Christmas is for life… not just for Christmas
by the Revd Hannah Cartwright
If, like me, you come the the close of this week staring into the bottom of a tub of ‘celebrations’ wondering why they put quite so many Bounties in there, then you probably feel that you have well and truly ‘done’ Christmas.
We have sung, prayed, feasted and welcomed the Incarnate Lord and hopefully had some opportunity to put our feet up for a bit too. But in this season of ‘twixtmass’ in the few days between Christmas and the New Year, the world would have us believe it is already time to think about recycling the Christmas Tree, taking down the tinsel and getting on with the important job of hitting the January sales.
But Christmas is not just a day, it is a season; stretching from the First Eucharist of Christmas on Christmas Eve up to Twelfth Night, after which we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. And, more than that, Christmas is a way of being. The Incarnation was not only a single day, but it was an event that lasted over 30 years as the babe in the manger grew and matured into the man who stretched out his arms on the cross.
There can be a temptation, after such a special celebration, to leave our faith in the manager with the adorable Christ-child and to accidentally box it up neatly with the decorations to pull out next year in its perpetual infancy - a bit like wishing the family dog stays a puppy forever. But, as Jesus grows up, our faith must continue to mature and grow too as we learn together through the cycle of the coming year about the fullness of Christ’s life and what incarnation looks like in all its reality. As we make the transition into a new year, I wonder how your faith will grow in the coming months, and what you will take forward from what you have experienced this Christmas on your journey ahead. | 
