Glory be to Jesus!

As we begin a new year may I offer to you something to consider in order to continue the joyful celebration of the birth of our Lord into the new year.

The Twelve Days of Christmas and the Feast of the Epiphany

O Christ, what shall we offer You for Your coming on earth as a Man for our sake? Every creature that has its being from You give thanks to You: the angels offer hymns of praise, the heavens give a star: wise men present their gifts, and the shepherds, their wonder; the earth provides a cave and the desert a manger. As for us, we offer You a Mother, a Virgin Mother. O God who art from all eternity, have mercy on us! 
–from the service of Great Vespers

The presents have been opened, the food has been eaten, and the Christmas tree is really starting to shed (or is starting to get in the way)—yes, your house is showing the effects of Christmas Day. Now you begin to focus on putting your house and life back together from the hectic pace you have likely kept since Thanksgiving. But while the “holiday season” may be winding down—for Christians the Christmas season is just getting started. You’ve heard of the 12 days of Christmas, right? December 25^th is when they begin!

The 12 days of Christmas refer to the period between Christmas and the Eve of Epiphany on January 5^th. This is a time of celebration—rejoicing in the birth of our Lord and Savior! As the angels proclaimed to the shepherds,

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

The 40 day period before Christmas is known as Advent and is meant to be a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus! The messages on television and in magazines tell us generally to “rejoice” and “be merry” (which they usually equate with material gifts) but as Christians we must remember the reason for the rejoicing and the merriment comes from the birth of God the Word—Jesus. Once the Christ child enters this world, then, we have something to celebrate!

So, how can we celebrate the 12 days of Christmas in our homes? We can strive each and every day to remember the joyous gift we received on Christmas.

As we read in the Gospel of John,

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)

Here are a few things you can do with your family to keep the celebration going for the full 12 days of Christmas.

Nativity Greetings

On Easter, and throughout the Easter season, we all know that we greet one another by saying “Christ is risen!” and responding “He is risen indeed!”  Did you know that there is a similar greeting for Christmas? Christians of the Early Church would greet everyone after the Divine Liturgy on the Nativity by proclaiming “Christ is born!” The response is “Glorify Him!” Consider using this greeting the entire 12 days of Christmas. Maybe add this beautiful ancient ode of the Nativity, which this greeting comes from, to your family prayers during this period:

Christ is born! Glorify Him! 
Christ comes from heaven; meet Him. 
Christ is on earth exalt Him. 
O you earth, sing to the Lord. 
O you nations, praise Him in joy for He has been glorified.

Giving Thanks

Take time to give thanks for all of your blessings in life. Each night when you say prayers as a family, have each member share one thing they are thankful for that happened during the day. Discuss ways that you can show gratitude to God for all of His blessings. Consider making thanksgiving ornaments using left-over wrapping paper, ribbon, and markers. Write the different things you are thankful for in life on the wrapping paper, cut them out in different shapes, and use the ribbon to hang them on your tree. Also, this would be a good time to write those Christmas thank you notes to relatives and friends who have honored you with gifts—both material and otherwise throughout this past year.

Be Mindful

Remember the reason for the season by keeping your mind focused on Christ and His Church. One way of doing this is to keep up with daily scripture readings, devotions and prayer.

Capture the Memories

Perhaps create a Faith Capsule during the 12 days of Christmas. Use some sort of container and place an item in each day that will remind you of this year’s celebration of the Birth of our Lord (i.e. a clipping from your tree, a piece of wrapping paper, pictures, quotes, etc.). Have each person in the family create a thank-you note or drawing to God for giving us the gift of His Son. After you share with one another; place these in the time capsule and store it where it will not be disturbed until next year. Decide which day you will open it next year and write it on your calendar.

Wrap it up with a Splash!

Make a point to attend worship on the second Sunday of Christmas which is also the Eve of the Feast of Epiphany of Our Lord (January 5^th).

These are just a few suggestions on ways you can celebrate the 12 days of Christmas. Be creative and come up with your own family traditions for this period as well. Remember that this celebration shouldn’t run you ragged. Keep it simple and enjoy the time together as a family. But more importantly enjoy the time you spend glorifying our Lord and rejoicing in His birth. Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

The Feast of the Epiphany/Theophany

The sixth of January is the feast of the Epiphany. Originally, in the Early Church, it was the one Christian feast of the “shining forth” of God to the world in the human form of Jesus of Nazareth. It included the celebration of Christ’s birth, the adoration of the Wisemen, and all of the childhood events of Christ such as his circumcision and presentation to the temple as well as his baptism by John in the Jordan. There seems to be little doubt that this feast, like Easter and Pentecost, was understood as the fulfillment of a previous Jewish festival, in this case the Feast of Lights.

Epiphany means shining forth. The feast is also often called, Theophany, which means the shining forth and manifestation of God. The emphasis in the present day celebration is on the appearance of Jesus as the human Messiah of Israel and the divine Son of God, One of the Holy Trinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Thus, in the baptism by John in the Jordan, Jesus identifies himself with sinners as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the “Beloved” of the Father whose messianic task it is to redeem all people from their sins (Luke 3:21,

Mark 1:35).

And he is revealed as well as One of the Divine Trinity, testified to by the voice of the Father, and by the Spirit in the form of a dove. This is the central epiphany glorified in some of the ancient hymns for this feast:

When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan the worship of the Trinity was made manifest! For the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee his Beloved Son. And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of his Word. O Christ our God, who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee.

Today Thou hast appeared to the universe, Thy Light, O Lord, has shone on us, who with understanding praise Thee: Thou hast come and revealed Thyself, O Light Unapproachable!

I pray that this information may help you in continuing the celebration of the Birth of our Lord and carrying the joy of that celebration into the new year as we remember that in the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ God has revealed Himself and come to us in our human form with the gifts of forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. 

God’s blessings to all as we begin the new year: 

AD (Anno Domini – Year of the Lord) 2014

In Christ’s Service

Pastor Scott