For many in the Newberry community, church is the central focus at this time of year. It's a time to celebrate the birth of Christ-the true “reason for the season.”

But after the candles from the Christmas Eve service have been extinguished, after the celebrations with friends and family have concluded, churches turn focus to the Twelve Days of Christmas and Epiphany. It marks the Wise Men's journey from the East to visit the Christ child.

True, Christmas Day will soon be past, but as local religious leaders explain in this Q&A, the Christmas season is not yet over.

n The Rev. John Weaver

Interim Pastor at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Whitmire

Q: What is the significance of Christmas?

A: Christmas observes the birth of God's promised Messiah, Jesus, God's son, who would come to take away the sins of the world. Although the precise date of Jesus' birth is not known, Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25. The first celebration on this date was in Rome in 325 AD.



Q: What is the significance of Christmastide/ The Twelve Days of Christmas?

A: First, the commercial calendar is not the church's calendar. Due to commercial and economic influence, much of American society today seems to think that Christmas begins on the heels of Halloween (All-Hallows Eve) and ends on Christmas Day. They mistakenly believe that the Twelve Days of Christmas are 12 days before Christmas. Note the many Christmas trees tossed out on Christmas afternoon and the absence of Christmas carols and music on radio by Dec. 26.

The Twelve Days of Christmas actually begin on Christmas Eve with Jesus' birth and continue until Jan. 6, when the Church observes The Epiphany-or the coming of the “wise men from the East who followed a star to Bethlehem.” In the church calendar these 12 days are celebrated as The Christmas Season.

The Church calendar observes a four-week period before Christmas called Advent, a time of preparation and anticipation. This period remembers that Jesus, the Christ/Messiah, has already come at the first Christmas, and directs our attention to Jesus' coming again at a time unknown to humanity. (Matthew 24:36 records Jesus as saying that neither he nor the angels in heaven know when that will be, only the Father in heaven, and he's not talking. Therefore, one should be ready at all times.)



Q: Why is it recognized for 12 days?

A: The 12 days span from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6, when wise men (astrologers?) from the East arrived in Bethlehem and presented to Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.



Q: What is the significance of the Twelfth Night?

A: Like Jesus' birth on Christmas Eve, Twelfth Night is the eve of the Epiphany (or the 12th day of the Christmas season), marking the arrival in Bethlehem of the wise men from the East searching for the Messiah.



Q: What is the significance of Epiphany?

A: The word Epiphany means an appearance or a manifestation. Epiphany on Jan. 6 marks the time of the wise men's arrival in Bethlehem, where they brought to the infant Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. It is from this act of adoration of God and God's unlimited blessings to the world, that we practice Christmas gift-giving. In some countries and cultures, gift-giving still takes place at Epiphany, instead of at Christmas. My first encounter with this practice was in Italy, where I was a Navy chaplain and lived among the Italians.

Until 549 AD, the Church in Jerusalem celebrated Jesus' birth on Jan. 6. (The Armenian Church still does.)

The wider significance of Epiphany is that God's saving grace is intended for all people, not just Jews. During the days of Christmas, Jesus is revealed to Jewish parents, Jewish shepherds and Jewish elders in the temple. However, at the festival of the Epiphany, the sphere widens to include non-Jews (called Gentiles). In Ephesians 3:6, the apostle Paul wrote, “the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” John 3:16-17 bears witness to this: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him (Christ) shall not perish but shall have eternal life. God did come to the world to condemn the world, but that through Christ the world might be saved.”



Q: How is Epiphany (this season after Christmas) recognized in your church?

A: As the star in the winter sky led the wise men to Bethlehem, the light of Jesus (called the Light of the World), continues to shine on us and in us, bringing light to our darkness, revealing the all-encompassing ever-widening sphere of God's love. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Epiphany is often called a “season of light,” reminding us of Jesus' words, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your faith/good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16).

n The Rev. John Miller

Central United Methodist Church

Q: What is the significance of Christmastide/ The Twelve Days of Christmas?

