Today I put away all our Christmas decorations. I took down the lights from the outside of the house, put away all the Christmas items that we set out around the house, like nativities, took the ornaments off the tree and boxed them up, and then took the tree apart and stored it in the attic.

It’s a ritual that is somewhat less exciting that the decorating that took place a month ago, but is not less a part of the year and the passage of time. After all, you can’t celebrate Christmas all year, can you? Actually, more than a few people would like to do just that. Trees are decorated earlier each year, often being put up weeks before Thanksgiving. Christmas items are available in stores before Halloween now. A day that wasn’t even observed in the early church now occupies almost a quarter of our year. Just how much Christmas can we stand?