WHEN DOES CHRISTMAS END?

The twelve days of Christmas are no longer observed in American culture.  Now, Christmas ends abruptly on the morning of December 26^th.  Trees come down, decorations get packed away and Christmas music is replaced with whatever was playing before November. 

I’m observing – not complaining. 

But, in its original context, things were considerably different!

We only know time contexts in a very broad manner.  We know that Herod – in his paranoia about the birth of a new king of the Jews – sent soldiers to Bethlehem to destroy all of the male children under the age of two. However, it's not as quick as we might think [or as is usually portrayed in movies].  It is likely that Joseph and Mary lived in Bethlehem for a couple of years?  We get a hint in Matthew 2:11 where we are told that the wise men came to visit Mary and the ‘child’ [not the baby] in a ‘house’  [not a stable].  This seems to imply that Joseph had settled his family in Bethlehem for a short season [perhaps a couple of years].

It was after this visit that “God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod…”  [Matt. 2:12]  [All quotes from The New Century Version]

Sometime “After they [the wise men] left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and said, ’Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt…” [Matt. 2:13]   God’s divine intervention was obviously intended to protect the holy family! 

Those who understand biblical history tell us that it is likely that Joseph would have taken his family to Alexandria – where there were already a substantial number of Jews living.  This was a growing area that would need skilled laborers like Joseph.  He is described in scripture as a ‘tekton’ – or craftsman. 

Again, those who have studied this era suggest that they would have made this long journey in one of two ways:

1.    Typical travel would be by foot or donkey.  The distance would have been approximately 300 miles.  At 10-15 miles per day, we can assume that this trip took the holy family about a month.  It is noteworthy that this plan would leave them vulnerable to be overtaken by Herod's soldiers.  

2.    Others suggest that the urgency of the angel’s instructions would have motivated Joseph to travel the shorter distance [40 miles] to Jaffa, where they could board a boat for Alexandria – a trip of 285 miles.  The recent gift of gold could have been used to enable this speedier departure. 

The Bible and extra-biblical sources give us very little about this intervening period; we are left to speculate.  Did Jesus grow up speaking Egyptian?  Was He bi-lingual?  How many years did they stay in Egypt?  Did He see the pyramids – the distance to Giza would have been over 100 miles? 

We know from Matthew 2:15, that Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died.  One would think that determining the length of the holy family’s stay in Egypt would be fairly easy.  However, there are several complicating factors.

For instance, the date of Christ’s birth is not even precisely known.  We do know from scripture that Jesus was born while Herod was king in Judea.  His reign is typically measured from 37 B.C. until his death in 4 B.C.  [It is essential to note that even the death date of Herod is greatly debated].

We also know that Quirinius was governor in Syria during the same time and that a census was ordered in 6 B.C.  There is general belief – based on these facts – that Jesus was likely born in either 6 or 5 B.C. 

From these facts, we can ascertain that the holy family likely stayed in Egypt for about two or three years.  Matthew 2:22 reports that Archelaus [Herod’s son] became king in Judea upon Herod’s death.  His reign was about ten years – from 4 B.C. until 6 A.D.  Consequently, Jesus would have been two or three years old when “…an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt. The angel said, ‘Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, because the people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.’” [Matt. 2:19-20]

A FINAL ADJUSTMENT

“So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel.  But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea since his father Herod had died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee, to a town called Nazareth, and lived there.” [Matt. 2:21-23]

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Joseph and Mary’s lives were anything but easy in these early years.  In fact, they were immigrants in a foreign land for several years.  They had left all of their belongings in Nazareth when they made the journey to Bethlehem – to be taxed.  Yet, God’s provision was evident through the generous gifts of the magi.  Also, Joseph was a man with skill and ability.  He was capable of protecting and providing for his new family! 

We can only wonder how they were received upon their return to Nazareth.  Jesus would likely have been about five years old upon their arrival there. Were they shunned by their families because of the lack of understanding about the birth of Jesus?  Were they ostracized by the community there?  Were they able to have some of their belongings restored upon this return? 

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With no intention of being critical, even our liturgical year moves us along in a fairly quick manor.  With Christmas behind us, we will be called on to observe Lent on March 5^th [Ash Wednesday].

I simply observe that we anticipate Christmas for at least a couple of months by decorating, buying gifts, baking cookies and watching romantic (or silly) movies.  On Christmas Eve, many still participate in a worship service to commemorate the special event of Christ’s birth.  However, as stated earlier, on December 26^th the celebration is pretty much over. 

Yet the fear of the unknown, the uncertainty, the inconvenience of repeated moves, the transition to a foreign culture, the absence of family, the loneliness and the deep inner questions about all that had happened – continued in the lives of this little family of three: Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus. 

Sovereign God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Thank You for Your long-range planning and careful preparation for the coming of our Savior!

For a few moments, our eyes are open to the fragile environment that Jesus was born into.  We see the humility of His birth, the specifically chosen visitors who welcomed and honored Him. We are aware that this story is true and involved tremendous adventure and inconvenience.  We are moved – in this moment – to continue our celebration of the coming of our Savior!

And You did it all for us!

For me!

Thank You!