Keep Christmas All Year

“Remember his covenant forever–the commitment he made to a thousand generations.” 1 Chronicles 16:15 (NLT) 

I don’t know about you, but I tend to get in a minor funk once Christmas is over.  The Christmas season is my favorite time of year.  I love the build-up, the anticipation, and the ongoing celebration.  I love the atmosphere: the music, the decorations and (for the most part) the overall kindness and generosity of people.  The season never seems long enough, and I never want it to be over.  Sometimes I have a tendency to try to prolong the season.  I continue to listen to Christmas music, save Christmas movies on my DVR to keep watching, and leave my decorations up for as long as my husband will tolerate (read a funny story about that here).  No, we are not the people who leave Christmas lights up year round (no judgment if you do!).  And yes…I have a Christmas Countdown app on my phone that my kids and I look at throughout the year!  I guess I just have a childlike wish to keep Christmas all year.

Christmas Countdown app

I love learning about different cultures in general and especially about their celebrations.  Rick Steves is one of my favorite travel guides to watch and one of my favorite holiday shows of his is Rick Steves’ European Christmas.  Watching it evokes feelings and emotions of warmth, happiness, excitement and love.  It transports me to different countries across Europe, and I feel like I’m celebrating Christmas with them in their own traditions.  It’s so cool to me how so many people show their love and excitement for Jesus in so many different ways and how there is so much meaning in it all.  One day I’d LOVE to travel and experience them firsthand.

This year when I was watching Rick Steves’ European Christmas (since it’s kind of become an annual tradition for me now), I learned something that I don’t remember seeing or hearing before.  I learned about Epiphany and the 12 Days of Christmas (it’s not just a song!). 🙂 Epiphany is the celebration to commemorate the three wise men visiting the infant Jesus.  I never realized that in many cultures the Christmas season is extended 12 days past Christmas day (hence the 12 Days of Christmas or sometimes called Christmastide) and ends with the celebration of Epiphany (sometimes called Twelfth Night) on January 6^th.  And guess what…they leave their Christmas decorations up until then too!  See…I’m not crazy!

I even learned that some cultures extend the holiday season until February 2^nd to celebrate Candlemas.  Candlemas is to commemorate when Jesus was presented to the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem 40 days after his birth (Luke 2:22-38).  A Christmas celebration lasting until February?  Now that’s what I’m talking about.  I think one year I left my tree up until February and teased that it was my Valentine tree.  I guess I should have just said I was leaving it up until Candlemas.

NOTE: For those of you who celebrate these festivals and holidays, please forgive me if I have incorrectly represented them.  There seemed to be a bit of debate in my research about the various festival dates, meanings and reasons for the celebrations.  This is honestly the first I’ve learned of them.  After all, I’m just a simple girl from the south (U.S.) with little exposure to some of these things having grown up in a non-denominational Christian home.  Feel free to comment below if you have additional information to share.

I think it must be human nature worldwide to look for any reason to celebrate and have festivals.  Honestly, why shouldn’t we celebrate Jesus year-round?  After all, He should deserve more celebration than Christmas and Easter.  So I was thinking, maybe we should have a reminder or some type of celebration to keep Christmas all year.  For some reason I always thought the 12 Days of Christmas corresponded with the 12 months of the year.  Maybe we can create our own version of the 12 Days of Christmas to keep Christmas all year.  One idea is to do something special or “Christmassy” on the 25^th of every month, keeping Jesus in mind/at the center at the same time.  The 25^th would be an easy date to remember since Christmas is celebrated on the 25^th.  I happen to think the 25^th of the month is a very special day anyway…It could possibly be because my birthday falls on a 25^th!  It might look something like this:

January 25^th – 1^st day of Christmas

February 25^th – 2^nd day of Christmas

March 25^th – 3^rd day of Christmas,  and so on…

Just like we talked about ways to stay thankful year round (making Thanksgiving last), we can use this to keep Christmas all year and remember WHY we celebrate.  Let’s not let the spirit of Christmas fade this year.  Let’s honor Christmas in our hearts and celebrate Jesus Christ all year! 

Take Some Practical Steps to Keep Christmas All Year:

• Read the Christmas story each month on the 25^th (Matthew 1:18-2:23 OR reread this post and watch the video here)
• Keep a nativity out year round or pull a piece(s) of it out each month on the 25^th ending with the final piece (likely the baby Jesus) on December 25^th.
• Keep a log each month on the 25th.  Maybe write down the “gifts” you have received from God for each corresponding month.  For example, on January 25th write down one thing God has done for you or given you thus far (On the “first day of Christmas my God, He gave to me…”).  Then on February 25th write down two things and so on until December 25th where you will write down 12 things that God has given you or done for you over the course of the year.  You could then spend time on Christmas day sharing these things with others (what a great testimony by the way!).  This would also serve as a great keepsake to pass down someday.
• Keep close to the Savior year round. A primary way you can do this is by spending time with Him daily in God’s Word.  Start a habit of reading your bible for a few minutes every day.  If you haven’t done so already you can subscribe to this site to get a free download: 10 steps to an Effective Quiet Time which will help you get started in spending daily time in the bible.  Also, YouVersion is getting ready to start their annual 21-Day New Year Challenge to help lock in a daily habit of connecting with the Bible.  It’s a reading challenge to encourage readers to complete at least one daily reading from a bible reading plan for 21 days (January 1-January 21^st).  They will be giving away prizes weekly throughout the challenge and will also be awarding a Grand Prize of an iPad Air at the end of the challenge.  Your name will be entered into a drawing for the Grand Prize if you complete all 21 days of the challenge.  To get more information and/or the official rules click here.

Do you have any ideas or things that you do to keep Christmas all year?  Leave a comment below (or click on the post link to join the conversation if you’re viewing through e-mail). 

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