I firmly believe that they shouldn’t, but if someone can put up a strong argument for it, then I’m willing to change my mind. A couple of Catholic parishes I’ve attended in the past couple of years have hosted Christmas parties in the beginning of December. This has always bothered me, but really sunk in this past Sunday. Last Sunday was Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, which is supposed to signify a break from some kind of abstinence during Advent.
My question is, what’s the point of Gaudete Sunday if there is no effort to keep Advent a sober, reflective, prayerful time before Christmas? What’s the point of Advent altogether? Shouldn’t parishes have Christmas parties during the 12 days of Christmas after Christmas day?
Has anyone else had similar experiences, or are these isolated cases?
God bless,
Daniel
Father Vincent Hawkswell has a regular column in the BC Catholic and for many years he has said to avoid Christmas parties as much as possible during Advent - making exceptions only for work and close family / friends.
He even compared celebrating the Christmas feast during Advent to pre-marital sex. Skip the waiting and preparation and get on with the fun being the common theme.
I was shocked at the bold comparison but I have come to appreciate it. I've tried to reserve Christmas treats and carols and parties for time from Christmas to Epiphany and found myself very lonely because others are quite sick of Christmas carols and parties by the time December 26th arrives.
Father Hawkswell notes that many people have gorged themselves on the festivities before hand to the point that they cannot even celebrate the actual feast when it it comes around.
I realize that this is exactly the attitude which pervades my coworkers when it comes to marriage: there's no reason for anyone to make a fuss over marriage as it's just a piece of paper followed by a party (no real change takes place) - but a woman's expectations always change for no good reason after the wedding. If sexual relations were reserved for after a wedding, men would be singing a different song and recognize the event as special.
Same idea with Christmas.
Very interesting. I would have to agree w/ this line of thinking though I never really considered it before. Maybe this is why we are having our company Christmas party in January this year? Never really connected the dots but my bosses are Christians.