How to Keep Christ in the Center of Christmas
Monday, September 15, 2025
Key Takeaways:
- Many moms feel frazzled by the shopping, wrapping, baking, and parties—often leaving Christ out of the celebration.
- The truth that changed everything: Christmas doesn’t end on December 25. It begins.
- The Church’s rhythm:
- Advent = waiting, watching, preparing.
- Octave of Christmas = eight days of solemn celebration (Dec 25–Jan 1).
- Twelve Days of Christmas = a holy season leading to Epiphany.
- Shifting family traditions helps reframe Christmas:Shifting family traditions helps reframe Christmas:
- Give Santa his place on Dec 24–25, then shift to the sacred.
- Reflect on God’s gifts each day of the 12 days.
- Add music, heirloom crafts, and faith-filled practices.
- Focus less on material gifts, saving one for Epiphany.
- Transform the tree from a Jesse Tree in Advent to a Christmas Tree fulfilled.
- Celebrate Epiphany with joy—Twelfth Night, King’s Cake, and the Home Blessing.
- Restoring the twelve days brings peace that surpasses all understanding, freeing families from the culture’s consumer calendar.
- Every family can do this in their own way: Scripture, carols, service, baking, or prayer—the point is intentional tradition.
The lesson that changed everything is simple yet profound: Christmas doesn’t end on December 25—it begins. Discovering the Church’s rhythm of Advent, the Octave, and the full Twelve Days reframes the season from cultural chaos to sacred celebration. By shifting family traditions—reserving Santa for Dec 24–25, reflecting on God’s gifts, creating heirloom crafts, celebrating Epiphany, and focusing less on material things—families can find lasting joy and peace. Living the Twelve Days truly is the way to keep Christ in the center of Christmas.
When I was a young mom, I struggled with juggling all the “things” of Christmas. The shopping lists, the decorating, the wrapping, the baking, the endless parties. And oh yes… somehow, in the middle of all that, I was supposed to make sure Christ was part of the celebration, too.
And this was back in the days before the elf-on-the-shelf craze added even more to moms’ plates.
I tried. I really did. But no matter how hard I worked, I was never on time, never on budget, and always seemed to disappoint someone who had their heart set on that one special gift I hadn’t managed to find. I felt frazzled and guilty—hardly the “joy to the world” I was hoping for.
If you can relate, let me share with you the lesson that changed everything for me: Christmas doesn’t end on December 25. It begins.
The Year Everything Changed
It was our parish priest, Father Russ Rhode, S.J. (may he rest in peace), who first opened my eyes. One Advent he sent out a letter describing how another Jesuit priest had come across letters dating back to the 17th century. These letters, written from a Jesuit in Dublin to a Jesuit in Douay, France, described the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as an Irish “code,” cleverly designed to help the faithful remember catechetical truths during a time of persecution.
Now, historians debate that origin story. The earliest known printed version of the song dates to 1780 in England, published in a pamphlet titled Mirth Without Mischief. It was first performed at King Pepin’s Ball as a lively forfeit game. But whether its roots lie in Ireland or England, the real revelation for me was this: there really are twelve days of Christmas, and they don’t begin in Advent. They start on December 25.
That truth was a game-changer for me.
From Cultural Chaos to Sacred Rhythm
Up until that point, I had been a creature of my culture, swept along by modern marketing messages. Like so many others, I celebrated Christmas throughout Advent—shopping, wrapping, decorating—and then stopped cold after December 25.
But the Church, in her wisdom, gives us a different rhythm. The four weeks of Advent are a season of waiting, watching, and preparing. Then comes the Octave of Christmas—eight days of solemn celebration, stretching from Christmas Day through January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. And then the full twelve days, culminating in the great feast of the Epiphany, when Christ is revealed to the nations.
Discovering this liturgical rhythm gave me the permission I didn’t even realize I needed: to slow down, to reframe, to breathe, to keep Christ at the center.
