12 full days, cont.

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jan 02, 2009

The cultural gap widens.

New Year's Day has come and gone, and now the stores are putting up their Valentine's Day displays. The arbiters of secular culture have already forgotten Christmas. 

Yet we Christians are still celebrating the Lord's birth.

Aren't we? 

What are you doing today, in your own home, to keep the celebration going? Singing carols? Sharing a favorite dessert? Playing some family game?

It's important to maintain these traditions, to pass them along to the rising generation. And let's be honest with ourselves: human nature being what it is, it's a lot easier to generate enthusiasm for the celebrations than for the penitential seasons. If we expect our children to join us in small acts of self-denial during Lent, let's make sure to give them the full measure of celebration during Christmas. And during Easter, too-- the whole season, not just the single day. But Easter's still a long way off right now. We haven't even reached Valentine's Day, as the storekeepers will remind you.