From Bethlehem to the Jordan to Cana — the Word made flesh embraces our lives and changes us. He reveals to everyone the face of a loving and merciful God who wants to stay with us, who wants us to know that we are never alone, that we are loved with an everlasting love.
Even though the liturgical calendar returns to “Ordinary Time” after this feast, we will keep our Christmas tree, lights, and Nativity Scene up and glowing throughout the month of January and up to the feast of the “Presentation of Jesus in the Temple” on February 2, which is 40 days after Christmas.
This longer “Epiphanytide” is linked to old traditions for celebrating the season, and many places in Europe and Latin America the decorations and Nativity Scenes remain up all through January until the last of the celebrations from the Infancy Narratives recorded in Luke 2:22-40.
As we need little encouragement to prolong the party (not to mention the fact that we have an indestructibly green fake tree that didn’t go up until Christmas Eve, and that nobody minds putting off the tedious tasks of taking it all down, packing it up, and returning it to the attic😜) — we have always observed this time-honored “extension” in our home.
January, after all, remains cold and dark. It is good to continue to remember in this special way that Christ our Savior has come into the world, and that He is our Light.
