Christmastide #2 of 2: The Twelve Days.

The Light shines in the darkness,

and darkness cannot overtake it.

(John 1:5)

A woman friend, during a beautiful Christmas dinner, shared how she missed the fast of Advent contrasted with the feast of Christmastide. She was an observant Catholic. In her tradition, you hold off Christmas feasting until after Advent, and then you get twelve days of Christmas, called “Christmastide,” to celebrate the birth of Christ. It seemed to her we were jumping the gun.

We were mostly Protestants, evangelical types, around the table. We tend to jump over fast days and get quickly to feasting. Maybe that’s why we don’t make much of Christmastide with its twelve days of Christmas. We’ve already done our feasting.

Those who follow more closely the Christian calendar, like our observant Catholic friend at the table, have a point. The weeks of Advent move towards the darkest days of winter. During Christmastide, the tide of darkness meets the tide of light and days get brighter. Nature itself joins in the celebration. Christmas turns the tide.