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“It’s the least wonderful time of the year” I crooned to my mother as we took down our Christmas decorations. Attempting to liven the mood, my dad offered to play some background music.

“No thanks, Dad. I just want to get this over with as quietly and as soon as possible,” I said as I wrapped up a ceramic Santa Claus holding a tiny Christmas tree.

If it’s not obvious, I love decorating for the holidays. In 2024, my family and I even made it to our dream deadline of decorating on the Saturday of the long Thanksgiving weekend. It’s not an easy task as it involves an operation of one of us climbing on a ladder into the attic, handing off boxes to those remaining below, and then heading down 13 steps to the first floor of our home where the majority of the festive transformation occurs. Once the physicality of the ordeal is over and we begin to open the boxes that house our Christmas treasures, our moods change. As we listen to the opening chords of Michael Bublé’s version of “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” everything sounds right, and everything feels right.

Now, as I write this, it’s mid-January. Inevitably, by the calendar days, Christmas is over. As I drive around town, the lights on homes are gone, as are the witty and silly inflatable Santas, snowmen, and elves. Christmas trees, real and artificial, await outside of homes for their trip to the dump. On a shopping trip to Walmart, I witnessed an employee packing up returned Christmas decorations (who does that?!). And in the liturgical season, Jesus is already a baptized adult beginning his ministry.

Recurringly I ask “Why are we in a hurry to get back to normal? Why can’t we make Christmas last longer?”

I know there are several reasons why, and I would love to hear them. Please let me know in the comments below what your “why the rush?” and also your suggestions on how we can all make the spirit of the season last all year long.

From me, here are a few things I learned and observed this past Christmas that are helping me in the New Year.

  • Make room for Jesus, the best present of all time.

Last year, I inherited a baby Jesus figure that belonged to my grandparents. They used to keep Him on their night table in a small wicker basket and fluffy throw. Growing up, I remember looking at this very cute, rustic-painted ceramic figure about two and a half inches long, grasping his foot in the matter that only babies can as they explore and enjoy their baby flexibility.

For a while, I did not have room on my own night table, but after a few months I decided to make some changes to accommodate such a precious gift. Like Mary and Joseph searching for a place to stay in Bethlehem, how could I not have room for Jesus, let alone a baby Jesus, the ultimate symbol of joy and salvation? To mankind, He is the best Christmas present ever!

So, if you have an image of Jesus at home, whether as a baby or an adult, always keep Him close by. Say good morning to Him when you wake up for the day, and good night when you lay down to rest. Try your best to invite Him more into your daily life.

  • It’s ok to listen to Christmas music again, even if it’s out of season.

Holiday tunes are my favorite genre of music. At Mass during this season we are blessed with divinely inspired songs like the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s Messiah, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and “The First Noel.” The radio, on the other hand, helps inspire the excitement of our inner child with “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Clause Is Coming to Town.” And if you’re from Miami, the holidays just aren’t complete without “Mi Burrito Sabanero” (which means “Little Donkey of the Savannah”).

As I’ve gotten older, I appreciate more mature songs about difficult circumstances. “Mary, did you Know?” easily brings me to tears as I listen to the questioning that Mary must have reflected in her heart not only when she gave her fiat, but as she watched her son Jesus grow up and begin a life of service and miracles:

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk in water?

Mary, did you know, that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

The son that you delivered would soon deliver you.

In “Grown Up Christmas List,” someone recalls their visits to Santa as a child, who now, as an adult, asks him to fulfill a list for “a world in need.”

No more lives torn apart

That wars would never start

And time would heal all hearts

And everyone would have a friend

And right would always win

And love would never end, no

This is my grown-up Christmas list

There is such light in Christmas music. Compared to the questionable, derogatory, and vulgar music I hear driving around South Florida year-round, I can’t help but wonder and worry about the emotional state of people living in my city. We all have our personal choices and tastes in music. So, excuse me as I roll up my windows, and listen to my Christmas music a little longer.

  • Christmas is THE season of hope. Let’s keep it and spread it throughout the year.

This past year was not easy for me. I felt upset, disheartened and lost as I faced many changes and challenges in my personal and professional life. Thanks to close family and friends who listened and accompanied me, they steered me towards a hopeful outlook. “Things will get better,” they said. It’s true. I’ve never prayed harder in my life for the Lord to get me through, and looking back in 2024, He always helped. When it was time for Christmas, in gratitude, I tried my best to be a bringer of hope to everyone I encountered in the season, especially those I knew who were going through a difficult time.

