Fourth Wednesday of Advent
Originally posted Thursday, December 20, 2012
With Christmas upon us, I’ve been wondering why it is that we put so much time and energy into this holy holiday and then quickly brush it aside. I’m particularly curious about how quickly we toss aside the music with the wrapping paper.
I’ll be the first one to say that the holiday music begins way too early, often before we’ve even stabbed the Thanksgiving turkey, and then it’s all day every day at shops and the mall and on TV and the radio. And then the day after Christmas, retailers begin pushing their year-end sales and follow quickly with their Valentine’s Day jingles.
But what if . . . Christmas music didn’t start until the first Sunday of Advent and then it continued on until January 5. Why then? My good friend Paul Manglesdorf reminded me every year that the 12 days of Christmas actually don’t begin until Christmas Day, so “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and other such songs are sing-able through January 5. And if we want to be chronological with the Christmas story itself, any songs about kings or wise men could be held back until just before Epiphany Sunday, the Sunday closest to that twelfth day of Christmas.
And after that? Winter doesn’t begin until December 21, and it doesn’t end until March 19, and somewhere between those dates is when we should be hearing all those songs we hear before Christmas that really are not about Christmas at all but instead are about winter: “Jingle Bells,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Walking in a Winter Wonderland,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “Let it Snow,” “Jingle Bell Rock.”
Okay, I know that March 19 is stretching the winter holiday vibe beyond reason . . . but you get the idea.