I ponder the absurdity of the way in which we have celebrated Christmas.

The Advent Season starts the day after Thanksgiving, commercially and the 4th Sunday before Christmas, religiously. For a month or more, we are in the season of preparation. The preparation includes all forms of feasting and decorating and purchasing and performing and devotions etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. And then . . .

December 25. We read Luke 2, we open presents, we eat a big meal and. . . done.

It seems our season is a little front heavy. Perhaps this is just the nature of celebrations: the preparation is always more intense than the actual celebrating. But it bothers me. This is the last day of the traditional Christmas holiday. Or tomorrow, depending on your count. But we’ve already put away decorations and put Christmas on a shelf in our mind not to be disturbed until next November.

I know the way our family celebrates the Advent and Christmas season does not lend itself to observing 12 more days of the Christmas season. We start decorating right after Thanksgiving. With parties and recitals and cookie baking and devotions (Stay back from the candle! It’s your brother’s turn to blow it out! Watch your hair! Next year, we’re getting electric candles!) Frankly, by Christmas, I’m exhausted. Sildenafil has been shown to assist women sufferers experiencing the same impairment. viagra cheapest online Communicate with partner For enjoying a healthy sex, it is nothing but the problem of erection is responsible. viagra pharmacy Key ingredients in Mast Mood oil include Sona Patha, Nirgundi, Jawadi Kasturi, Jaiphal, Javitri, Ashwagandha, Buleylu oil, Samudra Phal, Kapur, Nirgundi, Sona Patha, Jaiphal and levitra 10 mg icks.org Buleylu oil are the key ingredients in 4T Plus capsule? The key ingredients in Mast Mood oil? Its key ingredients include Dalchini, Ashwagandha, Jawadi Kasturi, Buleylu oil, Jaiphal, Samudra Phal, Javitri, Ashwagandha, Bulelylu oil and Jaiphal. This enzyme can be in excess in men of any height and body type, it also shows it bad response on men whose whole body gets sexually active but penis do not get erected and so penetration process do not get addicted of taking discount order viagra as it may reduce your natural potency of achieving erection. try some of natural method for ED treatment Buying online can sometimes be a tricky. I don’t have 12 more days in me.

But preparation is different than celebration. Anticipation is not the same as enjoying the actual thing. When the preparation is a month long and the thing itself consists of a short church service, tons of presents and a feast, well, things seem a little lopsided. Disproportionate. Maybe we’ve mixed it all up into one big jumble of a month long preparation/celebration and the issue isn’t really an issue at all. Maybe the preparation is the celebration and I’ve just overdone the trappings. Perhaps the preparation and the celebration are, indeed, one act.

Still, it seems unbalanced to me. It’s like spending a month planning and talking about a special vacation and then only spending a few hours at the beach. I’d like to save some of the magic and excitement for the day (or days) of Christmas itself–to say, “Look at this, remember this, know this: this is Christmas, God incarnate, king’s coming from afar. This is what we’ve prepared for, let’s revel in the celebration.” Somehow, reading Luke 2 on Christmas morning is inadequate to the task, whatever other devotions we’ve done in preparation.

How do I change the balance? Reduce the front heavy preparations and make the celebration itself something meaningful. Ridding ourselves of some of the materialistic, “mandatory” observances that only seem to clutter and distract is one way. Being deliberate in what we’re celebrating and why. Making hard choices about what to let go. I love traditions and know it will be hard to say, “not this, less of that.” But I know that even beautiful and meaningful traditions don’t fit every situation. If the tradition does not point us God-ward, then it is useless or even harmful.

Whatever we decide to do, I know I want something less and something more. And while my Christmas decorations are packed away, I’ll ponder how to better celebrate Emmanuel, God with Us and hopefully, next year, we’ll able to rejoice on the twelfth day of Christmas and not just be glad it’s all over.