Our culture celebrates Christmas the day after Thanksgiving through December 25th, conveniently following a marketing strategy that lines the pockets of the retail giants.

But for Catholics, Christmas is not celebrated until Christmas day. So why do we follow a completely different schedule when it comes to Christmas?

Why don’t our calendars line up with the corporate calendars?

Well for one thing, from the beginning, Christians have observed Christmas as a day that kicks off an entire season.

It also marks the end of another season of waiting, self-discipline and restraint called Advent (which runs about 4 weeks prior) as a preparation time for Christmas.

What Catholic Christians observe is rather, Christmastide–commonly referred to as “the twelve-days of Christmas”.

It’s a period of celebration and feasting, gatherings and extra Masses, all culminating in the Feast of the Epiphany–a recognition of Jesus’ divine kingship by the visitation of the three kings.

But a lot more happens during this twelve-day-celebration than most people think.

A king usurps

In the Book of Job, Job said, “The life of man upon earth is a warfare“ (7:1 DRA).

Besides the obvious sufferings he underwent, what did he mean?

He meant God’s ways are not our ways, and that there’s a point to each of our lives–even the seemingly useless, poverty-stricken or extremely short ones.

We’re not just here and gone. We are all part of a big story, and we each have a part to play.

The trouble is, we can’t successfully complete our mission if we don’t discern the “good guys” from the “bad guys”.

As Job observed, we are also in the middle of a war.

And God knew we couldn’t win the war without a battle standard and a king.

And kings don’t just sit and rule over kingdoms; a king usurps.

But what could God be usurping? He’s God!

Well, the reign of evil that had taken over the entire world since the Fall of Adam and Eve.

Thus, there was a long period of waiting, when mankind needed God to liberate them from the clutches of evil.

People recognized this principle more in antiquity than they do today.

The Advent hymn “O Come O Come Emmanuel”, chanted in monasteries for over 1,200 years, proves this is true:

In his brilliant work, The Everlasting Man, G.K. Chesterton points out that Jesus’ miraculous birth was much less a joyful tiding than it was an “earthquake” that rocked the world.

He wrote, “Unless we understand the presence of that Enemy [Satan], we shall not only miss the point of Christianity, but even miss the point of Christmas…. There is in this buried divinity an idea of undermining the world; of shaking the towers and palaces from below; even as Herod the great king felt that earthquake under him and swayed with his swaying palace” (p. 125).

If the birth of the Christ Child was of little consequence, then no blood of innocent babies would have been shed at the command of a king.

Their martyrdom within Christmastide (recognized today) bears witness to the magnitude of His coming into the world.

Resolutions anyone?

New Year’s Day also falls within the twelve days of Christmas. In response, our self-focused society scrambles to find something else to distract us amidst the cold gloomy winter days.

New Year’s resolutions are good in principle, but on their own, they never seem to stick.

That’s because they take commitment, prayer and help from God–all things our culture abhors.

But aren’t we selling ourselves short when we omit these three things when our own willpower fizzles out?

Just like any other season, there are unique graces hidden within Christmastide, if we just ask for them.

For instance,

If we ask God to give us the joy Mary had while holding the Divine Child, He will give it to us in the measure we can contain it.

If we ask God to help us take up our crosses daily and follow Him, He will give us the love needed to do this.

If we ask God to see other people as He sees them, He will help us to be less critical of others.

If we ask God for more humility, He will give us opportunities to exercise this virtue by giving us plenty of situations in which we are humiliated!

If we pray for better physical or mental health, He will inspire us to practice healthier habits of eating, leisure or exercise.

If we ask Him to give us the solid trust and courage of St. Joseph, He will!

God will always help us to persevere in doing good for ourselves and others.

What are your resolutions?

A new year with mother Mary

But wait, there is yet another treasure buried within the season of Christmas, and that’s the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.

This holy day falls on New Year’s Day every calendar year, and Catholics are obliged to go to Mass to celebrate it.

Why?

We are reminded what Catholics all around the world know–that Mary was planned from the beginning of time to provide the human nature of God, who took on flesh without ceasing to be God.

His DNA came from her humanity; Jesus had two natures. He is 100% human and 100% divine (CCC 481).

Therefore, since she was selected to be the mother of Jesus, Mary is also the mother of God.

This great feast is actually centered on Christ more than Mary: It refutes errors that have threatened Christianity throughout the ages. Namely, that Jesus was either not fully human (Docetism) or not fully divine (Arianism).

Both heresies still persist today, but Catholic doctrine remains infallible and unchangeable.

Kings bowing before a King

And finally, Christmastide ends with earthly kings bowing before God’s Son. If this seems ironic, it is! There are no accidents with God.

We all grew up learning that three pagan kings traveled from afar following a star to pay homage to the Jewish king who was prophesied to rule over all the earth.

Yet the kingly gifts they gave to the Christ Child were not arbitrary; they all had significance.

Though He was born in poverty, the gold indicated Jesus’ divine kingship over all earthly rulers.

The frankincense (incense) revealed His high priesthood is of divine origin, and marked the end of the Old Covenant with the inherited Levitical priesthood.

The myrrh was an expensive burial ointment pointing to Jesus’ death–that Jesus was born to die–to be the sacrificial Lamb who would save all mankind.

As Christians, we too can offer the Christ Child our gold, frankincense and myrrh. The “gold” of our joys, the “frankincense” of our prayers, and the “myrrh” of our sufferings during this life.

What better way to honor God during Christmastide?

Have a merry Christmas!

“The Lord is king, let earth rejoice, let all the coastlands be glad“ (Ps 97:1).

Source: G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man, 1925, (reprinted by Ibis Press, 2023), p. 125.