Down with the holly, ivy; all... not quite!

To many, January and the days following New Year's Eve or even Christmas for that matter are a time during Christmas decorations are taken down. Oftentimes, decorations are taken down even before the Twelfth Night. As much as I love Christmas, I am more than happy to see Christmas decorations going up after Thanksgiving, or in Europe, in mid-November - but if we think of Advent as Christmas, why don't we keep the Yuletide atmosphere also during the Epiphany season? Why not celebrate the birth of Our Lord in a more meaningful way?

Christmas is sandwiched between two important seasons of the liturgical year: Advent and Epiphany. During Advent, liturgical colors in churches turn to blue or deep purple, symbolising a season of expectation in the shades of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who brought the Son of God to this very world. Adventus means "coming" in Latin, and as one prepares for this Advent of the Lord, this is also the right time to put Christmas decorations up, especially the Advent Wreath, Nativity Scene and the Christmas Tree. Preferably, on the eve of first Sunday of Advent, four weeks before Christmas. In some towns or cities around Europe, it has historically been the case to put them up on local saints' feast days prior to Christmas, for example the Immaculate Conception on December 8th in Rome and St. Ambrose on December 7th in Milan. However, the 1st Sunday of Advent remains the best choice. Of course, baby Jesus shouldn't appear in his cradle in the Nativity Scene until Christmas Eve.

Christmastide begins on the eve of December 24th, according to the ancient Jewish practice of changing the day at sunset. A tradition which entered the Christian usage of vespers/eves serving to the same purpose. On this blessed day, Christians celebrate the Incarnation of that Son of God who shall bring peace into the whole world, the Emmanuel born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the eve of December 24th, we place the child Jesus in our cribs, have a look at my Nativity Scene in the picture below. For the famous Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Christmas Season, we celebrate the birth of the Messiah, from December 25th to the eve of December 5th, culminating in the feast of the Epiphany, the arrival of the Magi and the spreading of the news of Christ's birth to the whole world. Removing your Christmas decorations during these holy days is an utter tragedy! Churches in Italy traditionally keep their Nativity Scenes up until Candlemas.

The feast of the Epiphany, once known as Little Christmas, is the feast that celebrates the revelation of God's incarnate form in Christ Jesus, with the arrival of the Three Kings bringing their gifts of gold, myrrh and incense. In some countries in Europe, such as Germany, Italy and Spain, presents are also given on this day. We place the Three Kings in our Nativity Scenes on this day, here to stay for the whole season of Epiphany, check again the picture above. You wouldn't think that creches were made to stay only for a few hours after the Magi had arrived! 

With the Epiphany, it begins the third liturgical season dedicated to the spreading of the good news of Christmas and of the revelation of God's salvific mission into the world. This season of Epiphany lasts for a month, during which we celebrate important feasts such as the Baptism of the Lord, and it culminates on Candlemas, established by Pope Liberius in the 4th century to celebrate the Purification of the Virgin Mary and the Presentation of Christ Jesus to the Temple. Candlemas has traditionally been associated with the very end of Christmas, every Sunday of Epiphany we celebrate the Christmas and Candlemas is on the 40th day - it marks the day on which a Jewish woman was finally purified after giving birth. 

On Candlemas, we celebrate the ancient Jewish rituals following the birth of a child, the purification of a woman, the Virgin, 40 days after having given birth, and the ceremony of redemption of the firstborn, welcomed at Jerusalem's Temple by the whole community. Historically, this was considered to be the last day of the Christmas cycle. We remember Jesus, in the words of Nunc Dimittis, becoming a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. Jewish Jesus, the anointed Christ, becomes a light to all the peoples of the world.

The following day, from the Middle Ages through the Victorian Age, up until the early 20th century it was also the day when Christmas decorations could finally be removed. On this day candles are brought to church and blessed for the rest of the year, symbolising the same ritual occurred in Jerusalem. On Candlemas' eve, candles are positioned by the window, to share Christ's light with the whole world and to banish the demons of darkness away. Christ is our light and this is the last message of Christmas. Therefore, if you want to keep a Christian Christmas, fear not and keep your trees, decorations and nativity scenes up until Candlemas! After all why not cheering up a bit with some Christmas spirit during this bare month of January? A Renaissance English poem, Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve, by Robert Herrick (1591-1674) goes:

Down with the rosemary, and so
Down with the bays and mistletoe;
Down with the holly, ivy, all
Wherewith ye dress’d the Christmas hall;
That so the superstitious find

No one least branch there left behind;
For look, how many leaves there be
Neglected there, maids, trust to me,
So many goblins you shall see.