Hallo again to all.

We were happy to be at our home parish for the sixth day of Christmas. Having grown up in a tradition that did not celebrate the twelve days, we were also happy to see the bulletin labeled as the 'first Sunday of Christmas'.

Something about Christmastide has always seemed less joyous to us—rightly or wrongly. The Christ child has arrived, presents duly opened, Christmas charity done with, but then there are those awkward days between Christmas Day and the New Year that no one quite seems to know how to handle. They are something more than regular days but not quite 'holidays' (in the secular sense, we realise that celebration of St. Thomas Becket has just passed, among others).

The twelve days of Christmas, which make it a short but true season, help rememedy this for us. So as we sang carols still, and remembered that we would still do so through to Epiphany, the holiday still seemed bright indeed.

And so while the Christmas season is still with us:

Now to the Lord sing praises, all you within this place,
and with true love and charity each other now embrace;
this holy tide of Christmas doth bring redeeming grace.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!*

See you next week.

30 December 2018
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*'God rest you merry, gentlemen', v. 4 from The Hymnal 1982 (Church Publishing, Inc.)