The holidays bring out something special in all of us. Even those who don’t believe have a hard time denying that they feel something magical.

In this new year, my hope for you is that the spirit of Christmas accompanies you all year long, inspiring you to be a propagator of hope, until the Christmas ornaments come down from the attic again. 

Comments from readers

William VanderWyden - 01/26/2025 03:45 PM
Thank you, Cristina, for your thoughtful reflection about Christmas and the decorations that accompany the season of joy. Liturgically we celebrate Christmas from December 24 through the Baptism of the Lord, allowing for a full season of Advent anticipation and longing. It seems that we in present day American society are anxious to get started as soon after Halloween as possible and to end it by throwing the tree to the curb on December 26. Some cultures celebrate the Christmas Season through February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. For me, I like to feel the spirit of Christmas through these winter days and until Mardi Gras. Although the outdoor lights and the Nativity were stored away last weekend, the Christmas tree and indoor decor brings pleasure as I write. May we all feel the spirit of Christmas throughput the year: God bless us, everyone! Mardi Gras this year is March 4! 🎄
Carlos Cueto - 01/23/2025 02:19 PM
Christina, I join you, Valli and others in the same sentiment and liturgical year question: why rush ourselves out of Christmas time and into “Ordinary” time (which really is not ordinary at all. My wife and I hate taking down the Christmas ornaments - and the joy the decoration instill - and we just took them down now way past the Second Sunday of Ordinary time. We will soon be entering 7 long weeks of Lent suffering but, that too, we need spiritually. Blessings!
Valli Leone - 01/22/2025 08:44 AM
Thanks, dear Christina, for your joy-filled article and mostly for your love of Christmas. I join you in your sentiments completely, wholeheartedly and unreservedly. Every day is Christmas, when we allow Jesus to be born anew in our hearts each morning. He is the air I breathe, the love of my life, and the hope that I cling to; He is my everything. As a 77-year old wife, mother, grandmother and Catholic evangelist, Jesus Christ is the reason for my every day and season! I can only imagine how it will be in Heaven one day with all of the angels, saints, our Blessed Mother and our faithful loved ones who have gone before us — as we personally meet face-to-face and greet the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the One who has comforted and consoled us throughout our earthly journeys. Holy Spirit, rain down! Like you, dear Christina, I just repacked my many Christmas decorations and hauled the bins into my storeroom. I have learned through the years that, as I take down each one, I can sing gratefully for the birth of our Lord and for the salvation He won for me by his coming. Although the halls of my home are no longer decorated with boughs of holly and I miss the warmth of my lighted Christmas tree, my heart is still decorated with enough faith, hope and love — and with the joy of being steeped in the Word of God and in Eucharist — to sing the Christmas carols and, as Saint Paul said, to rejoice in the Lord always! After all, the joy of the Lord is my constant strength. And, after all — the full Paschal Mystery and Resurrection joy at Easter is only weeks away! The bunnies and chicks are getting ready to climb out of their storage bins! Alleluia! His love never fails — and the Gift goes on. May we always keep Christmas in our hearts.. 🔆🕊🔆
LILIA ROQUE-GUERRERO - 01/22/2025 08:33 AM
Me gustó mucho este artículo y sentí algo de complicidad porque yo también escucho música de Navidad por unos cuantos días más, o debo decir semanas. (también dejo los adornos un poquito más) Creo que la Navidad es un tiempo especial donde se nos desborda la alegría, la unión familiar, la generosidad y la misericordia. Éstos son atributos del cristiano y hay que mantenerlos todo el año. Pienso, que el periodo después de Navidad es también un periodo de reflexión sobre la persona de Cristo y nuestro sentir y actuar al respecto. Mantener la alegría, la generosidad, la unión familiar, la misericordia etc. durante todo el año hace que ese Dios siga naciendo en nosotros e individualmente contribuyamos a un mundo mejor. Para mí es una forma genuina de adorar a Dios y ser felices en Su Verdad. En este mundo en el cual se nos habla tanto de ser libres para ser felices, pienso que la felicidad verdadera está en unir nuestra voluntad a la voluntad de Dios y eso nos hará libres.
Emily - 01/22/2025 07:48 AM
Very relatable reflection! I also don't enjoy taking down Christmas decorations, and believe it or not, I'm still watching Christmas movies! I pray that the joyful attitudes that we cultivate as a society during Christmas can be our goal to extend the whole year around.

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