in the U.S. and other Christian countries is the fact that we have two Christmases: 1) the commercial or secular Christmas and 2) the religious celebration of Jesus’ birth. Unfortunately, these two Christmases can often get entangled and confusing.

The secular Christmas “officially” begins on the first week of November. (Some stores start decorating with a Christmas theme even before that.) The emphasis is on Santa Claus, elves, lights, Christmas trees and buying. The songs are also secular: “Jingle Bells,” “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Blue Christmas,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” etc.

For most merchants, the Christmas season ends on Dec. 26 when they try to sell at reduced prices all the Christmas merchandise they did not sell during the last two months.

The religious celebration of Christmas begins on Christmas Eve, December 24. It includes the Feast of the Holy Family; the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God; the Solemnity of the Epiphany, and the Baptism of the Lord. Some religious songs are: “Silent Night, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “What Child is This?” “Joy to the World,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “O Holy Night,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” etc.

The four weeks before Christmas, Catholic Christians observe the Season of Advent. Expectation and waiting are the themes for these weeks. In the darkness part of the year, we look forward to the Light of the World coming to us in three ways: History, Mystery and Majesty. • History: What are the implications for our lives that the Son of God became a human being 2,000 years ago? Jesus came in history to Mary and Joseph. He took on human flesh and became human to unite his nature with ours. St. Athanasius wrote, “Through this union of the immortal Son of God with our human nature, God clothed all human beings with incorruption in the promise of the resurrection.” • Mystery: What are the implications for us that Christ comes to us today in the Eucharist as food and drink, in the sacraments, in Scripture, in the stranger, and in the events of life? Jesus comes to us in mystery each time we receive him in the Eucharist. St. Augustine preached, “Recognize in the bread what hung on the cross, and in the cup what flowed from his side.” • Majesty: Are we prepared to meet Christ when he will come at the end of the world to administer eternal justice? Our Gospel reading gives us a glimpse of Christ coming in majesty with power and with glory at his second coming. When Christmas arrives, we will rejoice in the promise that the sun of justice will come again in majesty to dispel the darkness of injustice, sin and death. During these four weeks, we reflect on these three comings of Christ and their meaning and implications for our lives.

It is during the Advent Season when things get a little messy. Some pastors or church personnel often display a crib inside or outside the church during the Advent Season. Church Christmas parties usually happen during Advent. Sometimes both religious songs and secular songs are played on various media outlets. What often happens is when the real celebration of Christmas takes place people are so worn out that they have had enough Christmas celebrating.

Another confusion in south Louisiana is the end of the “12 days of Christmas,” Jan. 6, the former date for the Feast of the Epiphany, that used to mark the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the Mardi Gras Season. The church moved the Feast of the Epiphany to the Sunday because of the importance of this feast, but the Mardi Gras people still speak of “the 12th night” as the beginning of Mardi Gras Season.

We should take down our Christmas decorations after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which in 2023 is Jan. 9. BC