Cross leads to Crown.
Three hours of suffering lead to everlasting glory.
Forty days of Lent lead to fifty days of Easter.
Four weeks of Advent lead to two weeks of Christmas.

Read that again.

It seems God set a pattern: joy and victory always outnumber sorrow and loss.

Except when it comes to Christmas…?
Except, that’s false.

On the New Liturgical Calendar of the Church, Advent outdoes Christmas, but not on the classical calendar. Traditionally, Christmas went forty days (ending on Feb. 2nd, the feast of Candlemas), far surpassing Advent’s 28 days.

So sometime in 1969 (Feb. 14th, to be exact), our Christmastide went from 40 days long, to only 14. The Church went from celebrating Baby Jesus’ Blessed Birthday for over a month, to now having an Advent that is twice the time of Christmas.
What reason did these Grinches who stole Christmas have for such a reduction? I have no idea.*

What, was there too much caroling? Or perhaps they found the Nativity scenes repetitive? How about the proliferation of pines indoors? What triggered these Scrooges, we’ll likely never know for certain, but what I do know is that none of their reasons justify adequately, and none of their reasons apply to those Catholics who still hold fast to Tradition.

So this Christmas, don’t get ripped off: celebrate Baby Jesus for 40 days.
Keep giving gifts.
Keep singing carols.
Keep the trees lit.
Keep the Christmas cheer.
Well into the new year.

Keep to Tradition.

*the 1969 Vatican document announcing the new calendar does not explain the shortening of Christmastide: https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19690214_mysterii-paschalis.html