Letters

Every year, I say I am going to do this. Finally, I’m going to say it before the madness begins.

Christmas does not end on Christmas. It begins on Christmas. The period before is one of preparation, called Advent. It’s supposed to be spiritual preparation, but we also live in worldly reality. So that’s also the time to shop, mail cards, wrap, clean, decorate, bake and, especially for women, run yourself into the ground.

The 12 days of Christmas begin on December 25 and run to January 6, which is called the Epiphany. This feast day commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men at the stable where Jesus was born. So between those two dates, you are meant to put your feet up, eat leftovers or eat out, dim the house lights and bask in the glow of those on the tree, have a glass of wine, listen to carols. Don’t forget the eggnog. Party or don’t party. This is the time for feasting and fun as you wish it to be.

Never, ever, should the tree be thrown out during that period or any decorations be removed. Nothing, well almost nothing, pains me more than to hear someone say on December 26 that Christmas is over.

Growing up, we had a Christmas crib. On Christmas, the Wise Men would start their journey in our dining room. We children were to move them regularly until they reached the stable in our living room on January 6. No earlier, no later. It was fun and something I do to this day, even though I don’t have a formal dining room. They still start in the east — namely, at my front door — and end up at the stable near my reclining chair. Shorter distance, but it still takes them 12 days. We don’t move as quickly as we did when we were young.

So, dear friends, learn to enjoy, feast and frolic. The madness starts soon with Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The relaxing begins on Christmas.

Insist on celebrating Christmas for those glorious 12 days. All of them.

Marion Boden

Hampton Bays