Is Christmas Over Yet?

This is the eighth in a series of personal Christmas refections posted during the 12 Days of Christmas

It's weird writing about Christmas on New Year's Day. Christmas seems so past tense. It was last week for heaven's sake. The store's have started (if they aren't finished) putting away all the Christmas decorations. I've seen people post on Facebook that they have already cleaned up from Christmas. In our neighborhood some of the houses that have had Christmas lights on since mid-November have left them unplugged the past few days.

When I was a kid it felt like Christmas lasted a long time. Maybe it was because we had that two-week break from school that was known as Christmas vacation. As an adult I get one day off for Christmas (which a lot of pastor's don't) and one day off for New Year's. If I take vacation time I end up working more before and after the time off. If I don't take vacation it is right back to work.

Was there ever a time when people really feasted for 12 days at Christmas? In an agricultural society in the northern hemisphere there isn't a whole lot to do during the winter other than to tend to the animals. So perhaps Christmas was an excuse to get together and celebrate. Maybe it was a way to keep depression at arm's length and look forward to the longer and warmer days to come.

At our house we try to leave the Christmas tree and decorations up for the entire 12 days of Christmas. But that week after New Year's Day it seems more like laziness than ecclesiastical integrity. And to be honest, every day that I post on this Christmas blog it gets harder and harder to even think about Christmas. The last few days I feel like I am forcing the issue on people who have happily moved on. And we are only two-thirds of the way through Christmas.

So how long does Christmas last at your home? When do things get put away? When does it feel right to move on?

Maybe Christmas in our culture has moved to the days before December 25. Is that so bad?