When is it too early to decorate for Christmas?
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    This weekend, much to my dad's surprise (and mine), both his parish and the Cathedral were fully decked out for Christmas. It was as though Advent had been cut short. We were both at a loss as to what happened. At least in my parish, our pastor prudently decided to wait until after the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

    Have any of y'all seen this at your parishes?
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,151
    Prudence is a virtue. It's one thing to have an Advent wreath, another thing to have boughs of holly, lighted Christmas trees, etc. before Christmas eve.
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    CHGriffen,

    Both places had full-blown decorations, right down to the poinsetias and fully lit Christmas trees (artificial trees) and the manger sans the Christ Child.
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    Wow. That's sad. In most parishes in my area that I've seen, any christmas decorations up at any Masses before the vigil Mass of Christmas are only due to the set up time. Usually, we'd set up on the 23rd or so, but of course, the trees would not be lit, and the small things would not be set up yet, such as the creche, or if it was, it would be veiled with a cloth or something. But this is just setting up early to set up early.
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    Ben, what is really sad is that one of the parishes in question is the Bishop's own Cathedral. Of course, the Cathedral also features a Mariachi Mass on Sunday mornings. The Mariachis are not liturgically trained and they are just too noisy for Advent.
  • BruceL
    Posts: 1,072
    It's one thing in a home, but another in a church. Church shouldn't be before the 23rd or 24th...22nd if you need some big stuff.

    I usually do a home tree on Advent III with decorations. I dream of doing my tree on the 24th in the night while kids are asleep, but my choice of profession makes that impossible. Not to mention I also go out of town immediately after Christmas to visit family. So I miss the best part of the season at home!
  • Liam
    Posts: 4,945
    At least the leap year next year allows us to skip the conundrum of Advent IV on Christmas Eve.....
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    True, Liam.

    Of course, if the Mayan prophecy holds true... :)

    It really does bug me that the Cathedral, of all places, should have the Christmas decorations up and running.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,934
    We have had a running joke on an eastern forum for years, that we should take the trees down for the beginning of Great Lent. There seems to be no universal rule on when to put the trees up.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,368
    It's really unthinkable that a Catholic church would 'deck the halls' before Christmas Eve, certainly not before Christmas Eve Eve. I've never heard of any Episcopal church decorating before a day or two in advance of Christmas or Easter. And this goes for parishes of the Anglican Use (very soon [1 January] to be the Anglican Ordinariate of___?___). Our Catholic churches do do some astonishingly un-Catholic things.
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,694
    I would see no problem in decorating in advance (i.e. after the last Mass of Advent IV) if the Church isn't used for daily Mass (which might be held in a side Chapel or another building). I think it would be disturbing to come to an Advent daily Mass and see all sorts of Christmas decorations...
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    matthewj:

    The Cathedral does not have a side chapel, per se, so it is used for daily Mass; ditto for my dad's parish. This is just wrong on so many levels.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,368
    Well, come to think about it:
    putting it up early gets people in the celebratory mood, and it IS ssssssoooo much to ask what with decorations up everywhere else.
    Too, then, we could really get people prepared by putting up the Advent wreath in September - say, Transfiguration!
    And the Lenten array, why it could be hung in mid-January.
    Also, why wait for Easter to arrive? We could decorate our chuches at least by Palm Sunday!
    There are so many advantages to pre-empting seasonal feasts and solemnities. Um, there must be... after all, it would make as much sense as decorating early for Christmas. People who do that always say it doesn't matter - and they are always right.... um, aren't they???
  • IanWIanW
    Posts: 756
    Bah, humbug!
Add a Comment