Thursday, December 26, 2013

When Does Christmas Time End?

Good morning on this great day after Christmas! I hope you enjoyed the company of your friends and family this Christmas. I wonder this morning when is a good time to call it quits for the Christmas time or season. What day means that all decorations must be put up or when should we stop playing Christmas carols? Many radio stations drop their Christmas music like a toxic potato by midnight of Christmas day. To me, that is a very sad thing to do. However, I'm a bit of a Christmas music nut, I'll admit that. Sadly, many churches will drop the Christmas music before this coming Sunday. Christmas should be the beginning, and not the end. Jesus didn't stop with Christmas day.

The good news here is that every Christian song began at that first Christmas, so all of it can be called Christmas music! All things Christ began with Jesus, and thus we have good reason to celebrate Christmas every day. I cannot separate Jesus from Christmas simply by dropping the Christmas music. And, I realize that all Christian music is really Christmas music as it all began with Christ! I don't need to separate Away in a Manger from Jesus is Coming Again! You don't remember that second one? I think I just made up that title, but we certainly should be singing it. Perhaps one of the Christian songwriters would be so kind as to get that tune ready for us. Oops, well of course it is! I just looked up the lyrics and the song is ready for us. As of 1872 ready for us that is. The hymn begins with this verse:

Lift up the trumpet, and loud let it ring:
Jesus is coming again!
Cheer up, ye pilgrims, be joyful and sing:
Jesus is coming again!

A note of thanks to the long-passed Jessie E. Strout and George E. Lee, I'm glad they knew to write a hymn for my title long before I thought of it, or was even born for that matter. As for putting away your Christmas decorations, do it whenever you like or wait as long as you like! Have a Merry Christmas on this day after!

Bucky

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