Why can’t we make Christmas last longer?
Monday, January 20, 2025
*Cristina Cabrera Jarro
“It’s the least wonderful time of the year” I crooned to my mother as we took down our Christmas decorations. Attempting to liven the mood, my dad offered to play some background music.
“No thanks, Dad. I just want to get this over with as quietly and as soon as possible,” I said as I wrapped up a ceramic Santa Claus holding a tiny Christmas tree.
If it’s not obvious, I love decorating for the holidays. In 2024, my family and I even made it to our dream deadline of decorating on the Saturday of the long Thanksgiving weekend. It’s not an easy task as it involves an operation of one of us climbing on a ladder into the attic, handing off boxes to those remaining below, and then heading down 13 steps to the first floor of our home where the majority of the festive transformation occurs. Once the physicality of the ordeal is over and we begin to open the boxes that house our Christmas treasures, our moods change. As we listen to the opening chords of Michael Bublé’s version of “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” everything sounds right, and everything feels right.
Now, as I write this, it’s mid-January. Inevitably, by the calendar days, Christmas is over. As I drive around town, the lights on homes are gone, as are the witty and silly inflatable Santas, snowmen, and elves. Christmas trees, real and artificial, await outside of homes for their trip to the dump. On a shopping trip to Walmart, I witnessed an employee packing up returned Christmas decorations (who does that?!). And in the liturgical season, Jesus is already a baptized adult beginning his ministry.
Recurringly I ask “Why are we in a hurry to get back to normal? Why can’t we make Christmas last longer?”
I know there are several reasons why, and I would love to hear them. Please let me know in the comments below what your “why the rush?” and also your suggestions on how we can all make the spirit of the season last all year long.
From me, here are a few things I learned and observed this past Christmas that are helping me in the New Year.
- Make room for Jesus, the best present of all time.
Last year, I inherited a baby Jesus figure that belonged to my grandparents. They used to keep Him on their night table in a small wicker basket and fluffy throw. Growing up, I remember looking at this very cute, rustic-painted ceramic figure about two and a half inches long, grasping his foot in the matter that only babies can as they explore and enjoy their baby flexibility.
For a while, I did not have room on my own night table, but after a few months I decided to make some changes to accommodate such a precious gift. Like Mary and Joseph searching for a place to stay in Bethlehem, how could I not have room for Jesus, let alone a baby Jesus, the ultimate symbol of joy and salvation? To mankind, He is the best Christmas present ever!
So, if you have an image of Jesus at home, whether as a baby or an adult, always keep Him close by. Say good morning to Him when you wake up for the day, and good night when you lay down to rest. Try your best to invite Him more into your daily life.
- It’s ok to listen to Christmas music again, even if it’s out of season.
Holiday tunes are my favorite genre of music. At Mass during this season we are blessed with divinely inspired songs like the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s Messiah, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and “The First Noel.” The radio, on the other hand, helps inspire the excitement of our inner child with “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Clause Is Coming to Town.” And if you’re from Miami, the holidays just aren’t complete without “Mi Burrito Sabanero” (which means “Little Donkey of the Savannah”).
As I’ve gotten older, I appreciate more mature songs about difficult circumstances. “Mary, did you Know?” easily brings me to tears as I listen to the questioning that Mary must have reflected in her heart not only when she gave her fiat, but as she watched her son Jesus grow up and begin a life of service and miracles:
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk in water?
Mary, did you know, that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
The son that you delivered would soon deliver you.
In “Grown Up Christmas List,” someone recalls their visits to Santa as a child, who now, as an adult, asks him to fulfill a list for “a world in need.”
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end, no
This is my grown-up Christmas list
There is such light in Christmas music. Compared to the questionable, derogatory, and vulgar music I hear driving around South Florida year-round, I can’t help but wonder and worry about the emotional state of people living in my city. We all have our personal choices and tastes in music. So, excuse me as I roll up my windows, and listen to my Christmas music a little longer.
- Christmas is THE season of hope. Let’s keep it and spread it throughout the year.
This past year was not easy for me. I felt upset, disheartened and lost as I faced many changes and challenges in my personal and professional life. Thanks to close family and friends who listened and accompanied me, they steered me towards a hopeful outlook. “Things will get better,” they said. It’s true. I’ve never prayed harder in my life for the Lord to get me through, and looking back in 2024, He always helped. When it was time for Christmas, in gratitude, I tried my best to be a bringer of hope to everyone I encountered in the season, especially those I knew who were going through a difficult time.
The holidays bring out something special in all of us. Even those who don’t believe have a hard time denying that they feel something magical.
In this new year, my hope for you is that the spirit of Christmas accompanies you all year long, inspiring you to be a propagator of hope, until the Christmas ornaments come down from the attic again.
