Nebraska Synod ELCA

By Deacon Timothy Siburg

Merry Christmas! As the calendar moves officially today to Christmas Eve, we find ourselves in the liminal space. The time when we move from the close of the Advent season today to the beginning of the Christmas one officially tonight. Now some might have thought the Christmas season started in August when stores started selling Christmas decorations. But you know better, don’t you? The Christmas season is just about to start now. Our Advents of waiting, hope, and expectation will give way hopefully to a Christmas season of peace, joy, and continuing to cultivate love.

How might you lean into and live out the full and great twelve days of Christmas?

Here are twelve ideas for you to consider:

• Follow the Christmas story along with a daily lectionary. What better way than to lean into and live out the full twelve days, than by starting with God’s on-going story? To do so, follow the daily lectionary, as found here (just scroll down to Christmas).
• Daily Devotion using Christmas Carols. For many of you this may not come as surprise. I love music. I love to play it, sing it, and listen to it. What better season to lean into this than Christmas? You can definitely sing them, but also take some time to dwell and meditate in their words of comfort, hope, joy, and challenge. Perhaps open your hymnal to the Christmas season, and just take one hymn or carol a day to read. You might just sense and notice something new that God is inviting you to wonder about.
• Listen to Christmas Music for the full season. If your primary mode of listening to Christmas music are radio stations, then sadly, most such stations stop playing Christmas music on December 26^th or 27^th. I find this terrible, as that’s only the second or third day of Christmas. Alas, you can always listen to Christmas music on CDs, or via your favorite streaming apps. I invite you to join me in doing just this, this season.
• Give twelve gifts to neighbors, friends or family- spreading out the joy of giving for the whole season. Much has been written about the positive health aspects of being generous and giving. But in this season, even more so, perhaps the greatest gift is the sharing of love and joy. Because we remember the gift of love we know most clearly through God in Christ, for us. So just as the Magi who traveled and followed star, God might be inviting us to bring what we have and share good tidings of good news like this.
• Give twelve new books to the children in your life- one for each day. A friend and colleague I know has done this for many years. It’s a great idea for people of all ages. It’s especially so, if you are lucky enough to be on Winter or Christmas break, and this then can be a wonderful practice to combine joy and the continued love of learning and reading together.
• Try out some new Christmas recipes. Do you have a favorite cookbook or cooking app? Perhaps you might have a bit more time during this season to slow down and to try it out. What’s a new cookie recipe you might try, that might lead to giving some cookies to your neighbors? What’s a new meal idea you haven’t had time to experiment with? Now could be the perfect time to try it out.
• Enjoy Hygge. My Norwegian roots always smile at the gift that can be Hygge. Even though the weather might not totally cooperate this year, given the current forecast, we can live in hope of a true snowy and cold winter. With such, we might enjoy reason together and enjoy the comfort and coziness of slowing down by the fire, breathing deeply, reading, and just listening. This too can be a gift in the days of Christmas.
• Resist the urge to take down the decorations until at least Epiphany. Again, the Christmas season is a full twelve days. Why rush to take everything down? I invite you to join me in spreading out the joy into the season of light. Days are short enough right now, so a little extra light outside can bring joy and peace. And perhaps, if you’re a little bored or looking for cheap entertainment with kids, you might just go take a drive or walk around the neighborhood in these days of Christmas and enjoy all the lights that are still up.
• Invite your neighbors over for coffee, tea, or an impromptu Christmas party, to extend the fun of the season. This is pretty self-explanatory. But if you’re reading this, you’re probably a Lutherans. Generally we are a people of food and fellowship, embodying God in Christ’s invitation to meet around the table together. If you have some less scheduled days during this season, it might be the perfect opportunity to invite those around to spend some quality time together in food, conversation, and perhaps enjoying a fun game or something like that together.
• If it snows, you know what to do- get out and enjoy it! If not, make some fake snowballs out of soft nerf balls or soft blanket type material and pretend to have a snowball fight anyway. Taking a break for even just five to ten minutes to do this, will undoubtedly break any holiday tension in one’s house, and perhaps lead to smiles and laughs all around. (Just perhaps make a rule about no aiming for one’s head.)
• Try a new prayer practice for you. Change up your daily spiritual practice, and perhaps consider a new prayer practice during this season. If you need an idea, check out some of the resources available here.
• Begin each day with these words, “God who comes near, come near to me today. Be with me. Open me up. Cultivate your love with and through me and help me share it today.” If you start with a simple couple sentences like this, the day might just flow in a new, exciting, and unexpected direction as we let God invite us and lead us into whatever might be next.

These are just twelve ideas. Surely you have more. What might they be? What might your traditions be? Join us in living out the twelve days. Share your Christmas journey with us on social media and let us know how things are going as we lean in and live out this great season once again together.

Here’s a bonus idea. On January 6^th, celebrate the Epiphany- either with your congregation or friends and family. Have an Epiphany party, and sing “We Three Kings.” Exchange gifts once more, and truly lean into and live out the season for the great Twelve+ days.   

Merry Christmas, Church!
Deacon Timothy Siburg