A: Christmastide/The Twelve Days of Christmas is the second season of the seven seasons in the Christian Church year. In the Christian Church year the New Year begins with the Advent season which is a time of preparation for the coming of the Christ Child and the Son of Man in the form of Jesus. So when Christmas arrives, the Church begins the celebration of the incarnation, i.e., God becoming flesh and taking on human form. With the incarnation, God pitches His tent with us mortals. We are celebrating Jesus' birth and Jesus' life with us as God in-carnate. Christmas affirms that God is with us, God is here in the form of Jesus.

Q: Why is it recognized for 12 days?

A: Christmas is a season of 12 days and it lasts until the beginning of Epiphany which is on Jan. 6 thus we recognize the 12 days of Christmas.

Q: What is the significance of the 12th Night?

A: The 12th night once included feasting as well as removing the decorations. It was considered bad luck to leave up decorations past Jan. 5.

Q: What is the significance of Epiphany?

A: Following Christmas is the season of Epihany which lasts until Lent, the season that prepares Christians for Easter. Epiphany ushers in with the celebration of the coming of the Wise Men which signals that the Messiah is for all humankind and not only the ancient Jews. In our church as in most churches in America, the celebration of Christmas begins with Advent and continues to Christmas Day.

Q: How is this season after Christmas recognized in your church?

A: We do our best to honor the season of Christmas in our worship the 12 days of Christmas; however, prior to Christmas we carry out our mission of serving others through gift giving to children and to families, parties emphasizing fellowship and love for one another, and worship preparing our hearts for God's presence in the form of Jesus. It is all so tempting to think that Christmas is over on Dec. 25. Actually, Christmas the season lasting 12 days is just beginning on Christmas Day. And it is so very important to remember that on Christmas Day the work of Christmas is just beginning-the work of sharing the gospel and God's love to everyone throughout the whole year.

n The Rev. Caldwell Day

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer

Q: What is the significance of Christmastide/ The Twelve Days of Christmas?

A: It is an inescapable fact that our “culture” celebrates Christmas as the period from Thanksgiving Day until Christmas Day.

This is primarily a “sales-driven” event in retail; we often see discarded Christmas trees alongside the road on Dec. 26, even occasionally on Christmas Day afternoon. There really is a “secular” Christmas season that tells us “it's all over” on Christmas Day. Historically in the Church, however, we've just begun our celebration on Christmas Eve and continue celebrating God's incarnation in Christ through Jan. 6.

During Christmas-tide/the Twelve Days, we celebrate the great “gift” of God to the world, Jesus Christ, a gift of love and grace. We celebrate “the One who is already with us.”



Q: Why is it recognized for 12 days?

A: Although the Twelve Days of Christmas are often seen as the 12 days preceding Christmas Day, just the opposite is the reality for Christians who celebrate the coming Epiphany season.

The Christmas Season has really just started, with “Christmas-tide” beginning at sunset on Christmas Eve and extending through “Twelfth Night,” Jan. 5, on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany.

Q: What is the significance of Epiphany?

A: In some cultures, gifts are exchanged on Twelfth Night or the next day, Jan. 6. There is particular emphasis on the coming of the Magi/Wise Men and their gifts, as well as the “star,” signifying Jesus Christ as “light of the world.”

The Feast of the Epiphany is older by several hundred years (since early in the fourth century) than the observance of Christmas as the celebration of Christ's birth.



Q: How is this season after Christmas recognized in your church?

A: Here at Redeemer Lutheran, we will sing carols through Jan. 6 (Epiphany Day) and celebrate the day itself at both morning services and an informal “Twelfth Night” festival of carols, contemporary Christian music, Epiphany lessons, and a time of dessert and fellowship following. All in the community are welcome to attend!

We will continue to celebrate the “gifts of the Spirit” throughout the year, but especially during the Epiphany season itself, which is short this coming year, as Ash Wednesday (and the beginning of the Lenten season) is very early in 2008, beginning on Feb. 6.