On the Ninth Day of Christmas, by Francis X. Maier

By Francis X. Maier, The Catholic Thing, January 3, 2025

Francis X. Maier is a senior fellow in Catholic studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is the author of True Confessions: Voices of Faith from a Life in the Church.

In our house, we cling to the Christmas season like survivors of a torpedoed steamer.  The tree stays up until it’s a fire hazard.  The carols play through the Baptism of the Lord, with an encore or two until Candlemas.  We don’t retire the crèche until Presentation of the Lord.  Christmas anchors our year.

One might reasonably ask why.  It’s a fair question.  Easter, not Christmas, is the central event of the Christian calendar. And alas, Christmas now comes with a boatload of vulgar commerce.  Some of it is entertaining.  John Travolta as Santa Claus, hawking the Capital One card to the beat of “Stayin’ Alive,” is marketing genius.  Television betting ads, not so much.  Nothing says “crime against humanity” like a group of TV street carolers singing the joys of the Pennsylvania Lottery to the tune of “ The Twelve Days of Christmas,” while Gus the Groundhog – the Lottery’s mascot – urges listeners to gamble away their paychecks.  …