A Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!

I'm just writing this here on Christmas night, December 25, 2007.

Yes, here it is Christmas night. We've already celebrated Christmas Eve. We've already attended all of the various Christmas parties that we were invited to. (I personally had 2 that I had been invited to. )

We've all done our shopping, last minute or otherwise. In my case, it was last minute, literally on Christmas Eve, yesterday morning and afternoon. I haven't done that in years. I mean "years."

The last time that I did any Christmas shopping on or near Christmas Eve (which was about 10 years or so ago), there didn't seem that many shoppers around. It wasn't as busy as when I used to shop on or near Christmas Eve years ago before I was married or when I was married.

At that time, yes, it was still a bit exciting. But it seemed that around the late 80's to early / mid 90's, well people just got most of their Christmas shopping done within a week before Christmas. At times, even that was a bit late.

But this year, it was fantastic. I mean there were a lot of people out there looking for gifts to buy to give. And it was like the "old days," with people hustling and bustling about amid all of the Christmas carols being sung and played via the speakers in the various stores as well as on the radio stations dedicated to playing Christmas music through today. I have to admit, this all added to the Christmas spirit for me personally.

And then, there was Midnight Mass last night. This was the first time in a long time that I can remember where we sang a lot of Christmas Carols during Mass. And there was the Choir's concert before Mass, where various Christmas Carols, new and old, were sung. But during Mass, it just seemed to me as if we sang so many of the familiar Christmas carols we all know and hear, such as Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful, Joy To the World, and more. By the time Mass was over, along with the Declaration of the Birth of Jesus at the beginning of Mass, well, you couldn't help but get into the Christmas Spirit.

Notice, I spelled Spirit with a capital "S." And yes, it was intentional, because after the Midnight Mass, Christmas spirit became Christmas Spirit with a capital "S." It's the same "Spirit" that I feel ((and most of us feel)today. And somehow, I feel as if we will all be feeling this the rest of the week. At least I strongly feel that I will be feeling this the rest of the week.

And tomorrow is the "Feast of Stephen." Now when I just call it the "Feast of Stephen," it sounds joyful to me, the reason being I recall the lyrics to "Good King Wenceslaus." To quote the lyrics I'm referring to, it's "Good King Wenceslaus had come, on the Feast of Stephen."

Now if you put the melody to the lyrics, I'm sure you begin to recall the joyful melody to this Christmas carol. And yet, if one really recalls that the "Feast of Stephen" recalls St.Stephen being stoned by various Jews with the future St. Paul (then Saul) looking on. Yes, this was a martyr. The guy was stoned to death. That's heavy!

And here I go on thinking of this feast as one joyful occasion. And yet, if we think of this day as a day where the 1st person was recorded as a martyr for Christianity. And he wasn't hesitant in any way at least according to the stories handed down through the years.

This was a person who stood for the Faith. The 1st person among many others. So yes, in that sense, it is a joyful occasion. For if we believe in everything we say we believe in, well St. Stephen is enjoying the fullness of redemption and happiness in heaven. And because that Faith has survived, we're able to enjoy this season with joy and happiness.

So yes, the "Feast of Stephen" is an additional joyous day of celebration.

On that note, I wish everyone a Very Merry, Blessed Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!