With this weekend’s celebration of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Christmas season comes to its official liturgical end. I’ve been doing my best to live in the spirit of Christmas these past weeks and will continue to do so throughout this year. As the liturgical season comes to and end and we move (briefly this year) into Ordinary Time, I wanted to say thanks to all my family and friends that sent me Christmas cards. Perhaps you may wonder if it even matters if you send one. Well, I can assure that each card is special to me. Much more than presents, Christmas and the entire Christian life are about relationships. Some of you I got to see this last month in person; for others, just your card brought us closer. In case you really were wondering what happened to the Christmas card you sent me, here is a picture of the door to my room at seminary…

It took a bit of rearranging here and there, but I think I got them all up there (check for yours!). Perhaps you’re wondering now where I got such and idea. For comparison, here is a shot of my family Christmas tree back home…

Note the cards hung around the doorway on the right. So, if you’re wondering where I got the idea, my dad has made this a Christmas tradition for as long as I can remember. The other part of the tradition is watching him retape the cards that fall each day throughout the season. I asked him this year where he got an idea like this. He said that his dad always did it, so he carried it on. That sounds like a pretty good reason to me.

Here’s a tradition from my mom’s side of the family. My grandpa made this little stable out of trees he cut himself. It took a lot of work to find just the right size trees. I got one of the greatest presents ever a few years ago when my grandpa made me a stable just like this. I will always treasure it. My mom developed the tradition of spreading out the manger scene on a little artificial hill each year. You’ll notice that the camel on the right has no tail. That was my contribution to the tradition, or so I’m told. I was too little to remember, but apparently I’m responsible for the camel’s lack of posterior appendage.

And so this ends Christmas for another year. I hope you enjoyed a little sampling of a couple Tunink family Christmas traditions. I was in Bethlehem for Christmas last year…which was nice. But, it was nice to be home again this year. Thanks again for the cards and may the peace of Christmas remain in your hearts the whole year through.