For the Church, Christmas does not end on Christmas Day. Christmas Day is the beginning of 12 days of celebration and contemplation of what the birth of Christ means for us and our salvation. The Church calendar helps us with this: on the 26th we remember St. Stephen as the first martyr, on the 27th we remember the Apostle John, on the 28th we remember the Holy Innocents who were slaughtered as Herod sought the Christ Child, and on the first of January we celebrate the Festival of the Cicrumcision and Name of Jesus.
Christmastide does not end until January 5th and then on January 6th we celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord. All of these feasts and commemorations give shape to and help us better understand what Christmas means for us. I pray that you will spend some time contemplating these things as well as joining us for corporate worship. Blessings on your Christmastide!
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