It’s the 5th day of Christmas. Are you celebrating?

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five golden rings. I don’t know what I would do with five rings. That would only be enough for one hand, it sure would be shiny though.

Seriously though, the feast of Christmas lasts for 12 days. It’s the 12 days after December 25th, not before- it’s not a count down. My tree and decorations are still up, it makes me sad to see the Christmas trees by the road on Dec 26th. The point of the holiday may have been missed.

I didn’t write anything in the past week because I was celebrating. I was having what we call in my family “quality family time”. It can consist of many things- we shop, make gingerbread houses, cook, watch movies, and have several different meals all together. It’s a lot, but it’s fun and not always the same. The part that does not change is going to church together. The family has changed and added new members over the years and that has brought new people and new traditions into the mix.

“Family” can be our biological family and can also include the people we choose as our family, the people who always have our back. A family is at the heart of this celebration and we should remember and celebrate that together.

Are you still celebrating Christmas or is it a distant memory already? There are seven days left. I don’t suggest that you actually give someone everything on the list in the song, although that could be really fun sometime.

What I do suggest for the next seven days is that you continue your Christmas celebration in some manner. Maybe a few more minutes of prayer time, maybe an extra mass, maybe just 5 minutes of silence on your commute or when cooking dinner.

We make time for what is important to us. What is more important than the birth of our Savior? I challenge you to be the people who celebrate for 12 whole days. An event that changed the world is definitely worth celebrating.