A few years ago, one comic strip counted down the twelve days of Christmas during the twelve days leading up to December 25. Each day portrayed yet another disaster in the family’s preparations for Christmas morning. After Christmas morning, implied the comic strip’s author, everyone collapsed exhausted from all the chaos of celebration. This series of comic strips pointed too accurately to our normal approach to Christmas: we begin the celebration long before December 25, so that by Christmas afternoon, we are ready to pack it all up and move on to New Year’s Day.

If, however, we have made room for a fuller celebration of Advent during the weeks leading up to Christmas, we will have a better chance of celebrating the coming of Christ during the entire twelve days from December 25 to January 6, our season of Christmas. This period includes Christmas Eve as well as two Sundays: this year, December 28 and January 4. What can we do to maintain the joy of Christmas in worship during this season?

Bring out the Christmas decorations on December 24 and keep them out until January 6. This includes poinsettias, white and gold hangings or paraments, candles, a crèche, and any other visual elements your congregation reserves for Christmastime. The environment should proclaim the good news of the gospel even before the words are spoken.

Have a Christmas carol sing. Provide at least one occasion for the congregation to sing all the carols they want during the Christmas season. This could be on a Sunday morning, perhaps in connection with a holiday breakfast at the church.

Go Christmas caroling during the twelve days of Christmas. As an alternative, or in addition to the carol singing at church, consider going Christmas caroling during the Christmas season rather than before! Those who are homebound will particularly appreciate such a visit during these usually quiet days between December 25 and January 6.

Use Christmas carol fragments as refrains during worship. For instance, the “Gloria” from “Angels We Have Heard on High” (The Presbyterian Hymnal #23) could serve as a response to the reading of the Gospel, and the refrain “O come let us adore him . . .” from “O Come All Ye Faithful” (PH #41) could conclude a call to worship. Using refrains in this way can make use of the familiar Christmas carols in ways that are fully integrated with the larger worship service.

Encourage the choir and instrumentalists to save the grand joyous music for this season. If choir members are not exhausted by the time they reach the end of Advent, they are more likely to be able to present full Christmas music on December 28 and/or January 4. Let December 21 be Advent, and save the “Hallelujah Chorus” for December 28.

Consider preparing a dramatic presentation of the gospel on December 28. This year, the Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Christmas is Luke 2:41–52: Jesus as a boy in the temple. The story lends itself to dramatic presentation; and by involving others in the preparation and presentation of this text, you can keep this Sunday from becoming an afterthought. Such a presentation could involve as many or as few people as you have available, since there are only three major roles and a crowd.

Consider having an Epiphany service on January 6. The end of the Christmas season gives a good opportunity to focus on the imagery of Jesus Christ as the Light to all nations (see Ideas! magazine, vol. 2, issue 2, p. 13). If you have a service on Epiphany, either in the middle of the day or in the evening, invite participants to stay and help put away the Christmas decorations. This draws the Christmas season to a close with a final celebration. If the service is in the evening, you could conclude with a simple congregational meal.