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Cumbria Times
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Jan Harris
Deputy Group Editor
1:00 AM 5th January 2024
lifestyle

Why Can't Christmas Go On And On?

 
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
Well Christmas has come and gone for yet another year with all the festivities and parties. We have also celebrated another new year with friends and family. With Christmas over and the decorations coming down it reminds me of the song Christmas is coming (words by Arthur Scholey and music Donald Swann)

Oh, Christmas is coming, is here, and is gone -
It seems that the past and the future are one.
If only the present would stay for a bit -
It's gone while I'm still looking forward to it!

Oh, why can't my Christmas go on and on,
Oh, why can't my Christmas go on?

Oh wrap up the present
And switch off the tree,
But don't shut the stable -
It still shelters me.


Twelfth Night

Time to pack away the decorations - Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Time to pack away the decorations - Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Tonight is Twelfth Night when all the Christmas decorations come down (if they haven't already) and get packed away in the loft or the cellar for another year. It's amazing how the decorations are a joy to put up but a chore to take down and pack away.

Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night (or What You Will) has an association with feasting and merriment. It is thought that it was performed on Twelfth Night in Tudor times as a fitting end to the Christmas season.

The Victorians are believed to have started the tradition of taking down decorations and Christmas trees so that everybody could return to work after the festivities.

So now the festivities are over for another year don't forget to recycle your Christmas tree and Christmas cards and pack away the decorations until Christmas 2024.

But Christmas doesn't end when the decorations come down as after Christmas comes Epiphany - also known as the Feast of the Kings, which is 12 days after Christmas.

Twelfth Night is on 5 January and Epiphany on 6 January.

Image by Dorothée QUENNESSON from Pixabay
Image by Dorothée QUENNESSON from Pixabay
Candlemas

Christmas is followed by Candlemas on 2 February, which is 40 days after Christmas. Some people do chose to leave their decorations up until Candlemas.

It is the time that Jesus was brought into the Jewish Temple by his parents Mary and Joseph to give thanks for his birth.

Candlemas is a Christian holiday, but had its roots in pagan times when it was the festival of light.

In Spanish speaking countries Candlemas is also known as Candelaria.

During a Candlemas service the candles are blessed for use during the year and some are given out to the people to use in their own homes.

Many Christians observe Candlemas by putting lighted candles in their windows, but it is not a public holiday in lots of countries.

Candles are often lit during Candlemas to symbolise Jesus as the ‘light of the world’.

Image by Chantelle Thompson from Pixabay
Image by Chantelle Thompson from Pixabay
Festival of Light

The ancient festival of light was celebrated because it was half way between the winter solstice (shortest day) and the spring equinox.

Superstitions often surrounded the festival of light and some people thought that Candlemas predicted the weather for the rest of the winter.

A traditional weather proverb about Candlemas Day

If Candlemas Day be sunny and bright
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas Day be cloudy with rain,
Winter is gone and won't come again.


A German proverb

The badger peeps out of his hole on Candlemas Day, and if he finds snow, walks abroad; but if he sees the sun shining he draws back into his hole.

This is similar to Groundhog Day in America


Snowdrops

Photo by Yoksel 🌿 Zok on Unsplash
Photo by Yoksel 🌿 Zok on Unsplash
So what is there to look forward to after Christmas and New Year?

The first flowers to appear during the cold and dreary days of winter are the snowdrops, which are often known as Candlemas Bells because they bloom early in the year. They emerge through frozen soil from January and are in bloom until late-February.

It is very easy to see the appeal of snowdrops as they show us that spring is round the corner and appear when other bulbs are still lying dormant in the ground.

There is a lot of symbolism surrounding snowdrops. They can mean purity, innocence and sympathy.

It is the first flower to bloom at the end of winter and the beginning of spring and so symbolises hope. Snowdrops symbolise a sign of hope because Jesus Christ being the hope of the world.