How We Shifted Our Family Traditions
Once I realized Christmas is twelve holy days, not one, I began to reimagine our family celebrations. Here are some of the ways we “segwayed from Santa to the sacred”:
- Santa had his day on December 24 and 25. The stockings, the gifts, even the Elf (when he eventually arrived on the scene) were fun parts of the anticipation. But after Christmas morning, we shifted our focus.
- We reflected on God’s gifts each of the twelve days. Some years we tied this to Scripture readings; other years we connected it to the traditional catechetical “meanings” of the song (two turtle doves = Old and New Testaments, three French hens = faith, hope, and charity, and so on).
- We added music to the mix. I even wrote a song: Our Father Gave to Us the 12 Days of Christmas, a song for all Christians. With the help of three talented boys from my carpool—members of the Phoenix Boys Choir, bless the amazing Díaz brothers!—we recorded it as the “Carpool Choir.” You can still find it on iTunes.
- We created heirloom crafts. Eventually, I turned our family tradition into a Christmas Ornament Kit with four projects designed to keep hands busy while hearts reflected on the faith. These crafts became keepsakes that still hang on our tree today.
- We focused less on material gifts. If I could go back, I would have gone even further: I would have had each child set aside one unopened gift on Christmas morning to reserve for Epiphany. What a powerful, real-world lesson in “waiting in joyful hope” that would have been!
- We transformed our tree. During Advent, we decorated it as a Jesse Tree, hanging ornaments that told the story of salvation history. Then, on December 23, we transformed it together into a Christmas tree—Christ’s family tree fulfilled.
- We celebrated Epiphany in a big way. A Twelfth Night party, a King’s Cake, and the Epiphany Home Blessing (you can download the prayers and instructions for free on our site). These traditions reminded us that Christmas doesn’t fade—it crescendos.
Why It Matters
Restoring the twelve days of Christmas tradition gave our family the peace that “surpasses all understanding.” Instead of feeling drained and disappointed on December 26, we found ourselves renewed day by day as we reflected on the goodness of God.
And here’s the secret: living the twelve days really, truly is the way to keep Christ in Christmas.
When you reclaim the rhythm of Advent and Christmastide, you are no longer enslaved by the culture’s consumer calendar. You are free to savor, to celebrate, to keep Jesus at the center.
What About You?
Every family will do this differently. Some may add a daily Scripture reading, others may light a candle or sing a carol. Some may bake a special treat, others may serve at a soup kitchen. The point is not to copy someone else’s tradition, but to intentionally shape your own.
So let me ask:
What traditions might you add—or take away—this year to keep Christ at the center of your Christmas?
An Invitation
If you’re ready for a Christmas that is less chaotic and more Christ-centered, I want to invite you to join me in something special:
✨ The Live the 12 Days Challenge—for Bethlehem’s sake. ✨
When you join the challenge, you’ll receive tools and reflections to help your family live each of the twelve days with joy and faith. And even more, your participation will support Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem—a Catholic hospital located just 1,500 steps from the very place where Christ was born. There, mothers and babies receive life-saving care in the shadow of the Nativity.
Visit us today at 🌐 www.HowToKeepChristInChristmas.com to take the challenge.
Together, let’s reclaim the rhythm of Christmas, keep Jesus at the center, and share His love with the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
The moral lesson of Christmas is that redemption is God’s gift of joy through the Incarnation of His Son. By living the full 12 days with prayer, gratitude, and service, we keep Christ at the center and share His love with the world.
In today’s culture, Christmas is often rushed and reduced to shopping, but its true meaning is found in welcoming Christ through the Church’s rhythm of Advent and the 12 days of Christmas. By embracing prayer, gratitude, family traditions, and service, we reclaim the season as a time of peace, love, and generosity centered on Christ.
The most important thing on Christmas Day is and always will be Jesus Himself. By celebrating all 12 days with prayer, Scripture, song, and acts of charity, we keep Christ at the center, renew our faith, and join in His mission of love.
Hi, I am Rebecca Even
CEO Of A.M.D.G. Productions LLC
Catholic author, Speaker, Songwriter but not a singer, Rebecca Even is a wife and mother with a passion for working with women especially mothers of all ages.
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