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This is the article I wrote for December 15. I liked it.
12 days of Christmas
As a child, I lived in many places. My first memories are of Marquette, Michigan. Other stops were Dallas, Miami, and Atlanta before finally settling near Fort Worth, Texas. Moving was an adventure and it exposed us to many different cultures. All of it was fun and some memories stick out more than others. Among my strangest memories is of the slight twinge of jealousy I had of my Jewish friends in Miami.
During this time of the year, while many of us were discussing and awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus, our Jewish friends were at home opening presents during the eight nights of Hanukkah (celebrated December 16-23 this year). To a fourth grader, this was not fair to those of us who were not Jewish. Sure, we got gifts on Christmas, but we had to wait. Hanukah usually began before Christmas, which meant they didn’t have to wait as long. Plus, in the mind of a child, one morning of presents would never add up to as many presents as eight nights would. The idea that the Christmas pile of presents would be spread across eight nights is lost on a 10 year old.
One year I thought I had found a loop-hole: the 12 days of Christmas. In a competitive sense, this was great. Christmas could become four days longer than the Hanukah celebration and it would often start before Hanukah (December 13-25 would always be the 12 days, but Hanukah moves around). You can imagine my disappointment when I found out that the 12 days of Christmas were already accounted for with Christmas beginning the 12 days rather than serving as the “Grand Finale.” I knew right then and there that there would not be 11 more days of presents, unless I wanted to wait to open them up.
As a child I was stuck, waiting for Christmas. And, by now, many of us feel stuck waiting for Christmas. Work responsibilities are winding down. Children are attending parties at school and with friends. Gift lists are getting smaller and the pile of gifts around the tree is probably getting a little bigger. But we wait.
And this waiting we do for gifts each year cannot come close to the longing that God’s people must have felt as they were waiting for Messiah to come. For hundreds of years, they had been in and out of exile and the glory days of King David’s reign were history. God had promised something new would come, but they couldn’t even count days because no date for this event had been announced. With little fanfare the significant day came and went with only a few shepherds and wise men noticing.
If we are not careful, we will get caught up in the season’s cultural events and miss our spiritual remembrance of the first Christmas. Christmas Eve will come and following our loyal attendance at a candlelight service, our eyes and ears will turn towards home and a television repeating classic movies like A Christmas Story and It’s a Wonderful Life. Eric Chilton and Laney Pope will report on Santa’s Progress around the globe. Children will be whisked off to bed and parents will make final preparations for the morning to come. There will be no need for an alarm clock in many houses on December 25 and children do not come equipped with snooze buttons. Breakfast will be prepared in the midst of presents being opened. Some will pack up cars and travel to see family and friends. Prayers will be said around many dinner tables, but prayer was probably said around many tables on that night, 2000 years ago, in Bethlehem as well. We can’t wait for the day to get here, but we may miss the event all together.
So, prepare for Christmas: buy and wrap gifts, spend time with family (even if you would rather be elsewhere), track Santa’s progress across the sky, attend a Christmas Eve service, and enjoy Christmas day. But let’s not forget that December 25th is the day that the Savior for the world was born. Not only is this worth waiting for and remembering, but it’s worth celebrating for 11 more days after Christmas.
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12 days of Christmas
As a child, I lived in many places. My first memories are of Marquette, Michigan. Other stops were Dallas, Miami, and Atlanta before finally settling near Fort Worth, Texas. Moving was an adventure and it exposed us to many different cultures. All of it was fun and some memories stick out more than others. Among my strangest memories is of the slight twinge of jealousy I had of my Jewish friends in Miami.
During this time of the year, while many of us were discussing and awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus, our Jewish friends were at home opening presents during the eight nights of Hanukkah (celebrated December 16-23 this year). To a fourth grader, this was not fair to those of us who were not Jewish. Sure, we got gifts on Christmas, but we had to wait. Hanukah usually began before Christmas, which meant they didn’t have to wait as long. Plus, in the mind of a child, one morning of presents would never add up to as many presents as eight nights would. The idea that the Christmas pile of presents would be spread across eight nights is lost on a 10 year old.
One year I thought I had found a loop-hole: the 12 days of Christmas. In a competitive sense, this was great. Christmas could become four days longer than the Hanukah celebration and it would often start before Hanukah (December 13-25 would always be the 12 days, but Hanukah moves around). You can imagine my disappointment when I found out that the 12 days of Christmas were already accounted for with Christmas beginning the 12 days rather than serving as the “Grand Finale.” I knew right then and there that there would not be 11 more days of presents, unless I wanted to wait to open them up.
As a child I was stuck, waiting for Christmas. And, by now, many of us feel stuck waiting for Christmas. Work responsibilities are winding down. Children are attending parties at school and with friends. Gift lists are getting smaller and the pile of gifts around the tree is probably getting a little bigger. But we wait.
And this waiting we do for gifts each year cannot come close to the longing that God’s people must have felt as they were waiting for Messiah to come. For hundreds of years, they had been in and out of exile and the glory days of King David’s reign were history. God had promised something new would come, but they couldn’t even count days because no date for this event had been announced. With little fanfare the significant day came and went with only a few shepherds and wise men noticing.
If we are not careful, we will get caught up in the season’s cultural events and miss our spiritual remembrance of the first Christmas. Christmas Eve will come and following our loyal attendance at a candlelight service, our eyes and ears will turn towards home and a television repeating classic movies like A Christmas Story and It’s a Wonderful Life. Eric Chilton and Laney Pope will report on Santa’s Progress around the globe. Children will be whisked off to bed and parents will make final preparations for the morning to come. There will be no need for an alarm clock in many houses on December 25 and children do not come equipped with snooze buttons. Breakfast will be prepared in the midst of presents being opened. Some will pack up cars and travel to see family and friends. Prayers will be said around many dinner tables, but prayer was probably said around many tables on that night, 2000 years ago, in Bethlehem as well. We can’t wait for the day to get here, but we may miss the event all together.
So, prepare for Christmas: buy and wrap gifts, spend time with family (even if you would rather be elsewhere), track Santa’s progress across the sky, attend a Christmas Eve service, and enjoy Christmas day. But let’s not forget that December 25th is the day that the Savior for the world was born. Not only is this worth waiting for and remembering, but it’s worth celebrating for 11 more days after Christmas.
