The Christmas Season Is Still A Long Ways Away

November will soon end and December will begin. To most people that erroneously means it is Christmas season.

Devout Catholic families know this is not so.  They know that this approaching time of year is actually Advent, which begins on November 30 this year.

Regardless, it is difficult for parents and children alike to resist the tendency to think of nothing but Christmas as December approaches. Stores, advertising, and TV shows begin to hammer us with all things Christmasy usually starting in early November.

It also makes it challenging to keep the focus off Christmas and on Advent in the days and weeks after Thanksgiving.  Some neighborhood houses are aglow in twinkling lights and have inflatable Santas staked on their lawns even before Thanksgiving.  And there are also radio stations that play nothing but Christmas music starting in November.

Popular culture’s powerful influence of commercialism has gotten most to believe that Christmas begins somewhere between the day after Halloween and the day after Thanksgiving. In the same vein, Christmas supposedly ends on December 26.  This day marks the start of the annual event known as ‘returning all those unwanted presents to the stores.’

Isn’t it interesting that most families would never go trick-or-treating in September or eat their Thanksgiving turkey the first Thursday in November? But they gladly start celebrating Christmas many weeks prior to its actual date.

Liturgical Calendars vs. Secular Calendars

Catholic families understandably follow the world’s secular calendar for most things. But they should follow the Church’s liturgical calendar when it comes to religious-based events.

The liturgical calendar has the Christmas season starting with the Christmas Eve Vigil Mass on December 24.  It ends with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  (In the U.S., in 2026, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord falls on January 11. But depending on the year, country, and form of Mass, this feast day could be anywhere from January 7 to 13.)

Teaming up Christian and Secular Terms

It is fine for Catholic parents of young children to talk with their kids throughout December about Christmas, Santa, and wish-lists. But it is necessary that in these conservations there are explanations about Christian “companion words.”

One prominent example of companion words is teaching and talking about Advent as a companion word to Christmas.  Another is talking about Jesus as a companion to Santa. A third is about giving presents as a companion to getting presents or creating wish-lists.

Parents may not be able to eliminate the non-Christian terms of the secular Christmas season. And they probably do not want to. After all, words and events like Santa and wish-lists provide enjoyment and memories for kids. But mom and dad can make sure the Christian terms of the season get their rightful place and plenty of “face time” as well.

Specifically regarding two of the companion words heard this time of year – Jesus and Santa – parents should make sure their children know about a very specific saint. Christianity is incorporated in the story of Santa when families annually celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas on December 6.

Children need to learn about Santa Claus actually originating from St. Nicholas, a kind and giving bishop. Parents can demonstrate this kindness by implementing the tradition of leaving shoes outside bedroom or house doors and then having St. Nick surprisingly leave treats in the shoes. In doing so, parents are not destroying the fun of Santa but are keeping in the Christian aspect.

Catholic Families Should Act Counter-Culturally 

Regrettably, the secular Christmas season has supplanted Advent in modern times. Counter-cultural families have to put in some effort, but they definitely can keep the Advent season in its rightful place.  It belongs at the forefront during the four-week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

Moms and dads must return to the tradition of Advent as the time they and their kids are to prepare and anticipate. This will make Christmas Eve and Christmas Day more pined for and thus, more joyous.

Having an Advent wreath on the kitchen table is a great anticipation-activity for Catholic families.  Lighting the candles on the wreath, starting on the first Sunday of Advent, should be a family activity.  Best done as an activity before dinner, a different member of the family can take a turn each night lighting the candle or candles throughout the four weeks. There is great anticipation in seeing one week’s candle grow shorter and then the next week’s candle join the lighting.

As this ritual continues every day throughout the four Advent weeks, families can choose to recite something as simple as, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come!” as each candle is lit, sing a verse of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” or find unique Advent prayers to pray aloud.

More Activities

Of course, every Catholic family should also have an Advent calendar. Similar to lighting an Advent candle each day, there should be a daily opening of a calendar door. The best calendars have a scripture reference or prayer behind each door.  Opening one door and reading its accompanying words each day is a simple, tangible way to show children that we spend Advent preparing for Jesus’ coming.

Having a nativity set/scene/creche is also a must during Advent. But the nativity scene must be set up the “proper” way. This means, if the scene is in the living room, for example, that the wise men are way over on the other side of the room.  Similarly the  shepherds should be two tables away, and the baby Jesus still in a box in a drawer.

If the nativity scene is set up in this way, the children can be tasked with helping the characters travel closer to the crèche throughout the month. Talk about happily anticipating Christmas’s arrival!  And do not let the kids add the baby Jesus until December 24 or 25!  Also don’t forget that the wise men finally make their appearance in January on the Epiphany.

One more anticipatory activity for families with young children is to set up a pretend (small-scale) manger in a main room in the house. Next to it, have a container holding pieces of straw or something replicating straw, such as strings of yarn or cotton balls. Then, every time someone in the family does a random act of kindness during Advent, he or she gets to fill the manger with a piece of straw (or string of yarn or cotton ball).

This activity enables parents and kids to daily witness the love that is building up the manger. Just before Christmas Eve it will be ready to comfortably receive the baby Jesus, bursting full of the what the family’s love for each other provided.

“A” Comes Before “C”

Advent, taking place from late November to Christmas Eve, is the real season we are in during much of December. The Christmas season has to wait a few weeks.  It’s a good time for Catholic parents to readjust their families’ priorities and teach their children how to best live their faith.

Catholic families would do well to live the liturgical year more than follow the world’s timetable.  The Church gives us Advent as an opportunity to kick-off every new liturgical year.  It is a time to spiritual prepare for and eagerly anticipate the birth of Our Savior Jesus Christ.