A users' guide for Episcopalians

The Christian church calendar starts each year with the first Sunday of Advent, the season of anticipation of God’s coming in the Christ Child. Advent continues until December 25th. Christmas in the church year isn’t a day, it’s a season of celebration that only begins on Christmas Day and continues for the Twelve Days of Christmas.

The ending of the Christmas Season is the Twelfth Night celebration the evening of January 5th; the next day begins the season of Epiphany, which lasts until Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent, leading up to Easter, which is also not just a day but a season of 50 days.

So savor the season. Merry Christmas for a while longer! The Wise Persons from the East, the Magi, are still on the way to Bethlehem; their arrival is part of what we celebrate on Epiphany, which means the “showing” or manifestation of Jesus as God Incarnate to all the world. Merry Christmas! And keep saying it until Epiphany!