This is the message from the Rt. Rev. Gregory Rickel, Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia, for Christmas 2021.

Greetings, Diocese of Olympia and all who may be watching, and most especially on this day, Merry Christmas to all of you.

I hope you all are with those you love and who love you, but if you can’t be with them, I hope you will make connections with them today in some way.

I know this can be for many, a season of wild extremes. For some, the most joyous and happy time of the year, and for some, the lowest and most depressing. If that is happening to you, know that this shall pass and know that Jesus, who is born this day, is as every bit right there with you and for you as he is for anybody. For as Christians, we believe that that is the greatest gift ever, and it’s one equally and fully given to each and every person. That is your gift, too.

I always use this message each year to remind you that Christmas is a season, not just a day. Christmas in a real sense, starts today, but runs for 12 more days, right up Epiphany. This was the drama that was read on Christmas Eve, but in real life, it played out over days and weeks and months, just as our lives do.

Like so many of our holidays, the secular world will celebrate today and then cast the Christmas trees on the corner, pack up the decorations, get back to normal, if you will, right when we might say we’re just getting started. In the Hallmark calendar, Advent has become what is our Christmas and Christmas has really, I hate to say it, been diminished to one day and in most quarters completely lost the original meaning.

My prayer for you is whether you decide to celebrate just today and then by the evening or tomorrow, erase all signs of Christmas, or if you actually try to ride out the whole season with those few of us that valiantly are trying to reclaim it, in either case, that you stop at some point or remind those around you, remind yourself what this day is all about, what it celebrates, what it points to, what it hopes for. We need this message now more than ever. Christmas begins today.

Christmas, or Christ’s Mass

Christmas (in old English, Cristes maesse) is a festival celebrated on December 25, commemorating the Incarnation of the Word of God in the birth of Jesus Christ. In the Book of Common Prayer, it is also called The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the United States it is also a popular secular holiday.

The customs associated with Christmas have developed from many sources. From early days the popular observance of Christmas was marked by the joy and celebration characteristic of the Roman Saturnalia and the pagan festivals which it replaced. It came to include the decoration of houses with greenery and the giving of gifts to children and the poor. In Britain other observances were added including the Yule log and Yule cakes, fir trees, gifts, and greetings. Fires and lights (symbols of warmth and lasting life) and evergreens (symbols of survival) were traditionally associated with both pagan and Christian festivals. Their use developed considerably in England with the importation of German customs and through the influence of the writings of Charles Dickens.

In the Book of Common Prayer, Christmas Day is one of the seven principal feasts. The Christmas season lasts twelve days, from Christmas Day until January 5, the day before the Epiphany. The season includes Christmas Day, the First Sunday after Christmas Day, the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and may include the Second Sunday after Christmas Day. In many parishes, the main liturgical celebrations of Christmas take place on Christmas Eve.

The Book of Occasional Services includes a variety of resources for use during Christmas, including a form for a Station at a Christmas Crèche, a form for a Christmas Festival of Lessons and Music, and seasonal blessings for use during the Christmas season.

The above adapted from Christmas on the website of the Episcopal Church.

[As to using the date of December 25 for Christmas (instead of January 6), there is historical evidence that this date was used in the 2nd century, about 100 years before a Roman festival was placed on this same date. There is disputed evidence that another person cited December 25 from before the Roman holiday, too. That doesn’t mean no Christians were trying to counter Sol Invictus by celebrating on December 25 instead of January 6, but it does show that there is evidence there is no connection.]

Bishop Greg Rickel

The Rt. Rev. Gregory H. Rickel was elected bishop on May 12, 2007, and became the eighth Bishop of Olympia in September 2007. He embraces radical hospitality that welcomes all, no matter where they find themselves on their journey of faith. He envisions a church that is a safe and authentic community in which to explore God’s infinite goodness and grace as revealed in the life and continuing revelation of Jesus Christ.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6210 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

Merry Christmas. Blessings to each and every one of you.